Guidelines For
The Ph.D. in English at Boston College
Fall 2006 Edition
A Few Words From the Director
Welcome
to the Fall 2006 edition of the guidelines for the Doctoral Program in
English. By offering these guidelines, we mean to collect together materials
- some of which have existed in the program for years - that will assist
students in planning their degree programs. These are not literally the
rules governing our work together; rather, we have tried to assemble descriptive
materials that cover what students have customarily done, what past directors
have expected, how to find resources here at BC and beyond - and, in a
few places, descriptions of the community we try to build here. There is
also a faculty version of these guidelines, which will be distributed to
all graduate faculty. Some of the resources here, and in our web resources,
are under construction, so bear with us as we update them and make changes.
Thanks are due above all to my predecessor Chris
Wilson, who basically wrote these guidelines from scratch, and also to
students and faculty who have offered information, support, and encouragement.
Best wishes and good luck in the program,
Robert Stanton
Contents
Web Resources . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Course Work . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 5
Graduate Colloquium, Pedagogy Seminar, Research Collaboratives.
. . . 6
A General Overview of Goals in Your Program .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Your Teaching Experience .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Advisors and Teaching Mentors .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Negotiating the Language Requirement .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Service and Teaching Prizes .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Going to Academic Conferences .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 11
A Few Guidelines for Doctoral Exams .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Minor Field Examination .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Major Field Examination .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The Dissertation Field Examination .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The Dissertation Prospectus .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The Dissertation Defense .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Dissertation Fellowships .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Just to get you acquainted with some of the resources
we've created for PhD candidates in English, you might want to start by
looking at the different online dimensions of what we do here. They are
in different locations.
1. The
program's Official Web Site, linked to the English
Department's site. This is what most prospective students (and anyone else
who's surfing around) will see. It's under occasional revision; please
feel free to make suggestions.
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/english/graduate/doctoral/students.html
2. The WebCT site
for the doctoral program, which contains previous exam lists, teaching
materials, on line calendars and discussion sites, as well as application
forms and shared readings by program members. It's open to all students
in the PhD program.
3. The Web
Links Page, which connects you to resources here at
BC and beyond: job resources, calls for papers, and clearinghouse pages
right here at BC.
http://www2.bc.edu/~stantoro/phdprogram/links.html
4. The BC Colloquium Web
Site, which houses the joint MA-PhD colloquium series,
at http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/english/graduate/colloquium/
5. The PhD Student
Accomplishments Page, at http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/english/graduate/doctoral/studentnews.html
Please
send any updates (including publications, conferences, or other significant
activity) to Julia Langdon in the English Department (julia.langdon.1@bc.edu).
6. The Graduate
School of Arts and Sciences Web Site
is a great place to find out the "official line" on
policies and procedures for graduate study, and to find out what resources
(financial, instructional, and otherwise) are available to you. In particular,
you should pay attention to GSAS's bi-weekly newsletter, Grad Student
Life, which you can find at http://www.bc.edu/offices/gsc/newsletter.html
7. To
meet the English faculty, go to:
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/english/faculty.html
8. To
contact students currently in our PhD program, you can use
enphdcurrent@listserv.bc.edu
Course Work
PhD candidates in English are required to take a "PhD
Seminar" in each of their first four semesters; these seminars are on a
different topic each semester. The PhD Seminar is a scheduled course like
any other grad course; we do our best not to have
it conflict with other courses or student obligations, but no guarantee
is possible.
Beyond that, students take electives in the graduate
program; these may include independent study courses (called "Readings
and Research" or "R & R's"), and courses at partner institutions
(see "Some Options for Course Work Beyond BC" below). In their third or
fourth year, they participate in the Pedagogy Workshop and enroll in the
Advanced Research Colloquium, which is essentially a professionalization
seminar covering the making of a CV, writing a job letter or a dissertation
prospectus, and placing an article in a scholarly publication. To teach
in our First-Year Writing Seminar, which is required of all students in
the third year of their teaching, you must also take EN 825, Composition
Theory and the Teaching of Writing, which is offered each spring (or show
that you've had a comparable course in your background).
Because some students arrive with MAs and thus an
extensive graduate course background already, the number of additional
courses a student may take varies widely. But a common sequence among many
of our current graduate students is to take four to six courses, overall,
in their first year, and three or four in their second. Typically, in the
second year you will be preparing to take your first minor field exam (required
by the end of the second year), and working as a TA in British Literature
and Culture, and that has tended to thin out second-year course plans a
bit. But again, there's variety here. Students sometimes return to take
courses (i.e., suitable doctoral seminars) in their third and fourth years,
for example (and even audit one in their fifth).
Some Options for Course Work Beyond BC
Boston College is a member of the Boston-Area Consortium
and the Graduate Consortium in Women's Studies (and of the Boston Theological
Institute, though this is rarely relevant for our PhD candidates). These
consortium relationships allow you to take graduate courses at other universities
in the Boston area.
Boston-Area Consortium
Students are eligible to cross-register for one course
per semester at Boston University, Brandeis University or Tufts University.
Here are the links to the English departments at those schools:
Boston University http://www.bu.edu/english/grad-courses.html
Tufts University http://ase.tufts.edu/english/admin/courses.html
Brandeis University http://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/reg-sched/curgrad.php
Graduate Consortium in Women's Studies (GCWS)
at MIT
The GCWS describes itself as "a pioneering effort
by faculty at nine degree-granting institutions in the Boston area and
MIT to advance women's studies scholarship." Faculty and students are drawn
from the following nine member schools: Boston College, Boston University,
Brandeis University, Harvard University, MIT, Northeastern University,
Simmons College, Tufts University, and UMass Boston. Several of our faculty
members (notably Profs Lydenberg, Restuccia, Seshadri, and Kowaleski-Wallace)
have taught in this consortium, and I try to make a point of forwarding
the GCWS course list each semester. There is an application process for
enrolling, so keep your eye on the Web if you"re interested (http://mit.edu/gcws/).
The Graduate Colloquium, Pedagogy Seminar,
and Research Collaboratives
Several events and activities in the program aim
to build community among graduate students at all levels, and the faculty.
The Graduate Colloquium (http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/english/graduate/colloquium/)
is a joint MA-PhD program that sponsors lectures and gatherings
throughout the academic year. This year, the colloquium is expanding its
range: in addition to a "BC Night" on Friday, November
10, the spring will feature a full-blown graduate conference entitled "Another
Way In: The Unseen Influences That Change our Worlds". Normally, we
like to have at least one first year and two second year Ph.D. students
involved in the planning of these events, and in general,
the more volunteers participate, the easier it is for everyone. This is
a great way to get experience with administration, event planning, and
the academic milieu generally. Contact persons for
2006-2007 from the PhD side will be Matt Heitzman (heitzmma@bc.edu)
and Amy Witherbee (witheram@bc.edu).
Secondly, all PhD students are required to participate
in a student-run Pedagogy Seminar in
their third and fourth years of the program (naturally, students in all
years are welcome). The group meets two or three times a semester. Topics
for each workshop are generated by the whole group (past topics have included "Creating
Syllabi & Designing Courses", "Dealing with Troubled and Troubling
Students", and "How to Nurture Great Classroom Discussions"; this year's
topics will include designing research assignments, dealing with academic
integrity issues, and teaching outside BC. The workshops usually last two
hours or so. Traditionally, the first hour is "student only", in which
students share their experiences, challenges, and questions. In the second
hour, the seminar customarily invites a faculty member or two to join the
discussion and share their experiences. Workshop coordinators set the date/time
of meetings, select the topic, invite faculty, reserve a room (with the
help of the department secretary), and purchase snacks (they should save
receipts and turn them in to Dee for reimbursement). Contact persons for
this coming year are Katherine Kellett (kelletka@bc.edu)
and David Tennant (tennanda@bc.edu).
Finally, every spring, students and faculty have
an opportunity to participate in a series of Research Collaboratives organized
and run by students and faculty together. This is funded by GSAS under
the rubric of
"Preparing Future Faculty", and they have been a great success for the past
two years. We are currently securing the funding for Spring 2007, and we
hope that midway through the fall semester you will get a call for proposals.
These collaboratives are simply get-togethers that combine socializing and
coordinated discussion, sharing of common research interests and resources,
and/or common reading in specific research areas. Last
year, groups met to work on drafts of essays together; attended a film in
their professional field; had dinner together following a series of common
readings. We can certainly imagine other formats as well: for
instance, as in our recent PhD workshops, students and faculty might form
a panel to try out forthcoming paper presentations at an upcoming conference.
GSAS's primary concern is that these events combine
socializing and mentoring functions, and that these events prepare students
to become the fully-balanced faculty members we know they will be. In
other words, these meetings are intended to approach the question of professional
training for the field.
A General Overview of Goals in Your Program
It isn't possible, of course, to describe a single "template" for
every student's experience; we pride ourselves on our flexibility. But
it might help to have a brief overview, in graphic form, of a typical (or
at least not atypical!) calendar of how your program might proceed.
Course Work
|
Teaching
|
Exam Plans
|
Other
|
|
Year 1
|
2 PhD Seminars (required),
3-4 electives
|
None
|
Prepare for minor field
exam, first language exam
|
|
Year 2
|
2 PhD Seminars (required),
1-2 electives (including EN 825, Composition Theory and the Teaching
of Writing, if needed)
|
TA for lecture course
(1 semester)
|
Minor field prelim and
exam (required)
|
|
Year 3
|
Maybe 1 seminar in
area of interest
|
1 semester of FWS,
1 semester LitCore or English major courses
|
Major field prelim and
exam
|
Advanced Research Colloquium
(3rd or 4th year), Pedagogy Seminar
|
Year 4
|
Maybe 1 seminar in
area of interest
|
1 semester self-designed
elective, 1 semester FWS, LitCore, or English major
|
Dissertation prelim
and exam, second language exam
|
Advanced Research Colloquium
(3rd or 4th year), Pedagogy Seminar, Dissertation
Prospectus
|
Year 5
|
Dissertation
|
|||
Year 6
|
Dissertation
|
Your Teaching Experience
Doctoral candidates divide their teaching opportunities
over three years in the program. In your second year, normally you serve
as a Teaching Assistant for one semester in a large undergraduate course
taught by one of the faculty. Recently, most TAs have taught sections of
our two semester Introduction to British Literature and Culture sequence;
in that semester, you run a small discussion section and have the opportunity
to deliver a lecture to the large class. TAs meet regularly with the faculty
member running the course to discuss the readings, background materials,
and pedagogical strategies. Similar arrangements are also occasionally
made for other electives (e.g. our American Literary History sequence).
We generally work these arrangements out in the late fall of the previous
academic year, so be sure to talk to the Director about your preferences.
In your third year, you normally teach one semester
of our First Year Writing Seminar, and participate in the FWS workshops,
peer groups, and evaluations. Then, in the other semester, you commonly
teach either in the Literature Core or an introductory course for English
majors: Studies in Poetry or Narrative and Interpretation. For the non-FWS
course, you will be assigned a faculty teaching mentor (see below).
In your fourth year, normally you teach an undergrad
elective of your own design (in consultation with the Chair and the PhD
Director) in one semester, and either Literature Core, FWS, Studies in
Poetry, or Narrative and Interpretation in the other. During this year,
you will not have a formally assigned teaching mentor. Rather, your field
and thesis advisor (and readers) will be encouraged to visit your classes
(and you should invite them yourself as well).
Obviously, there are small variations on these patterns,
and there are teaching opportunities, of course, beyond the fourth year.
We also think it is very worthwhile to expand your teaching experience
to include tutoring (e.g. at BC's Connors Family Learning Center), teaching
in the summer (e.g., in the Opportunities Through Education program), and
teaching at other local institutions in the fifth year and beyond.
Advisors and Teaching Mentors
Every student in the program, at every stage, should
have a designated advisor. If you don"t know who your advisor is, let the
Director know immediately. If you would like to change your advisor, the
same rule applies. In some instances, of course, your work may be jointly
overseen by two faculty advisors rather than just one. But the roles and
functions of these advisors naturally evolve during the course of your
years at BC.
In your first year, you will be assigned an advisor—normally,
someone in your field(s) of expressed interest, but in any event someone
who may serve as a "sounding board" and consultant for your first steps
in our program. The number of times you meet with your advisor can vary
widely. At a minimum, you should check in with your advisor twice each
semester. That advisor can review your course choices, discuss plans for
your first exams, and provide feedback as your program develops. This advisor
is not, in your first years, obligated to serve as your teaching mentor.
The advisor follows your progress and reports to the Director at the end
of the academic year.
Normally, after that, what happens is that you yourself
discover the faculty member who will become your final advisor and dissertation
director. It might well happen when you begin your major field exam; certainly
it will be settled as you begin planning your dissertation. Sometimes this
role is shared by two or three faculty members. In any case, after discussion
with the relevant faculty member(s) who will serve in that capacity, you
should notify the Director as soon as possible. Your advisor has the same
responsibilities as before, but much of his or her work is aimed towards
(a) completing your exam program (b) keeping tabs on your teaching, in
the fourth year and beyond, and (c) working on the dissertation.
Teaching Mentors are worked out in coordination with
that natural evolution, but their assignment is more specifically keyed
to each year of your teaching experience. Mentoring will work in three
phases:
(i) In
your second year, when you serve as a TA, your faculty instructor for that
course will serve as your teaching mentor.
(ii) In
your third year, you will work one semester with the FWS mentoring system,
and in the other semester, you will have an assigned teaching mentor. Generally,
we will work this out in the spring semester of the previous year. I will
be asking you to volunteer names for possible teaching mentors.
(iii) In
your fourth year, you should work on your own to have your thesis or field
advisor, or dissertation committee members visit your classroom. This may
well be more informally worked out than in your earlier years; the main
idea is to have someone (and more than just one person, certainly) who
can say, in a future job letter, that they have seen you in the classroom.
It's up to you, and such a visitor, to work out the number of visits, how
much conversation ensues, and so forth. If you need help here, ask the
PhD Director to help you find someone to visit your classroom.
Negotiating the Language Requirement
Our formal requirement asks for either (a) a reading
knowledge of two foreign languages (that is, languages other than English,
and including classical languages) or (b) a working knowledge and application
of one such language and its literature. There are several different paths
towards completing our language requirement. The ideal outcome, of course,
is that you acquire language skills that will help you most in your teaching
and research. It's very important to consult with your advisor about what
languages you'll need.
If you're following path (a), there are two common
ways for fulfilling the requirement:
(i) You
demonstrate reading ability through successful performance on two translation
examinations in which one or two short texts must be translated adequately
(with use of a dictionary) in two hours. These exams are offered each semester
for both MA and PhD students. Most commonly, these departmental exams are
offered in French, Spanish, German, Latin, Italian, and Greek. Therefore,
completing the language requirement in this way is limited to these languages.
Of course, in this instance, you can use any method you like to prepare
for the exam: tutoring, reviewing your previous work, or taking a class
on your own. If you don't pass this exam, you can take it again on the
next go-around.
(ii) You
can also take one or more of the so-called "reading-intensive" courses
BC's Romance Languages, German, and Classics departments offer in the summer
term. If you complete that course with a "B" or better, you then bring
the final examination to the Director. The Director shows the exam to a
faculty member competent in that language, and if that faculty member agrees,
a "pass" is awarded. Check ahead each spring to see which courses are actually
offered that year.
If you're following path (b), you demonstrate more
extensive knowledge of one language and its literature by writing a graduate-level
critical paper using original texts, or by producing a formal translation
of a literary text or essay previously unavailable in English. Students
commonly do this in one of two ways:
(i) You
arrange with a BC faculty member to discover and translate a previously
unpublished work. The BC faculty member issues the "pass" when the translation
has been completed, and informs the Director. This faculty member can be
from outside the English department, as long as the arrangement is approved
by the Director.
(ii) Students
have also fulfilled the requirement by taking a graduate level course in
translation theory, such as the one occasionally offered by BC's own Maxim
Shrayer.
Some frequently asked questions about the language
requirement:
(i) What
if I have already passed a language examination, for example in an MA
program?
We will accept an exam from another university MA
program if the student gets a letter or transcript sent from that program
attesting to the fact that he or she passed the exam. And we do accept,
of course, our own MA exam (since it's the same exam).
(ii) What
if I want to pursue a language other than the ones commonly offered at
BC?
The best idea here is to follow path (b). We can
try to help you find a faculty member proficient in the language you want
to pursue, and arrange for a literary translation exercise. But here, again,
the endorsement of your advisor will be important, and is contingent on
finding a faculty member who can guide your translation. Where possible,
we need to understand how the language contributes to your professional
development.
(iii) Will
BC pay for summer language courses or courses during the regular academic
year?
BC will not currently pay for summer courses here
or elsewhere. But we can advocate for, and have had some success in, getting
your tuition "waived" for courses offered during the regular year. This
is arranged on a case-by-case basis, so plan ahead. Customarily, this can
happen when (as, say, with Latin in early Modern, or Irish in Irish Studies)
languages are a more integral part of your program of study.
(iv) How
do I find faculty members proficient in a given language to pursue track
(b)?
Both the MA Director and the PhD director try to
keep a running list of faculty who can be helpful in this regard. But your
fellow students are also good resources for discovering arrangements that
have been made in the past.
Service and Teaching Prizes
Doctoral candidates are eligible for the Donald J.
White Teaching Excellence Award, which is given each spring. Currently,
award winners are nominated by the PhD director and the Director of the
First Year Writing seminar, with consultation of each student's advisor
and past or present teaching mentors. We may be moving to modify the application
and nomination process this year to one that includes the prospect of self-nomination.
We'll keep you posted.
In 2004-2005, the Director and Assistant Director
of the PhD program began to give out a "Director's Service Award" to a
student or students who, in their judgment, have made a significant contribution
to the experience and growth of other students in the Program.
Going to Academic Conferences
Before you"re very far along in your Ph.D. program,
it's a good idea to start attending scholarly conferences and delivering
papers there. Talk to your faculty advisors about upcoming opportunities,
and think of your seminar papers as possible topics for conferences. Hopefully,
our Web site will eventually have some links to calls for papers. There
are four main sources of funding:
(i) GSAS
will reimburse students who are presenting at a scholarly conference for
half of their transportation costs, to a maximum of $250. Students attending
(not presenting) may request reimbursement of the conference fee up to
$50. For more information, go to http://gsas.bc.edu/conference.
(ii) Additional
conference funding is available from the Graduate Student Association. The
GSA provides reimbursement up to $100 for travel and related expenses (transportation
not covered above, lodging, meals, conference fees). For more information,
go to http://gsas.bc.edu/conference.
(iii) The
English department will pay $75 for travel to conferences to give a paper,
and can help students who are going to MLA to interview. Dee Speros has
a form for such purposes.
(iv) The
MLA gives out $200 grants for dissertation level students to travel to
the MLA convention. Normally, the deadline for these awards is in the previous
spring; check the MLA website (www.mla.org)
for more information.
A Few Guidelines for Doctoral Examinations
Normally, every exam has what we call a "prelim" or
preliminary meeting, and then the exam at a date agreed upon by the student
and the examining committee. Reading lists for both major and minor
field exams taken in the past, as well as a few standardized reading lists,
are now posted on the PhD program's WebCT site, and are also on file in
a black notebook in the conference room; these are often helpful in imagining
the length of the reading list.
After consultation with his or her advisor, a chosen
faculty member, and the PhD Director, the student selects a topic and a
potential chair for the examining committee. In consultation with that
chair, the student first develops a tentative reading list for the exam
and discusses appropriate committee members with him or her. The chair
can then help the candidate contact the other two members of the exam committee
(if it has not already been done).
Normally, the prelim should be scheduled as soon
as possible after the tentative list has been developed. Its purpose is
to invite all the members of the committee to add or delete works on the
list, and to agree on the general scope of the exam. The prelim is a working
meeting, not an exam; the student is not expected to know the material
or to have a developed approach to it. It may also make sense for the committee
to meet again if the list or approach has been substantially modified.
A reasonable projected date for the exam should be
set during the prelim. Of course, timetables depend on the past experience
of the student. But in recent years, a minor exam has normally been a four-to
six-month project; a major exam normally no more than a ten-month project.
It is up to you and your committee chair to decide how often to meet with
that chair or the other faculty members.
The student should normally meet with all the members
of the committee during exam preparation, though the emphasis of preparation
falls upon work with the committee chair. Regular updates on your preparation
are thus vital. Some students in the past have also registered for a formal
readings and research course in order to prepare for an exam.
About a month or so before the projected exam date,
the student should begin to schedule the actual time and place for the
exam, and confirm the date with all committee members. To schedule a
date, contact our part-time secretary (currently Tracy Downing, downingt@bc.edu),
and let her know the general time frame and the names of the committee
members. Tracy will arrange the time and book the conference room. Summer
dates should be definitely set before the end of the second semester. The
chair or the student should notify the program director of the exam date.
The Minor Field Examination
As English literary studies have changed over the
past decade or so, the definition of a minor exam, its scope and its purposes,
has often varied among individual faculty and PhD candidates themselves.
This is why it is vital that the student's faculty chair for the exam take
a central role in delineating the parameters of the exam. The
following guidelines have been developed in an attempt to set out the range
of possibilities.
Goals and purposes
The minor field exam is akin to a self-designed reading
course which allows the candidate to survey a certain kind or period of
writing, and to develop, in the course of studying for the exam, some approaches
and topics which will give him/her a command of the material. It is useful
to think of the minor exam as (i) the development of an area outside of
the major field in which the candidate will be prepared to teach undergraduate
courses (ii) an opportunity to do intensive work with a limited and well-defined
period and genre.
Defining the Reading List
The reading list begins as a collaborative project
between the candidate and the chair of the exam committee. It should be
determined both by the interests of the candidate and by the direct advice
of the chair: once a candidate has defined an interest, the chair should
contribute those titles that are essential to work in the designated field. The
candidate is not responsible for having a single approach or a thesis idea
before the reading list is established. Shaping
ideas and topics is the work of the study period and the subject of discussion
during the exam itself.
Once the candidate and the chair have worked out
a tentative reading list, the prelim with the whole committee is set. In
this meeting the list is shaped to its final form: some works are added,
others deleted, etc., until there is general agreement on the list. The
length of the list depends, of course, on the kind of material to be studied,
so it is difficult to specify in general terms. Some rough estimates have
circulated: about 20 prose narratives, about 30 dramas, for example. Again,
check the WebCT site for previous examples.
Critical and theoretical works may figure in different
ways on different exams. Generally, it's a good idea for the examining
committee and the student to agree about whether "secondary" or critical
works (and which ones) are "in bounds" for the oral examination as such.
Of course, if they are primary texts on the list, they are
"counted" and subject to direct questioning and analysis during the exam.
If they are set aside as suggested supplementary texts, the candidate is
expected to use them in preparation, and perhaps to bring them up as they
are relevant to the discussion of primary texts, but s/he is not expected
to address those texts themselves. Again, the key thing here is to establish
clarity at the prelim meeting.
Shortly before the exam itself, many candidates submit
to their committees a statement which outlines the main interests or topics
or approaches that they have developed in studying for the exam. Questioning
will be shaped, but not necessarily completely determined, by these outlines.
Kinds of Minor Exams Undertaken in the Past:
The candidate may wish to shape the exam for one
of the following purposes:
Field Exam To survey and learn
the material in a particular field of writing. Emphasis on primary texts,
with a few central secondary works as part of the list.
Teaching exam To consider a
group of primary texts from the point of view of teaching them to undergraduates.
This usually includes the design of a course syllabus, which is used as
a center of discussion during the exam itself.
Theory exam To master and critique
central works of one or more theoretical approaches, and to discuss these
approaches in relation to a body of relevant primary texts.
Possible ways to organize a minor field reading
list
(i) By
literary field:
a) A
collection of important works in a certain genre during a relatively brief
period of history (Renaissance Lyric Poetry; American Realism and Naturalism;
Modernist Novel 1900-1930; Victorian Prose Writers)
b) A
literary movement, group, or culture (20th Century African-American Fiction;
18th Century Women's Writing; Harlem Renaissance; British Social-Problem
Novels; Anglo-Irish Fiction)
c) The
development of a genre or subgenre over a longer period of time (Self-Reflexive
Novel; Epic Poems; American Family Drama)
(ii) By
writer:
a) Single-author
exams (only a few writers may be considered appropriate by chairs or the
director). Would normally involve reading the complete works, along with
the major critical approaches.
b) Focus on 2-4
major writing careers and the connections between or among them.
(iii) By
theoretical approach (Postcolonial Theory and Fiction; Narratology; American
and French Feminisms).
The Exam Itself
Minor field exams usually last about 90 minutes (including
faculty consultation at the end). It is fairly standard (though not required)
for the student to prepare a brief (5-10 min) oral presentation to be given
at the beginning of the exam. This gives you a good measure of control
over the questions that will form the central part of the exam. The questions
during the exam itself are really up to the committee, and they can share
them as they see fit.
The Major Field Examination
The Major Field exam normally covers a broad list
of the major texts and secondary works in the candidate's primary field
of study.
Choosing a Field
Candidates should define an area for this exam that
will be recognizable to others as a coherent field. It will normally include
the area of your dissertation topic and will also in many cases provide
a basis for defining your field of expertise when you apply for jobs. Although
some fields seem standard and easily defined, others, especially in contemporary
areas of study, are constantly changing. In the case of these less stable
fields, candidates might consult the MLA Job List to see how such fields
tend to be defined there. Faculty are an especially important resource
in helping you define a field that makes sense in relation both to your
own interests and also to the wider disciplinary structures of literary
study today.
As with other exams, you should identify a potential
chair who can help you formulate a preliminary reading list and also advise
you on the other two members of the committee. The chair's advice is especially
important in helping you to identify a coherent and manageable field.
Scope of the Exam
The Major Field exam should cover the central primary
and secondary works in the field. Fields should not be defined so broadly
that this coverage becomes impossible. What constitutes such coverage will
be determined by the three members of the committee in consultation with
the candidate at the prelim and in subsequent discussions. Again, it is
difficult to specify a rough number of works to be covered in a major field
exam, since fields vary so widely in shape, scope, and balance of primary
and secondary materials. However, the reading list should usually exceed
the 20 to 30 works included in a minor field exam. In the case of major
field exams, of course, secondary works normally "count" as part of the
material prepared for the examination and candidates may be directly questioned
about them. Major Field exams last for two hours. As in the minor field
exam, candidates often prepare an opening statement of some kind, generally
including a statement that briefly describes the place of a potential dissertation
topic within the field.
The Dissertation Field Examination
The Dissertation Field Exam
This exam explores in a focused way a topical area
in which the dissertation is likely to take place. The basic ideas are
to explore both the primary and secondary texts on your topic; to explore
theoretical concerns related to the topic; and to consult other disciplinary
perspectives on it.
Just as the minor exam implicitly looks ahead to
the major field, the dissertation field exam will often work in tandem
with your major field exam. In particular, the dissertation field exam
should free up the major field exam from the burden of laying out a dissertation
topic. We encourage you to forestall your dissertation focus while you
conduct your major field exam.
At this point, you should make every effort (in consultation
with the PhD director) to include on the dissertation exam committee faculty
members who will serve as readers for the dissertation, especially the
eventual director of the dissertation. Naturally, we recognize that
sabbaticals, leaves of many kinds, and the quite customary changes in intellectual
bearings will not always make this possible. But your program should culminate
with a group of faculty mentors who have, through the exam collaboration,
already contributed to your thinking as you plan your dissertation.
The dissertation exam will be organized in the way
other exams are and will be graded in the usual way: distinction, pass,
fail. Although this exam is not an approval process for any one dissertation
topic, it should lead directly to the dissertation prospectus; in many
cases, students have used the process of the exam to draft a prospectus.
But even if this is the case, the student still needs to submit the prospectus
subsequently through the process described below.
The preparation for the dissertation field exam should
take no longer than that of minor field exam, and certainly not as long
as a major field exam. Understanding the limited scope of the exam's objectives
is one way to keep the time-frame workable. The dissertation field represents
a body of texts, and an approach to those texts, that will necessarily
be expanded and reformulated as the dissertation is written. Students
should realize that a prospectus, as described below, is not intended to
be a fully-fleshed out set of conclusions, nor even a final description
of what the dissertation will look like. Rather, it offers a "prospect." The
prospectus is not a "contract about an argument" (or about a particular
approach) between the faculty committee and the student. Rather, the prospectus
creates an agreement with faculty members to sign on for a plan, your
best professional sense of where you're headed. It would be a mistake to
delay completing the prospectus in order to further polish a document that,
professors themselves all recognize, may quickly look outdated as the dissertation
proceeds.
The Dissertation Prospectus
The dissertation prospectus consists of a brief essay
providing (i) a statement of a proposed topic for the dissertation (ii)
a bibliography. Approval of the prospectus constitutes formal acceptance
of a dissertation topic and the establishment of a committee of readers.
Normally, the prospectus will include:
(i) A
description of the topic, the materials to be covered (e.g. the relevant
authors), and any provisional hypotheses that can be projected.
(ii) A
short summary of the relevant scholarship presently existing on this subject,
summing up the "state of the discussion", if any, and what the contribution
of the proposed dissertation might be.
(iii) Mention
of any unusual primary materials or research collections to be consulted.
(iv) A
brief bibliography which can be referred to in carrying out (ii) above;
annotation is helpful but not mandatory.
Normally, the length for such a prospectus will
not exceed three or four single-spaced pages, including bibliography.
Procedures
The candidate should meet with prospective members
of the dissertation committee (and anyone else whose advice you would like)
to discuss the topic before writing the prospectus. Various readings and
approaches may be discussed at such meetings. The candidate should submit
five copies of the prospectus to his or her advisor. At that time, the
student, advisor and PhD Director will establish a provisional committee
of three readers, one of which is the advisor. Normally, this will be the
same as the committee for the dissertation field exam.
The advisor will confer with the two other readers,
and then the committee will meet with the candidate to discuss the prospectus.
At that time (a) the dissertation topic will be approved, or (b) the prospectus
will be sent back for further revision. As a prospectus reaches approval,
the committee of readers (including the advisor) may be adjusted in accordance
with the student's needs and wishes.
The Dissertation Defense
After the dissertation is complete and has been approved
by all the committee members, a dissertation defense will be scheduled
before graduation. The functions of the defense are:
(i) to
bring to a close the intellectual conversation between the student and
his/her dissertation committee
(ii) to
suggest ways in which the dissertation might be revised in the future,
most usually as a published book
(iii) to
allow the student to share the results of their research with any interested
faculty members, students, and friends
(iv) for
the department to recognize and celebrate the student's achievement over
the course of his or her doctoral degree
The format for the defense is informal, but should
begin with the student giving a brief (10-15 minute) presentation summarizing
the main points of the dissertation and discussing its contribution to
the field. Others attending the defense will then have the chance to ask
questions, make suggestions, and otherwise contribute to the conversation.
All committee members will be present, and the defense will be announced
in the Monday bulletin and open to anyone interested; this might include
other English department faculty, faculty from other departments in related
fields, and the student's friends and colleagues. The student and director
may wish to encourage particular people to come. The defense will be followed
by a reception at which we can celebrate the successful completion of the
dissertation and the degree.
Dissertation Fellowships
During their fifth year in the program (and in years
following), PhD students in English who are well embarked on their dissertation
can apply to GSAS for an additional year of support (a stipend and a waiver
of the Doctoral Continuation fee). GSAS asks each Department to nominate
students it feels are most worthy of this award.
Normally, a faculty subcommittee will be appointed
to review the applications and make one or more nominations to GSAS. The
application form is available on the WebCT site.