Undergraduates have for over a decade been questioning the value of B.A. degrees in English. Of late many have been voicing their anxieties about the practicality and marketability of the degree, and record numbers of them have felt compelled to drop the major despite their professed interest in English language and literature. ADE Bulletin (1983)
elbranch's blog
Interview Questions
Submitted by elbranch on Tue, 10/07/2008 - 11:41
I think we should ask the "conversion narrative" question of all groups (faculty, grads, undergrads), because I imagine that the faculty member who wants to study Medieval iterations of sacred texts, for instance, might have a very different answer from the undergrad writing a thesis on comic books. In any case, we could frame the question in terms of a tipping point: no matter how much you "loved literature" or loved to read, what made you decide to pursue it as a major/advanced degree/career?
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