Fear... no, terror

[tiltedsideways]

I'm not sure if this community does introductions, but that's where I'll begin! I'm starting my fourth (and, hopefully, last) year of my Ph.D. in English Literature. I'll have finished all my required coursework by the end of the summer, and I'm scheduled to take my comprehensive exams in the fall. If I can get through those, I get to write my

Comments

[quietphilosophe]

This might be a stupid question, but have you voiced these concerns with anyone on your committee? From the sounds of it, you're just sort of rolling over and letting the nay-sayer call all of the shots for you. Speaking up about it in a non-confrontational but concerned way and trying to come to a compromise could go a long way in helping with the stress.

Even if you could manage to replace just a couple of the unknowns on your list with some writers that you're familiar with, your burden could be lessened significantly.

At any rate, good luck. I'm sorry I don't have better advice for you, but a little bit of discussion could go a long way.

[tiltedsideways]

I am going to speak to him again when he returns from Europe in the fall. I've prepared a new list to propose to him, and hopefully he'll be amenable.

What's really odd about this is that two of the authors I suggested (Graham Greene and George Orwell) were authors that I studied in the course I took with him, but he still didn't think they were canonical enough. I am prepared to argue (tactfully) that the works and authors that are canonical enough for inclusion in my courses should be canonical enough for my exam.

Thanks for your encouragement!

[tiltedsideways]

"It is worth noting that just because a teacher introduces a particular author in class, they may not consider them comp-worthy/canonical."

If they were only discussed briefly, I would agree. But when half the semester is devoted to them?
Graham Greene and George Orwell are hardly obscure! :)

[dreadpirateange]

Get whoever you can on your committee that will let you create your own reading lists out of books you've had contact with these past three years.

At this point, nothing in the world is worth the extra stress. In the end of the day, only you are responsible for your degree and what you know. Sometimes, professors forget that, and want to build you into something you are not, and that only leads to incredible amounts of angst and suffering.

[tiltedsideways]

The thing is, each committee member is responsible for a different area of specialty on the exam. So only this professor will be writing the questions for early 20th century British lit.

I'm going to talk to him as soon as he gets back. If he is not reasonable, I'll have to find someone else. And push my comps back to the spring. :(

[rymenhild]

Oh, Lord. Complete committee turnover, written exams that don't suit your strengths and are based on material you didn't study in classes, and a projected one-year dissertation? I wish you all the luck in the world.

[tiltedsideways]

So is it safe to assume that these expectations are unreasonable? Even if there's not much I can do, it would be nice to know I'm not insane!

[rymenhild]

My honest answer would be that the expectations for the exam are not unreasonable in themselves. My committee members added books that I'd never read (in three years of graduate coursework) to my exam lists within three weeks of the exam.

You do seem to have very bad luck with the exam -- specifically, the switch to committee members you don't know is awful and I'm sorry to hear that.

The expectation that seems unreasonable from this perspective is the expectation that you'll write your dissertation in less than a year, after passing your exams. Have you got any material you intend to put in your dissertation already?