(no subject)

[anghraine]

I have to (essentially) choose between 17th and 18th cent lit in the next week, and aghhhhhh

The thing is, there are more 17th cent scholars at my university, so choosing a committee is much more straightforward, especially since I like them better than the one 18th cent person. (In fairness, I know the 17th cent people and just met the 18th cent person yesterday, but my impression was 'meh.' And I basically need to make a decision by the 15th, so I don't have a lot of time to get to know them.)

But! I have a lot more background in the 18th, while I've basically read a dozen non-Shakespeare plays and that's more or less it for 17th. I haven't even read Paradise Lost! OTOH I did 18th cent British lit for my MA exit exams (and 19th, but ew, Victorians), so I have read a ... lot more than that for 18th and know it better. But I love them both! But I have to decide on my committee! Eurgh.

Comments

[workday_dreamer]

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[alatefeline]

Aaaaaahhhhh! Tricky!

*hugs offered*

[elperian]

Part of getting your PhD is developing your brand, but it's also about: 1) getting your dissertation done, and 2) getting letters and support from your committee to get a job.

If it's possible to add the 18thc person onto your committee, that could be a good strategy - especially if you can weave any links between 17thc and 18thc work into your writing. The 18thc person will probably have fewer demands on their time so they'll be able to focus more on you. If your department isn't known for 18thc work (i.e. with only one faculty member there for it), that could be more of a battle in the job market, but maybe not. On the other hand, if you brand yourself as an 18thc person, you'll also face less in-cohort competition on the market - your fellow graduating students won't look like good substitutes on paper for you.

If you can do both well, comparative advantage says to go 18thc. Look, I made a table! Everyone Else, for reference, is everyone else in your department :)

[zero_pixel_count]

Completely uninformed and possibly obvious thought:

Things you can change if they turn out to be a hindrance: what you have not read.

Things you cannot change: other people's personalities; whether you find the subject matter sufficiently engaging.