Lead in for SOP

[somethinbruin]

I'm wondering how much you (or anyone else) think I need to know to be able to "converse in a decently cogent manner." I know this isn't really quantifiable, so I guess what I mean is should I list some authors that I might want to work with, or is it enough to talk about the various constructions of gender and how they've shifted throughout the time periods...or a combination of both? I guess I'm just worried because I don't have a set list of authors I'd like to work with in the long nineteenth century--I know of ones that I want to work with in the Victorian period, but when I say that I'm expanding to the long nineteenth century, I don't have a set idea yet. I'm vaguely familiar with the changes between the time periods, but I'm going to research a bit more so I know what exactly I want to say. I do know that I want to look at authors who have been major influences on the author I used for my masters thesis--but, I don't know much about them--so is it enough to say that that's why I want to study them? Or will it look like I don't know what I'm talking about. 

 

I hope those questions make sense. I feel like my vagueness is making everything confusing. Also, ignore my punctuation. My brain is on the fritz. 

 

I don't think you have to have a large list of authors or a theoretical construct in place and fully articulated in your statement. Actually, I think if you stick to one particular point that you made--the authors from the long 19th who influenced the main Victorian writers you study--you'll be in a good place that lets you draw a few connections. That really should be enough of an indication that you know a direction you might want to pursue in a doctoral program. In some respects, simplicity is your friend here. You want to give a detailed picture of your primary focus (Victorian) and then make gestures toward possible extensions of that scholarship (influential authors from long 19th). 

 

Lord, I hope I've been helpful in this thread. Every time I post I agonize over whether anything I say makes sense, and I hope it's not just making people more nervous. Let me close then by just encouraging everyone to keep chipping away at their SOP. Keep revising, seeking out opinions, and giving it time to breathe. Then when you reach a point when it's done, resist the urge to keep fiddling with it. Let it be done when it's done.

[BunnyWantsaPhD]

I don't think you have to have a large list of authors or a theoretical construct in place and fully articulated in your statement. Actually, I think if you stick to one particular point that you made--the authors from the long 19th who influenced the main Victorian writers you study--you'll be in a good place that lets you draw a few connections. That really should be enough of an indication that you know a direction you might want to pursue in a doctoral program. In some respects, simplicity is your friend here. You want to give a detailed picture of your primary focus (Victorian) and then make gestures toward possible extensions of that scholarship (influential authors from long 19th). 

 

Lord, I hope I've been helpful in this thread. Every time I post I agonize over whether anything I say makes sense, and I hope it's not just making people more nervous. Let me close then by just encouraging everyone to keep chipping away at their SOP. Keep revising, seeking out opinions, and giving it time to breathe. Then when you reach a point when it's done, resist the urge to keep fiddling with it. Let it be done when it's done.

 

 

Thanks for the advice. The other thing I'm concerned about, which you kind of addressed, is which authors to mention. I mean, it's easy to say that I want to look to the past to see who has influenced the main author I'm working with in the Victorian period, but is it "too much" to say that I also want to look forward to see how these issues changed after the Victorian period? I just want to make sure that I'm covering a significant portion of the long nineteenth century without making it look like I'm covering too much/don't know what I'm talking about--make sense? 

 

And, no worries. You're not freaking me out--it's all been very helpful! 

[danieleWrites]

The SOP is a part of an application to be a graduate student. A beginning graduate student should have a base of knowledge, but they shouldn't be so knowledgeable the department has nothing to offer them. I think this is kind of the key. My SOP mentioned two authors, Zora Neale Hurston and Henry Miller. Actually, it mentioned Hurston's folk tales and Death of a Salesman. I mentioned them to support my explanation of my research interests, rather than an explanation of my background.

 

I don't think it's too much to explain how you're interested in the influences of a specific author, and then how the issues the author was influenced by and influenced changed after the Victorian period. I think it's a good idea because it gives the committee a strong idea of what you're into researching and if they can help you do it. If there aren't any Victorianists on faculty, would you fit? Or if there are and they loathe your particular author, would you fit? I don't know if it's necessary to present your credentials on the 19th Century (I'm not on a committee and, even if I were, all committees work differently); I think it's more important to present your research interests and goals. I think your credentials will be established by the way you discuss your interests rather than an explanation or list of what you've studied. For example, I didn't mention the various works of Marx or of the Marxians in the field that I've read when I wrote about my interest in evaluating how social class assumptions and conflicts informs the underlying arguments works of literature make. A background in Marx is kind of necessary for that, but the fact that I can write about my interests, for lack of a better word, correctly means that I've got the background already. So, if you can talk about you'd like to research correctly (for lack of a better word), I don't think you need to explain that you have the background because it's self-evident.

 

tl;dr: bring up the authors relevant to the research you're interested in doing and leave out the rest. The SOP is short and your 19th Century Cred will be evident in how you present your interests.

[aGiRlCalLeDApPlE]

danieleWrites, are you currently a student at Arkansas? If so, can I ask you a couple of questions regarding their application process? Their website is a little complicated.  thx