Duke Literature vs. English

[callmelilyb]

Duke has separate PhD programs in English and Literature....literature seems to be more interdisciplinary, but not specifically "comp lit" per se, while English looks like a traditional English Literature program.

Does anyone know about these respective programs and what the differences are? Does one have a better reputation than the other?

Thanks!

[circumfession]

Duke has separate PhD programs in English and Literature....literature seems to be more interdisciplinary, but not specifically "comp lit" per se, while English looks like a traditional English Literature program.

Does anyone know about these respective programs and what the differences are? Does one have a better reputation than the other?

Thanks!

http://community.livejournal.com/lit_cohort_07/7706.html

My sense is that while Duke Lit traditionally has a stronger reputation (especially for theory), Duke English is a very strong program in its own right. They both place pretty well. Lit might be better if your interests tend to focus around theoretical questions, which span several traditional "fields." Then again, I applied (as was accepted) into Duke English, whereas in hindsight, my eccentric approach might have been better suited to Duke Lit.

[callmelilyb]

Thanks for the link!

[melusine]

Lit. has some big names: Jameson; Lentricchia's also pretty big. Toril Moi is brilliant, IMO. Janice Radway has some intriguing projects.

Toril Moi is awesome. The only reason I ended up not applying to Duke comp lit is that they had no one for Russian..