Joe, There is of course some silliness involved in any rankings, but these US News rankings are one place to start (with a few surprises in the top spots, like Maryland or Michigan): http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/postbellum-american-literature-rankings http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/antebellum-american-literature-rankings -hb On Thu, Dec 15, 2016 at 12:23 PM, Joseph Csicsila <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hey folks, > > A colleague asked me earlier today what I thought were the best PhD > programs in American literature these days. Any thoughts? > > Are there programs that still specialize in the pre- or post-Civil War > periods? It's been so long since I've thought about these things that the > question kinda caught me off guard. > > Thanks in advance, > Joe Csicsila > -- Prof. Harold K. Bush Professor of English 3800 Lindell Saint Louis University St. Louis, MO 63108 314-977-3616 (w); 314-771-6795 (h) <www.slu.edu/x23809.xml>