Anyone with an English Language and Literature Degree

[Rotty1021]

KLO, sorry to bother you again, but I have two more questions.

(1. Did the 3.5 years to finish your PhD include your masters?

(2. Does reading speed play a factor in success in a PhD program? I am neither slow or fast (more like above average), yet was wondering about this.

[KLO]

No problem...
The 3.5 years did not include my master's degree. I got my master's in 2 years at the University of North Texas.

As for reading speed, I don't think it is a particularly significant factor in success in a Ph.D. program. Probably, it is the ability to read, analyze, and write quickly that is most important. Also, much depends on your topic of specialization; the more traditional the topic, the more you would have to read, so reading quickly would be an asset. Since I focused on a topic that was not particularly traditional, there were few background texts or even examples for me to examine, so reading speed was not really a factor.

[Rotty1021]

Thanks for your speedy response.

[jscholar]

Hi all,

Just jumping into the fray a bit late I'm afraid. I just finished my MA (completed on a part time basis because of family concerns) and am now in the process of applying for a doctoral program. The desire to obtain this degree is not a light decision. The years spent reading and researching followed by years in Academia are not for everyone. IMO, it's almost an obsession to willingly devote that many of your waking hours to the pursuit of such, knowing that the long-time financial rewards may never equate with the time and money spent obtaining the degree. But, I know that nothing else would ever make me happy....

[anubanu]

doing phd is a good idea till you get a good guide or you're attached to a good university.the point is that what should a person living in a remote area do..........with limited resources.???
i am in final year of m.a english literature.i have not been able to get material for topics in M.A .......think what would happen in phd program.
sindhu which topics have you been teaching?. i have some questions .i'll appreciate if you could answer
1.how to choose optional paper in ugc -net exam.is it that one option is more scoring than the other.

2for ugc net -----should i go in for some postal course like brilliants or not .kindly recommend some books if you can
thanks

[Cafe Rob]

I do like your name: LoveyDovey, are you? I mean LoveyDovey.

[Cassiel240]

I'm a student in English lit struggling toward my MA. Did anyone else find their MA really hard? Part of it is probably that I'm in my first year back in school after 3 years off, but I also feel hugely unguided (my advisor is way too busy and I've only met with him twice all year). It's really frustrating. I don't have trouble with the material itself, so much, but I feel like I'm having to relearn doing research a bit and I never was much exposed to literary theory in my undergraduate so I feel woefully inadequate in that area. Additionally my mother is ill, which means I can't spend as much time at school as I'd like and am doing much of this from home on a part-time basis. Excuses, excuses. Add to this the fact that the scholarly aspects of the program are very irritating to me - I really want to teach, not do research. I enjoy teaching writing and I enjoy discussing literature. In my first two terms I considered forgetting about the MA but now I have the bug.
I guess this has been kind of a rant, so I apologize. But does anybody else relate to this? Anybody have any advice?

[protagonist]

Hi!
I have just participated in this forum.I am an english literature student.I hope we share together all we need

[tudwell]

I'm still in high school, but I plan on majoring in English because I want to be a novelist and at the moment can't think of a more productive (or interesting) degree. No way in hell am I teaching. I guess I look to Cormac McCarthy for inspiration in my apathy (if not full blown revulsion) at having a job (at least a nine to five job). I honestly don't know how I'll make money when I'm older if my writing doesn't get published. And even if they do, that's no guarantee of success. Oh well. It's just money.

[Mazi]

Hi everybody
I am a university student of English Literature and Language in Iran, and therefore a non-native. Anyway, I have devoted the last 4 years of my life to literature (both Persian and English). I've written some articles on comparative literature, some criticisms(2 of them published in Firdawsi department of English Language and Literature) and also a collection of short stories which if god will, will be published in 3 monthes. This is the first time, I am writing here in this site. Hope I find some good friends here to have literary discussions with.
Mazi

[Wilhelm]

I'm a university student in Dutch(native) & English(non-native) literature, in Belgium. Really love it! I would like to take a degree in performing arts too.

[quasimodo1]

To Cassiel240: First of all, enlighten up a bit. I had four and half years of college (Catholic U. and Temple U.) and never graduated but really it only means what you want it to. Get the MA; it is a great thing to do. Then get the PHD; they are not near as hard as they used to be (except for Math, Science, Astronomy, Physics, Medicine and about twelve others. In lit however, you must do something original in that field (but you knew that). How hard can that be...just another twist on literary criticism. You got it made and besides that you are still young. I do rant a little myself. quasimodo1

[early 1960s]

I am an English literature major, living in Norway, though my first language is English. One thing I do to make the study easier and clearer is look up any words I don't understand in a dictionary. There are some advanced learner's distionaries like the one published by Longman publishers, and others. In addition, I get study guides to many of the works I read, from publishers like Cliffnotes, and York Notes. These often have good glossaries to explain unusual words, something which really helps. Speaking of study guides, here is a message I'm putting out in various sections of this site's forum:
I was wondering if you or anyone out there can tell me where to get reputable study guides / glossaries for E.A. Poe's "The man of the Crowd" and Charles Boudelaire's Essay "The Painter of Modern Life" I've gone through cliffnotes, york notes, you name it, and cannot find guides/glossaries for either of these central works (whch I'm studying in a university course on modernism). The Poe work for example has words which I've had a challenge to define precisely. It's easy to find study guides with good glossaries for more well known stories, like "The fall of the House of Usher" or "The Dubliners" but where do you go for the something like "The Man of the Crowd"????

Can you recommend a repudable study guide for Poe's "The Man of the Crowd" and the French poet Boudelaire's essay "The Painter of modern Life" ?? I need good glossaries that define some of the more unusual words used in the Poe story, and possibly in the essay (I have only started reading the essay).
I have been looking in the usual cliff notes etc. Since you have a PhD, maybe you have found some good sources of information regarding this.

[amalia1985]

I am a graduate English Literature student, waiting for my degree. I am from Greece, I've always loved reading, my father studied Theatre. When I was twelve years old, I realised I began to love English, as well, so the result came naturally...

[amanda_isabel]

i'm still in high school and my english teacher asked me to give an introdutcion to world literature. loved reading but that report just made me love literature all the more. even before that, though, i already listed literature as one of the courses i'm interested in taking on my college application forms. english is my mother tongue, by the way