Advice Concerning List of Schools Regarding Theory

[winstoncarmichael]

Hi All,

 

This is my first post, so please excuse any mistakes I make in terms of "best practices" in this community. I have mined the forums for a few months now for info on programs and applying for Fall 2014, and I must say I've learned more about English PhD programs in those few months than my whole life before.

 

I'll try to keep this simple. I am looking at the following schools for their English PhD programs, and this is in order of current interest (although my interest changes weekly):

 

UC-Santa Cruz, UMASS-Amherst, Brown, Berkely, Yale, Stanford, Duke, Rutgers, Brandeis

 

My interest is the political dimension of literature and visual art, specifically Marxism (The Frankfurt School, Fredric Jameson), Anarchism (David Graeber, horizontalism, pre-figurative politics), and the relationship between content and form. Basically, I obsess over the ill-effects of what could be called Capitalist Realism - how market ideology infiltrates nearly everything.

 

I'd appreciate anyone's take on any of the above schools in relation to my interests. I've already emailed and spoken with a few professors and current graduate students at those schools, but further insight would really help as I narrow down both my interests and potential schools. Also, if anyone has ideas about other schools that would be a nice fit, please let me know.

 

Thank you so much for your help.

 

Jeremy

Edited June 27, 2013 by winstoncarmichael

[poliscar]

Have you considered working with Christopher Nealon at Johns Hopkins?

[winstoncarmichael]

Thank you for the heads up, he looks interesting and I'll check out his work over the next week. Johns Hopkins isn't on my list because I don't want to live in Baltimore - I've spent a lot of time there and don't think I'd enjoy it. But I may reconsider if Nealon is interesting and there are other professors there that hook me. Location isn't my top priority but it may be number two.

 

Thanks again.

[nhswrestle]

Chicago is known for theory and Marxism. UFlorida as well. Who were you thinking of working w/ at UMass Amherst? What time period are you interested in?

[winstoncarmichael]

nhswrestle - Thank you for the recommendations. Regarding Amherst, I've connected with Ruth Jennison and Susan Jahoda (of the art dept) via email and they have suggested that Amherst has a slight, if not pronounced compared to other American institutions, tradition in Marxism and protest movements. I have reached out to others in the English dept. but have not received word about who else I could potentially work with.

 

The last part of your post raises a huge question and blind spot for me. I am having trouble narrowing down a particular "time period" and type of literature and I suspect this has to do with me not having much English undergrad experience outside of a few rhetoric and linguistics classes. I majored in Journalism and graduated 5 years ago. So, my interests need refining within the American Literature discourse. I am working on a book-length work right now focusing on content vs. form in the music of an avant garde free jazz band in Brooklyn called Little Women, and in the poetry but mainly the political protest art of Russian poet Kirill Medvedev. So, if prompted, I'd say my "time period" is post-2008 (financial collapse) and the focus would be anti-capitalist art. Now, how does this fit into current areas of study...I'm not sure but I'd love to explore and find out. Any advice you or anyone has will help me greatly.

 

Thanks again.

[Troppman]

nhswrestle - Thank you for the recommendations. Regarding Amherst, I've connected with Ruth Jennison and Susan Jahoda (of the art dept) via email and they have suggested that Amherst has a slight, if not pronounced compared to other American institutions, tradition in Marxism and protest movements. I have reached out to others in the English dept. but have not received word about who else I could potentially work with.

 

The last part of your post raises a huge question and blind spot for me. I am having trouble narrowing down a particular "time period" and type of literature and I suspect this has to do with me not having much English undergrad experience outside of a few rhetoric and linguistics classes. I majored in Journalism and graduated 5 years ago. So, my interests need refining within the American Literature discourse. I am working on a book-length work right now focusing on content vs. form in the music of an avant garde free jazz band in Brooklyn called Little Women, and in the poetry but mainly the political protest art of Russian poet Kirill Medvedev. So, if prompted, I'd say my "time period" is post-2008 (financial collapse) and the focus would be anti-capitalist art. Now, how does this fit into current areas of study...I'm not sure but I'd love to explore and find out. Any advice you or anyone has will help me greatly.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

 

 

I sent you a PM, but i'm also posting here because of the thousands of lurkers. Many Canadian institutions are warm to projects such as these and, despite what we are often told, the funding, benefits, time-to-completion, and placements can be fantastic! Best of luck to all.

Edited July 5, 2013 by Troppman

[nhswrestle]

nhswrestle - Thank you for the recommendations. Regarding Amherst, I've connected with Ruth Jennison and Susan Jahoda (of the art dept) via email and they have suggested that Amherst has a slight, if not pronounced compared to other American institutions, tradition in Marxism and protest movements. I have reached out to others in the English dept. but have not received word about who else I could potentially work with.

 

The last part of your post raises a huge question and blind spot for me. I am having trouble narrowing down a particular "time period" and type of literature and I suspect this has to do with me not having much English undergrad experience outside of a few rhetoric and linguistics classes. I majored in Journalism and graduated 5 years ago. So, my interests need refining within the American Literature discourse. I am working on a book-length work right now focusing on content vs. form in the music of an avant garde free jazz band in Brooklyn called Little Women, and in the poetry but mainly the political protest art of Russian poet Kirill Medvedev. So, if prompted, I'd say my "time period" is post-2008 (financial collapse) and the focus would be anti-capitalist art. Now, how does this fit into current areas of study...I'm not sure but I'd love to explore and find out. Any advice you or anyone has will help me greatly.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

If you're interested in interdisciplinary work, UMass has a lot of faculty working from Marxist perspectives. Just off the top of my head: Jordana Rosenberg (English), Sut Jhally (Communications), and multiple professors in the Economics department. Regarding your current interests, Ron Welburn (English) has published on topics concerning Jazz. The American Studies track of the English PhD would certainly encourage your interdisciplinary interests, however, I don't think the UMass English dept. is the most fitting place for someone interested in contemporary literature and culture.

[wreckofthehope]

Maybe Minnesota - the Comp Lit/Cultural Studies Dep't (Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society PhD track)?

[Bennett]

Hey I work on Marxism and aesthetics and I'm just starting my first year at Duke (Literature, not English); I think this would be a really good program for your interests and should probably be closer to the top of your list. I also second the recommendation for Minnesota's Comp Lit/Cultural studies department, which is one of the few programs out there doing cutting-edge work with an explicitly Marxian focus. Feel free to PM me if you want more details. 

[plznE3]

Hi Jeremy,

 

You sound a lot like me! I am also looking at grad schools with a strong Marxist department. I already got some good advice but maybe more people could share anything about Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, or UPenn?

I'd like to second that Duke has a fantastic department. If it wasn't for the fact that they do not offer MAs I would be applying there myself.