That's kinda of what I'm thinking--my undergraduate and graduate work was, for lack of a better word, cross-disciplinary mostly because I was incredibly interested in ideas of identity construction and performance. As such, I took a philosophy class (Feminist Philosophy), a number of history classes, a number of literature classes, a sociology class, etc. My graduate work, while an MFA, continued in the same vein as I wrote all my lit papers on identity based topics AND my MFA thesis was group of non-fiction essays (largely memoir and travel lit based) examining identity in India. So... interdisciplinary is the way to go I think?
But IMO, since they aren't period tied, you'd remove the reference to period and write about it the way you started - you're interested in the influence of science and technology and identity, and how its represented in fiction/novels. And then elaborate exactly on what that means. Yes, I'd find the professors in the department who have expertise in your area, but given the department's seeming emphasis on "intellectual coherence," you may also want to write about one extra professor whose work isn't exactly like yours but has some sort of interesting intersection or connection to yours, something that hasn't be done before and will give you a new perspective with which to do the work you're interested in.
And yes, I'd highlight special collections and interest in collaborating with other departments to enhance your work.
As someone familiar with the program you're discussing, I recommend still articulating what period you're interested. Just because the department as a whole isn't strictly period organized doesn't mean that students in the program don't phrase their interests that way. Some are definitely more interdisciplinary/theory-oriented, but others do have more traditionally historical interests.
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But IMO, since they aren't period tied, you'd remove the reference to period and write about it the way you started - you're interested in the influence of science and technology and identity, and how its represented in fiction/novels. And then elaborate exactly on what that means. Yes, I'd find the professors in the department who have expertise in your area, but given the department's seeming emphasis on "intellectual coherence," you may also want to write about one extra professor whose work isn't exactly like yours but has some sort of interesting intersection or connection to yours, something that hasn't be done before and will give you a new perspective with which to do the work you're interested in.
And yes, I'd highlight special collections and interest in collaborating with other departments to enhance your work.
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