Comp Lit Application Stuff

[i_zarathustra]

Ok, I've actually already submitted all this to UC Berkeley already, but I'm still tweaking it for future submissions this month and next. So anyway, let me know what you guys think!

Comments

[circumfession]

Overall, this is a strong, well-written statement. However, since you're aiming for top programs, I'll be quite hard on you (and perhaps unnecessarily so, but I'd rather err on the side of toughness.)

1. I'd like to see other opinions on this, because I'm not so sure of this advice...but I thought that I'd toss it out there. There's a lot of carefully nuanced observations that will serve you well. However, I feel as though you're not pushing your research proposal far enough...especially for a program like Berkeley Rhet. The idea is interesting--and the very fact that you can frame it in fascinating ways will speak well of you--but I feel as though you're not pushing it as far enough to be provoking. I'm writing this with your second-to-last paragraph in mind.

2. Note on Bulter: you might want to check this, but I believe she is not taking on grad students. She has FAR too many already...but I don't think that mentioning her will hurt you in the app process.

3. At times, your first two paragraphs use more words/sentences than necessary. There's space to cut, if necessary. There's also a bit of style/tone shift between the beginning of the SoP and the end (with your research)--the beginning feels more colloquial.

[circumfession]

continued...

4. I didn't notice this until a second-read-through, so this might not be a major issue. However...I noticed that you did not reference past work at all. While your current research ideas have legs, it might be helpful to show, or at least sketch your past, relevant research to describe that work that has been done already.

***
PS: again, I'm being picky. Forgive the crankiness...it is the end of the term, and I'm blurry-eyed with exhaustion.

"in practically anything that involved Otherness."
This statement made me cringe. I understand that you didn't mean it "that way"...but there it can be (mis?)construed as a certain fetishism of alterity...a certain "any one will do" attitude that I think you might want to avoid. It's not obvious, but possibly latent. Without going into unnecessary detail, there's a certain violence in being drawn to something *because* it is Other. Then again, maybe I'm revealing my own biases here, and your audience might not have the same reaction.