DARIN L. HAMMOND 300 Rigby, Rexburg, ID 83460-4540 • 208.496.1495 • hammondd@byui.edu May 28, 2012

Allen Johnson, Ph.D. Director of Graduate Studies, English Liberal Arts 238 Idaho State University 921 S 8th Ave, Stop 8056 Pocatello, ID 83209-8056

Dear Dr. Johnson:

I am writing to apply for candidacy in the Ph.D. in English and the Teaching of English program. I have spoken with you about the structure of the degree on several occasions at the English Pre-professional Conference here at Brigham Young University-Idaho, and I am excited about this new opportunity at Idaho State University. My years in the M.A. program at ISU were invaluable in preparing me for my responsibilities on the faculty in the English Department at BYU-I, and my educational and teaching experiences have readied me to move on to this terminal degree.

In the M.A. program, I used Bakhtin’s discourse theory to analyze Charles Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition. Chesnutt is the first African American novelist in the canon, and I demonstrated how he captures the voices of the Black citizen’s in Wilmington, North Carolina during the historic race riot (massacre) of 1889. Chesnutt negotiates a space in the novel for the Black voices to speak despite the silencing blanket of the white political and social hierarchy. I also placed the novel within the context of the white novels that dominated in William Dean Howell’s reign over American literature during the period of realism.

Since finishing my M.A. in 2004, I have taught in a full-time, tenure track faculty position at BYU-I. I intend to continue teaching while I complete the Ph.D. program, and my department has expressed a desire to assist me as I complete the course work. I have their full support to back me up as a student, and I also will have the support of my colleagues Paula Soper and Suzette Gee who will begin the program in the fall. I believe this support system will help me to be successful, and I will use the knowledge and skills I gain immediately in my classroom experiences at BYU-I.

In the doctoral program, I will again emphasize American Studies, and I am particularly interested in the contemporary author Cormac McCarthy in the context of the American canon, pieces from the Period of Realism in particular. I see many similarities to these works in McCarthy’s novels, and I would like to juxtapose his writing with the tradition of realistic writing in the American West. This study will shed new light on the historic and literary significance of his work, and I will be able to use what I learn in the classroom at BYU-I.

Another passion I would like to nurture at ISU is composition and rhetoric. After presenting at CCCC in San Francisco this March, I am invigorated by the discipline and the direction research is taking the teaching of writing. In my time as a student and Teaching Assistant at ISU, I found composition and rhetoric a great strength of your program, and I look forward to drawing from the experience of your great faculty.

I also believe that my teaching experience will be an asset to your new Ph.D. program. Your program will rejuvenate and deepen my classroom instruction as I contribute in the classroom on your campus. I look forward to the hard work that lies ahead, and I hope that you can see my value as a candidate. I am enclosing a copy of my C.V. and a statement of purpose as requested. I appreciate your time in reviewing my application and hope to hear from you and the committee soon. Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have at 208.496.1495 or at hammondd@byui.edu.

Sincerely,

Darin L. Hammond Darin L. Hammond English Faculty, BYU-Idaho Enclosures