tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27325099.post115791261718101207..comments2023-07-14T04:28:49.111-06:00Comments on Now What: TemenosLance Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13659209766706247259noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27325099.post-1159036342191900012006-09-23T12:32:00.000-06:002006-09-23T12:32:00.000-06:00Ok this is Lucy Corin pre-blog-ID. My question on...Ok this is Lucy Corin pre-blog-ID. My question on this topic is what does terminal mean now that there are cw phds and who decides what degrees are terminal anyway? We've got an MA here at Davis and I'm assured by colleagues that it's a terminal degree. But I think we lose out on lots of applicants b/c there is so much confusion about the meaning (let alone meaningfulness) of the various degrees. Job ads in MLA for instance seem not to consider an MA terminal or "as" terminal as MFA. Even though of course there is such variety w.in/ across the programs that I don't see how the degree could give you any sense of a person's education. Does this have to do with what AWP does and doesn't govern? Does AWP govern? Anyone w/ a lot of knowledge espec. backed by sources :) about this pls e-mail me! Yrs, Lucy lcorin@ucdavis.edu <BR/><BR/>PS and slightly more directly related to initial post I'll add that this question re meaning of degree has to do for me only with addressing the stage of thinking a potential applicant might be enduring. Degrees have never had anything to do with writing-- they just have to do with securing a place in the culture for writers. That's my main concern, is keeping this lonely space in existence (and attracting the right people to it) regardless of all my other concerns about cash cows and degree inflation...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27325099.post-1158198898022691602006-09-13T19:54:00.000-06:002006-09-13T19:54:00.000-06:00an occasionally pretty piece of paper and an oppor...<I>an occasionally pretty piece of paper and an opportunity to write and think about writing and clarify one's aesthetics that will, with five bucks, buy you a latte at Starbucks.</I><BR/><BR/>As one who will be applying to MFA programs for next year (and, for what it's worth [not much, I assure you], I hold an MA in Japanese literature + 3/4 of an MA in East Asian Religious Studies, and have quickly gone from teaching English in Japan for two years to running an office for a dept. at a State-run college that has absolutely nothing to do with East Asian studies or with "Literature" whatsoever), I appreciate your perhaps-jaded/certainly-knowing/definitely-true assessment. The "triple crown" is my ultimate goal, though I know it won't get me any of those things listed above (riches? a New York book contract? more like empty pockets and a head full of literary theory/new perspectives on writing [hopefully]...). So, well, thanks for your sharp-tongued reminder (and also to Kass Fleisher for suggesting the importance of the Ph.D.). <BR/><BR/>P.S. Neither the Lance that cut off the Lance who was not yet finished, nor the Lance who was cut off before being finished by the first Lance, is a "moron," Lance! In fact, I'd assert that both really seem to know what they are talking about re: the MFA.<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/>~mAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27325099.post-1158194300132296042006-09-13T18:38:00.000-06:002006-09-13T18:38:00.000-06:00Oh, and (Lance cut Lance off before Lance was fini...Oh, and (Lance cut Lance off before Lance was finished, the moron): prospective students should be made well aware of that last point before entering an MFA program. <BR/><BR/>Most students, I find, dive in with the delusion that MFA programs are somehow gateways to fame, riches, a New York book contract, and a good retirement package, rather than what they really are: an occasionally pretty piece of paper and an opportunity to write and think about writing and clarify one's aesthetics that will, with five bucks, buy you a latte at Starbucks.Lance Olsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13659209766706247259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27325099.post-1158193669706440672006-09-13T18:27:00.000-06:002006-09-13T18:27:00.000-06:00I oversaw the startup of a new MFA in the mid-90s,...I oversaw the startup of a new MFA in the mid-90s, Matt, and my real failure was not to ask faculty to consider the following question beforehand and think with them about it: <BR/><BR/><I>How does our MFA program plan to be substantially different from the 350+ others in the country?</I> <BR/><BR/>My sense is that the last thing we need in the U.S. is another run-of-the-mimetic assembly-line MFA program designed to do little more than bring in some extra cash and "prestige" to a department, but we desperately need a handful that are committed to reconceiving what an MFA is and can be.<BR/><BR/>To pick up on what Kass suggests, I pursued an MFA, MA, and Ph.D., not because they had anything to do in my mind with getting job, but because I really just wanted to roll around in language and literature and thought the way a poodle does in a bigger dog's droppings for a long time. <BR/><BR/>But the triple crown is the only way to go if someone is thinking about the possibility of the possibility of interesting employment in today's ragged market.Lance Olsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13659209766706247259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27325099.post-1158072273738890522006-09-12T08:44:00.000-06:002006-09-12T08:44:00.000-06:00Dear Matthew,I just did this for CU. This being c...Dear Matthew,<BR/>I just did this for CU. This being change from 2 year MA to 3 year MFA. Email me with questions, or mayeb we could have a phone conversation. I hope you are well. Jjdeshellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10284348944284380704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27325099.post-1158021602918816582006-09-11T18:40:00.000-06:002006-09-11T18:40:00.000-06:00ah, that would be this. Nice.ah, that would be <A HREF="http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/creative%5Fwriting/temenos/" REL="nofollow">this</A>. Nice.david raphael israelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com