I went to go see Karen at the Career Development Office yesterday to talk about doing externships while abroad. She thinks that the Kenyon contacts at The British Library and a Oxford Admissions would be willing to talk with me about visiting them. It would be really amazing to meet with the British Library contact because it would give me an extra something for my internship applications (to the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress) for summer 2011. Karen mentioned that Kenyon has graduates at the Library of Congress but that neither of them are taking externs right now. It’s such a shame that I can’t go meet with them this summer in hopes of getting my face out there before the formal intern application process. She did suggest, however, that I should email them for “tips” on my application—yet another thing that can’t be done until I’m already abroad! I’ve set up so many email reminders on my calendar for next year I’m sure it will explode!

I also met with Professor Davidson for advice on what classes I should take. She agreed that, because I am seriously considering doing honors in English my senior year, I should pursue classes in the time period/subject area that I would like to focus on. Ever since I did a paper for “Victorian Ghosts” with Professor Heidt on the use/methods of murder in The Picture of Dorian Gray I have been turning over the idea of Victorian crime in my head. Ultimately I would love to find an author who wrote pre and post “Jack the Ripper” and compare the crimes in the author’s novels to see the influence of Jack’s murders. I’m already having a tough time finding an author that fits the time period characteristics, let alone one who explores murder and the criminal’s psyche.

Professor Davidson and I also talked about the specific classes I could take and here is what we came up with so far:

2 Classes on Victorian Literature: Imperial Encounters: The Victorians and Their World, and Hardy and the Women Who Did
1 Class that will count for my “Arts” requirement (and will also be the required class outside my major): any American film course
1 Modern literature course (to fulfill my “Post-1900” English major requirement): Beyond Plath or Crime and Modernity

In addition to these I will be taking a year-long Kenyon seminar with Professor McAdams.

There’s already so much to think about and I haven’t even been admitted to the University yet!

More later this week on the internship application search process!

–Alexandra P.