19th Century lit

[dampka]

Just had a quick question... doing preliminary research about possibly applying for a freestanding MA in Literature, especially interested in Romantic/ fin de siecle British literature.

Anybody in a really great program? Which programs do you recommend?

[ecg1810]

I know Yale is top for British Literature. Indiana University--Bloomington also has a stellar Victorian Studies program. Washington University in St. Louis and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are strong as well. Hope this helps!

[dampka]

On 1/31/2010 at 4:42 PM, ecg1810 said:

I know Yale is top for British Literature. Indiana University--Bloomington also has a stellar Victorian Studies program. Washington University in St. Louis and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are strong as well. Hope this helps!

It certainly does! Thank you!!

[dampka]

http://grad-schools....tish-literature

Oh, awesome! Great resource, thanks

[strokeofmidnight]

While the US news and work report can be a useful starting point for research, it isn't very reliable as an actual set of rankings. The list itself is deeply problematic: 18th - 20th century British would include all of these fields: restoration, late 18th century, romanticism, victorianism, modernism, contemporary lit...and I'm probably missing a few of the smaller ones. The list might be more accurate (if its methodology isn't so problematic) if it evaluated these fields separately...but lumped together, it's not very useful.

What topics/questions are you interested in pursuing? Any particularly methodolog(ies)? For the PhD, Duke, UC Berkeley, Michigan, NYU, WashU, and Cornell are quite strong in romanticism/transitioning into Victorian studies. Though it might make a difference if your interest lies more with the novel or poetry. I know that Yale is apparently at the top of the list, but I really struggled to find good faculty fits in that period...though this might not be the case for you.

If you're looking at MA-only programs, NYU, UPenn comes to mind. Perhaps Brown as well, if you have a transaltantic bend. Unfortunately, none of these programs are funded. If you're looking for funded MA's, they tend to be scattered in less-prestigious, or even unranked programs. (US new and world report generally only ranks PhD programs...most funded MA's do not have a separate PhD track). You may have to do a bit of digging around to figure out fit and such. This list is probably incomplete, but might be a helpful starting point: http://community.livejournal.com/wgi_lounge_2009/10017.html

[JennyFieldsOriginal]

honestly if you have professors that you trust i'd go to them.

they can give you the inside tip in ways that are almost impossible to replicate with any amount of research.

also, current grad students at your undergrad university are a great resource. in my experience applying, no one is more willing to give honest information or sit down with you for an in depth conversation than a graduate student.

hope those weren't absurdly obvious suggestions, but graduate students are often overlooked as a resource.

also, look at faculty profiles at your university and see who did an MA before the PhD. depending on your ultimate goals they might be able to give you the best tips.

[dampka]

On 2/8/2010 at 1:28 AM, strokeofmidnight said:

While the US news and work report can be a useful starting point for research, it isn't very reliable as an actual set of rankings. The list itself is deeply problematic: 18th - 20th century British would include all of these fields: restoration, late 18th century, romanticism, victorianism, modernism, contemporary lit...and I'm probably missing a few of the smaller ones. The list might be more accurate (if its methodology isn't so problematic) if it evaluated these fields separately...but lumped together, it's not very useful.

What topics/questions are you interested in pursuing? Any particularly methodolog(ies)? For the PhD, Duke, UC Berkeley, Michigan, NYU, WashU, and Cornell are quite strong in romanticism/transitioning into Victorian studies. Though it might make a difference if your interest lies more with the novel or poetry. I know that Yale is apparently at the top of the list, but I really struggled to find good faculty fits in that period...though this might not be the case for you.

If you're looking at MA-only programs, NYU, UPenn comes to mind. Perhaps Brown as well, if you have a transaltantic bend. Unfortunately, none of these programs are funded. If you're looking for funded MA's, they tend to be scattered in less-prestigious, or even unranked programs. (US new and world report generally only ranks PhD programs...most funded MA's do not have a separate PhD track). You may have to do a bit of digging around to figure out fit and such. This list is probably incomplete, but might be a helpful starting point: http://community.liv...2009/10017.html

I'm sure you posted this a long time ago, so please forgive my laxity, but this was extremely, extremely helpful. Thank you for sharing this.

[lompoc727]

I know that this post is very old, but I thought I'd add my thoughts as a 19th century poetry person, versus someone who is interested in the 18/19th century novel (as I think you, strokeofmidnight, are?).

I had a problem identifying romantic into Victorian poetry people with whom I'd like to work at Cornell, NYU, and even Duke (their main romanticist is more interested in continental romanticism(s) and only did some of his earlier work on Wordsworth). Either way, I'd second everyone's advice to look at faculty research beyond their general interests. In my case, a professor who claims to be interested in "romantic literature" could have written articles on Shelley 10 years ago, but has since concentrated upon the applications of 19th century legal theory. This is all well and good, but if you want to work with someone active in the field when YOU'RE becoming active in the field, it might become problematic. I'd also second the exhortation to find a school where you could imagine yourself working with more than one faculty member. After all, shit happens where professors leave or change interests, so you want to have a few options. And your own interests will grow and transform as well.

Anyway, to conclude this barrage of unsolicited advice, I'd say that programs with good 19th century poetry programs (either British or American) would include: UVA, Duke (not for me, though!), Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Michigan, WashU, etc.

[dampka]

On 4/7/2010 at 3:33 PM, lompoc727 said:

I know that this post is very old, but I thought I'd add my thoughts as a 19th century poetry person, versus someone who is interested in the 18/19th century novel (as I think you, strokeofmidnight, are?).

I had a problem identifying romantic into Victorian poetry people with whom I'd like to work at Cornell, NYU, and even Duke (their main romanticist is more interested in continental romanticism(s) and only did some of his earlier work on Wordsworth). Either way, I'd second everyone's advice to look at faculty research beyond their general interests. In my case, a professor who claims to be interested in "romantic literature" could have written articles on Shelley 10 years ago, but has since concentrated upon the applications of 19th century legal theory. This is all well and good, but if you want to work with someone active in the field when YOU'RE becoming active in the field, it might become problematic. I'd also second the exhortation to find a school where you could imagine yourself working with more than one faculty member. After all, shit happens where professors leave or change interests, so you want to have a few options. And your own interests will grow and transform as well.

Anyway, to conclude this barrage of unsolicited advice, I'd say that programs with good 19th century poetry programs (either British or American) would include: UVA, Duke (not for me, though!), Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Michigan, WashU, etc.

L

This thread is incredible. Thanks for posting this info... it's all very good advice. A bit overwhelming, but very, very good.