Help me find focus!

[czenzi]

Hi,

I have used this board before (a long time ago) but I am now looking to move on to a PhD program in the (slightly distant) future. I will be applying for grad school likely not next year, but the one after, but I am trying to get organized well in advance. So, I was wondering if people who had just gone through the process or are going through it soon might be able to help me come up with a list of programs that would be good fits for me. I would really appreciate the input.  

I have a double major in English literature and political science. It's from a regional university that even I had barely heard of before I attended there, but I did well there. I worked several years at the university Writing Center in addition to another part-time job, was involved on campus, graduated with honors and a fellowship with an internship in the federal government. After that I taught EFL for several years in Japan. I then got a M.A. from a well-known continental European university in an interdisciplinary international relations program. I graduated there with honors and a distinction for my thesis. I'm retaking my GRE because the original is the old version. I scored middling in math, very high in verbal and passable in the writing from what I remember. I suspect it will be the same, with maybe a better writing score this time. I currently work as an adjunct at two local colleges teaching lower division government classes.  

Put simply, my research interests include political theory and aesthetic theory, particularly in the way fine art, drama, and literature reflect and critique both ideologies and periods of political transition. I am also interested in the role of art in mass movements, e.g. the futurists' public stagings in the 1910s and the situationist movement's role in the 1968 French protests. My M.A. thesis focused on early Soviet art institutions, but I am not necessarily interested in limiting my PhD to that time period.

I assume I will need to look at literature or comparative literature programs with some focus on interdisciplinary studies or theory. I am a bit worried that my undergrad school's lack of a name is a detriment, as will be my likely average overall GRE score. I am also a bit worried that the fact that I have a split focus with politics will make me seem less appealing to literature programs' admissions boards. Any tips to help mitigate these issues would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance for giving advice,

Czenzi

[echo449]

Cursory thoughts:

Duke Literature and Stanford's Modern Thought program should be at the top of your list. Perhaps also Berkeley Rhetoric and Chicago's Committee on Social Thought. All of those are interdisciplinary programs, and your experience in political science might help your chances at a few of them. All of these programs are really competitive, so they should be considered as risky propositions. Otherwise, UCI and Minnesota would be solid places to look. Santa Cruz as well. Hope this helps to get you started!

[czenzi]

Thank you echo449 for your help. I've actually looked at a couple of these (Duke and Chicago), but their admissions statistics are terrifying. I am less familiar with some of the others and will start looking into them. 

Any other insights would still be most appreciated. 

[jhefflol]

Thank you echo449 for your help. I've actually looked at a couple of these (Duke and Chicago), but their admissions statistics are terrifying. I am less familiar with some of the others and will start looking into them. 

Any other insights would still be most appreciated. 

Admissions statistics everywhere are terrifying. Don't let that deter you from applying to a program that is a perfect fit for you. They have to let some students in, and one of those could be you.

[czenzi]

That's very kind of you to say jhefflol.

[__________________________]

Both jhefflol and echo449 are correct, imho.  Look at Chicago for sure.  Just to really rub in the ivies (I don't mean to, I swear), maybe look at the comp lit programs at Penn and Princeton too (especially the former)?  Penn's comp lit program is kind of a cornucopia and takes theory very seriously, particularly from a historical point of view.  I would definitely look at them were I you.

 

As for admissions, I wouldn't worry about it so much--don't completely disregard it I guess, but don't let it rule your life.  Fwiw, I had similar reservations and ended up getting accepted to two of my "dream schools" (which seemed like real stretches for me) and rejected from most of my "back up" schools .  Your interests/CV sound just weirdly cool enough to find a perfect fit somewhere.  Just my two cents.

[czenzi]

Thank you all. This board has been really positive and helpful. I really appreciate it.