English vs. American Studies vs. Cultural Studies

[ProjectPhD]

Hey everyone!

As I was trying to figure out which programs I want to/should apply for, I got really confused. English... American Studies... Cultural Studies - what's the difference?! I don't mean to offend English, American Studies, or Cultural Studies grads, but to me those three areas appear pretty closely related.

I am currently enrolled in a Master's program in British and American Cultural Studies (in Germany) and that's the kind of field I'd like to stay in: generally speaking, literature AND social practices, popular culture as well as Literary and Cultural Theory with an emphasis on Gender and Women's Studies. I plan to stay away from social science theories (statistics or demographic studies) as well as Early American and British Literature. I am very much interested in identity formation, transnationalism, cultural memory and - to some extent - Postcolonial Studies. So what to study, what to study?!

I'd appreciate it a lot if someone could put an end to my confusion!!!

Thanks guys!

[GoodGuy]

ProjectPhD

You sound a bit like I felt when I was considering grad schools last year. I knew that I wanted to continue the path I'd begun in undergrad, which was an investigation into the intersections of masculinity and race in identity formation, with an emphasis on the social and cultural histories created by pop culture/literature usages. I also knew that I wanted to get a good grounding in history without matriculating in a history department for my PhD.

As for the "differences" between them all? You'll get many different definitions, I think, but I'd say this: In English, you will probably get a pretty well-rounded training in lit theory and criticism spanning many eras and styles of literature before you set to choosing your own specific sub-field that will become your specialty. In American Studies, there will probably be a more interdisciplinary approach to the broad spectrum of American history and culture which will be less rigidly disciplinary than a traditional History dept, and which might incorporate aspects of Cultural Studies, which, in my opinion, tends to be more theoretically based study of "culture" and all the notions of ideology that informs it, looking at it from various vantage points of class, race, gender etc...

Some schools, I've found, incorporate elements of all of the above in any specific rubric you're thinking of. In other words, I know a woman who is doing her English PhD with a serious Cultural Studies approach, yet wanted to get her degree in English, so she didn't apply to Cult Studies programs, only to schools that would allow her to use her sort of methodology to the study of literature. NYU's American Studies, I think, operates more and more as a Center for Social and Cultural Thought. USC's program is actually called American Studies and Ethnicity. Bowling Green and Minnesota's Am Studies depts are real pop culture powerhouse.

I was an Am Studies major in college, and I looked around at almost ALL of the Am Studies/Am Civ/Am Culture(s) programs around the nation. Some I found were more cross-disciplinary than others; some emphasized social/culture theory more than others; some I found operated as more Ethnic Studies programs, in my opinion. What I did was narrow down my list to the programs that would allow me the interdisciplinary approach that I LOVE about American Studies, but also provide me with solid training in a discipline like English or History. Which I think I'll get at the program I chose to attend. My program is made up of profs from different depts around the university, which emphasizes the cross-disciplinary study I needed, and a bunch of them are history-based which made it even more a good fit for me.

At the end of the day, I think it IS about fit and the profs you'll be working with. Look at the faculty in all the depts you're thinking of applying. Who's doing work that seems aligned with yours? (Not necessarily note-for-note, but close enough to seem like a good fit for your research.) Who's publishing books or articles that you like or want to read or have found useful in your work up to now?

Something else I did was get in contact with those professors who seemed like people with whom I might want to work closely. There are similarities between the programs you're looking at--English, American Studies, Cultural Studies--but getting in touch with profs (many of whom might move between the very disciplines you're investigating) MIGHT give you more insight into where you might see yourself as a grad student.

Don't know if I answered your question, but I hope some of this helps! Good Luck!

[BrandNewName]

GoodGuy, great response, I'm glad to get your insight on this issue because I read your posts about applying to Harvard's History of American Civ Program. That being said, Harvard is one of my top choices as I have decided that American Studies is the right path for me - I want the interdisciplinarity that AS programs allow, but know that my focus is most definitely on American literature and culture.

 

Stateside I'm looking at the following programs:

Harvard - History of American Civilization

Yale - American Studies

Brown - American Civilization

NYU - American Studies (a bit iffy on this one)

BU - American and New England Studies

Columbia - English (iffy on this one too)

UPenn - English (we'll refer to this application as "That 90 bucks I wasted back in '09.")

Since you've already applied and been accepted, do you have any thoughts about any of these programs, I saw your comment on NYU...what about Yale, Brown, or BU - academically, financially, etc.?

Don't really know what my chances are with any of the programs, especially as an American who will have received an English MA in Germany (I'm going to work the international perspective angle). I have a strong list of awards/prizes (DAAD, two international summer scholarships, thesis of the year at Boston College), international experience (3 years total, all in various parts of Germany), and a couple of conferences/publications under my belt.

I do have a few concerns; they are things that are entirely subjective in the application review process, I know, but I was wondering if you might be able to judge my strength as a candidate (don't you hate that question...sorry) and maybe share some of your experiences in applying. Specifically I am worried about:

1) knowing how/to what level I should go into my research in my SOP. I am thinking about talking about my general areas of interest and frameworks/theories that structure my research, and then positing central questions that I think will most likely propel me forward in my dissertation. How did you approach the topic of research and your SOP? Was there a great deal of connection between your BA or MA thesis and your PhD proposal? And, since I think your point about finding a professor who fits well is vital, what kind of contact did you make - just general back and forth introductions via email, critical questions regarding an article, or straight-up, "I am applying and think we would be a good match, do you like me?" messages?

2) my GPA (BA - overall: 3.76, English major GPA: 3.834) (MA - on the German scale - 1.15 where 1.0 is the highest). How does that compare from what you might have heard about the applicant pool in programs where you were accepted? I'm picturing a long line of 4.0ers just kicking my butt right out of consideration...

3) LOR - I will have a great one from my BA thesis adviser; I am working (tutor/research assistant) for a professor here who has a solid name and spent some time teaching at Harvard with HLG - I am going to ask her for a letter as well. My third letter is a mystery to me though...do I ask a BC professor who I took one (quite challenging) class with, who liked my writing, who I still keep in touch with, and who has a solid name in American academia? Or do I go with the international name from my current university who I haven't really connected with on a personal level, but who thinks my writing is "brilliant"? She is one of if not the leading name in her field of research, but it is not a field that I am particularly interested in.

Feel free to answer any, all, or none of these questions...I just thought I would put them out there and hopefully gain something from your experience.

[ProjectPhD]

GoodGuy, thanks so much for your response. That helped A LOT! And I do agree, it's basically all about finding the 'right' match. I mean, let's face it, applying for grad school is like proposing to someone (at least that's how I feel about it). Do I really want to spend such an important phase in my life with this particular institution...?! If so, are they gonna say yes?! Gosh, applying for grad school makes a marriage proposal look like an easy job. I do hope that whomever I might marry doesn't want to see my GRE scores, let alone a subject test on connubialities .

outofredink, it feels like you just put all my concerns in one entry. I'm impressed. Those are exactly the questions that keep my head spinning. So I'm praying with you that someone (GoodGuy :wink: ) will answer one/some of them.

Oh, and outofredink... I think you'll get into at least half of the institutions you want to apply for. I'd bet my own MA on that (which means a lot to me :wink: ).

[GoodGuy]

I guess I can offer a little something, outofredink--I just went through the process you're about to start.

outofredink said:

Stateside I'm looking at the following programs:

Harvard - History of American Civilization

Yale - American Studies

Brown - American Civilization

NYU - American Studies (a bit iffy on this one)

BU - American and New England Studies

Columbia - English (iffy on this one too)

UPenn - English (we'll refer to this application as "That 90 bucks I wasted back in '09.")

Harvard was my first choice mostly because of faculty, the people there who I thought I'd fit with, and also the ones who got back to me when I contacted them and seemed excited or interested in the possibility of my being a student of theirs. They have a great bunch of historians who also do lit, a close relationship to the African American Studies program (which was very important for me as part of my research is based on some comparative race analysis), and even though there seems to be a bit of freedom, the program seems adamant that students get a good discipline training under their belts.

It would be easier for me to speak about the other schools more if I had a better sense of the kinds of things you wanna study and the sorta approach you wanna take with them, but that said, I have a soft spot for Brown as that is where I did my undergrad, and I think I got a very sound and solid training in Am Civ from a bunch of very committed, wonderful and diverse group of profs. Brown is also VERY cross-disciplinary, so I was able to use classes from a plethora of departments to set up my concentration, which I think also happens for the grad students.

FInancially I don't think you can go wrong with one of the Ivies; they tend to fund their students very well and competitively. I'm not sure about the other programs you're thinking of as I only applied to Am Studies and African American Studies depts.

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Don't really know what my chances are with any of the programs, especially as an American who will have received an English MA in Germany (I'm going to work the international perspective angle). I have a strong list of awards/prizes (DAAD, two international summer scholarships, thesis of the year at Boston College), international experience (3 years total, all in various parts of Germany), and a couple of conferences/publications under my belt.

I do have a few concerns; they are things that are entirely subjective in the application review process, I know, but I was wondering if you might be able to judge my strength as a candidate (don't you hate that question...sorry)

Yes, I do hate that question! :roll: Only slightly kidding, but that's cause looking back I think the process is overwhelmingly random and yet oddly specific to the individual at the same time, if that makes any sense. I got rejected from places I was SURE I'd get into and yet got into all the programs I sorta thought of (and many people think of) as "reaches", for one reason or another. It is ultimately very hard to tell where you will land once the lottery wheel of grad apps stops but I think there ARE things one can do to TRY to ensure that you have as good a chance as anyone getting into a good program that is also right for you.

And I think that starts with the writing sample and SOP. GREs and GPA are important, from what I hear, to weed out some candidates from an overwhelming number of apps that have to be plowed through to get to that desired number of 10 or 7 or 5 (and from what I hear, more and more people are applying these days for smaller cohort numbers!) But you have to figure that MOST people applying to the sorta programs you're applying to probably have good-to-great-to-stellar scores and grades, right? So there has to be another way to impress the admissions committees. And that's in your writing sample and SOP. A lot of students can manage great undergrad grades and study their asses off to learn how to take a standardized test, but not EVERYONE can craft a sterling letter that pinpoints their aims and desires as scholars, who they are as people, and how the two things make them the perfect fit for any particular program.

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1) knowing how/to what level I should go into my research in my SOP. I am thinking about talking about my general areas of interest and frameworks/theories that structure my research, and then positing central questions that I think will most likely propel me forward in my dissertation. How did you approach the topic of research and your SOP? Was there a great deal of connection between your BA or MA thesis and your PhD proposal? And, since I think your point about finding a professor who fits well is vital, what kind of contact did you make - just general back and forth introductions via email, critical questions regarding an article, or straight-up, "I am applying and think we would be a good match, do you like me?" messages?

Your SOP should, at the end of the day, tell a story. Not an epic narrative of your life from infanthood up to your graduation day, but instead a short, precise, readable, engaging group of paragraphs that let the committee know who you are, what you (probably) want to study, and how you (probably) want to study it. Methodology and theory are less important than a very clear perspective of your own ambitions. More important than the methods and theory is, I think, which professors at the program are best for your to align your approach. With which professors--based on their experience, research, methodology, could you see working closely? The committee is looking for the best students, yes, but really they're looking for the best students who will add to their dept and who will have someone with whom to work. If you're the person looking to study religious undertones in the work of John Updike, great! If the 20th century people in the dept already have a ton of students split between them, not so great. But if you have an unusual spin on that study project and one of those 20th century people is cool with taking on another student, great! If one of the 20th cent people is going on sabbatical for the next year to write a new book, maybe NOT so great. But you see what I mean? It can be random, yet specific to how you FIT with the program, based on that SOP and the writing sample that shows that no matter what you decide to study, you already have the sophistication and bearing to research and get it down on paper in an elegant and sustained way.

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2) my GPA (BA - overall: 3.76, English major GPA: 3.834) (MA - on the German scale - 1.15 where 1.0 is the highest). How does that compare from what you might have heard about the applicant pool in programs where you were accepted? I'm picturing a long line of 4.0ers just kicking my butt right out of consideration...

See above. Yes, there are a bunch of 4.0ers trying to do just that. Some of them will succeed, many of them will not. Some of them can write circles around you. Some of them are the most pedestrian thinkers you'll ever meet.

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3) LOR - I will have a great one from my BA thesis adviser; I am working (tutor/research assistant) for a professor here who has a solid name and spent some time teaching at Harvard with HLG - I am going to ask her for a letter as well. My third letter is a mystery to me though...do I ask a BC professor who I took one (quite challenging) class with, who liked my writing, who I still keep in touch with, and who has a solid name in American academia? Or do I go with the international name from my current university who I haven't really connected with on a personal level, but who thinks my writing is "brilliant"? She is one of if not the leading name in her field of research, but it is not a field that I am particularly interested in.

I would suggest getting your letters MAINLY from the people who know you and your work the very best that anyone does. Of course it helps if at least one of those people is a NAME the committee immediately recognizes. But you want your LORs to glow up at the readers, to emanate all the great essence that is you, NOT make you seem like just another good student who knelt at the feet of greatness for a lecture because said greatness was available that semester. Your numbers as stated above sound more than fine. And your extras sound good as well. The LOR writer who called you "brilliant"--can she get the paper from you and elucidate for the committee exactly what was brilliant about it? Or if you're brilliant as well? The other recommenders sound good because they know YOU, and what you offer as a person as well as a scholar. That will be important to committees too, from what I hear. These people are trying to put together a team of students who they think will succeed in the hotpot of grad study. They want to know what you want to study, but I like said up top somewhere, they're also interested in who you are.

Much of this is just my opinion, and I'm sure there are other people on the board who probably offer better or deeper analysis than me. I'm still a newbie in many ways. But you sound like you're on the right track. Good luck with everything and let me know if you have other questions!

GG

[Agatank]

Hai guys, I  already took American Studies Major. I want to ask what are the topics or themes that can be choose as the Thesis? please give me advice and suggestions. Thank You