Russian & Slavic 2010-2011

Уважаемые коллеги! Добро пожаловать! The 2010-11 hiring season has arrived. A few guidelines to keep things neat:
1. Please update the Wiki when you learn about new searches, canceled searches, notifications of interviews, campus interviews, and concluded searches/offers.

2. When adding new searches, please list the institution name in alphabetical order. If an institution is conducting more than one search in the field, list the university and the position name in parentheses beside it, creating two separate entries for updates.

3. When updating the status of searches, please give the means by which you learned of the news and also the date, i.e., Interview scheduled (phone), 12/15/10; Search cancelled (word of mouth), January, 2011; Rejection (mail), 3/17/11.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE USING THIS WIKI?


 * 20

HOW MANY PEOPLE:
 * PhD in hand: 10
 * ABD: 10
 * Contemporary: 1
 * 20th century: 6
 * 19th century: 7
 * Pre-19th century: 2
 * Linguistics: 5

Binghamton University --one-year position with possibility of renewal
 * Review begins in early December
 * Acknowledged receipt of application by e-mail, 12/07 X5
 * Interview request for AATSEEL, 12/21. x5
 * How were you contacted? ANSWER: by email.
 * Notified that campus visits will take place in Feb (but I have not been invited for one--has anyone?). email 1/13

University of California, Berkeley - Assistant Professor of Slavic linguistics (Deadline: 11/15/10)
 * scheduling AATSEEL interview by e-mail, 12/8

UCLA - 1-yr position with possibility of renewal, 19th-century preferred


 * Deadline: 12/30/10
 * anybody? anything? allegedly they're interviewing in a few days...
 * an interview request at AATSEEL -- Jan 6. (x3)

University of Chicago - Open rank in Russian literature -- notification that interview will be scheduled at ASEEES (email; 11/2) - x4

-- this job has been on the market for the past 3 or 4 years. Anyone happens to know what might be up this time? Are they really open to a junior appointment or is it more for someone with tenure? The description of the job is the same as last year, though last year it was just for Assistant Prof, this time it's really open rank. Answer: I heard the funding fell through last year. They might prefer a tenured candidate because it’s tough to get tenure there, and then they wouldn’t have to worry about whether the newbie can pull it off. Then again, tenured candidates might refuse an offer if they can get a raise where they are, and this dept. needs to make sure they pick someone who’ll really come. I think anything's possible with this one.

-- Answer: for what it's worth, I know of 3 people who've gotten calls for an interview, and all of them are junior (non-tenured). So they may prefer some young vibrant blood (for all we know).

-- Any post-ASEEES updates? Anyone got callbacks? When they had this search last year, they did it in two stages with two sets of post-conference (ASEEES and ATSEEL) candidates invited to campus interviews. Would be good to know what the approach is this year. -- Answer: follow-up phone interview scheduled (11/29) for later this week -- with one of the Russian lit professors (both were absent in LA). At the ASEEES interview the committee said they were still undecided about whether they would interview again at AATSEEL. So seems like anything's still possible. -- Thanks for the answer! Oh why, oh why does it always seem that Chicago doesn't quite know what they want to do about this search?

--Has anyone gotten any more information about this one?? Are they doing the AATSEEL interviews they had talked about doing??

- They've scheduled some campus visits (heard through the grapevine). --QUESTION: Do you know if those invited are abd, asst., or associate profs? -- A: No ABDs. Three are currently profs, one is a postdoc.

University of Chicago, Assistant Professor of Slavic Linguistics

- The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures of the University of Chicago seeks to fill an entry-level, tenure-track position in Slavic linguistics, with a special interest in diachronic linguistics. The ideal candidate will also have expertise in other historically and/or areally relevant languages and/or language families. Expertise in Baltic languages is a plus. We seek a candidate who will complement and build on our strengths in Slavic and areal linguistics and contribute to the intellectual life of the University in general. Teaching experience and evidence of publications are required.

- Candidates must have the Ph.D. in hand at the time of application.

- Deadline: November 15th

- I am suspicious of this job. It was not - to my knowledge - posted on any of the usual Slavic listservs (e.g. SEELANGS, SLS) and instead posted on the Chronicle of Higher Ed.: http://chronicle.com/jobs/0000651483-01

- I applied for almost the same position 2 years ago and found out in the process that it was intended for an inside candidate. No one was hired at the end of that search (difficulty getting U approval??) and I think they're trying to bring in the same candidate again. BUT, I say apply if you're qualified!!!

- This job was not posted anywhere, and UChicago usually know whom they want to hire before they even advertise for a position. This does look suspiciously like the ad from 2 years ago, but there are differences - they wanted a more broad Indo-European profile last time, this time they want Baltic stuff. I am tempted to apply, but I agree that this looks suspicious. On the other hand, TWO ling jobs in a search year? Amazing.

Colby College -- One year faculty fellow position


 * Deadline: December 1
 * Acknowledged receipt of application with letter. x4
 * Request for interview by phone and email (12/17) x3

Colgate University -- Assistant Professor in Russian Literature, tenure track


 * Deadline: November 10
 * Has anyone heard from them??? I didn't even get an acknowledgment or anything. Its been almost a month now.
 * I have heard nothing. (12/8) x5
 * I am hoping that the mystery will be solved this next week!
 * Received email with new timeline phone and skype interivews in early Jan. (12/15) x4
 * Thanks to the query-ers for eliciting this explanation of the timeline from them!
 * There is a good chance that this is an inside search (or so it appears from the department website anyway...). U of Vermont seems to be the same deal, too. But who really knows...
 * How can you tell from the website? (this is my first year applying so I am very curious)
 * If you look at the list of faculty, they have a long-term visiting assistant professor. That's your inside candidate. - Thanks! Makes sense. I wonder if a department knows whom they are going to hire, why advertise on an informal listserv like SEELANGS and make more people apply and waste their time?
 * Because (a) they may not be 100% sure and (b) because they're required by law to conduct a competitive search.
 * It is now no longer early January, which is what the new timeline had promised us. Has anyone heard anything? Is anyone brave enough to email them and ask?
 * think they stuck to the new timeline. heard through the grapevine that people have been contacted for on-campus interviews for Feb! update: apparently they didn't do prelim interviews- they just contacted candidates directly for on-campus (weird)

Connecticut College-- Two-year position
 * Deadline: December 15
 * any news on this one?
 * acknowledged receipt of application, email, 1/5 (x3)

Dartmouth College -- Assistant Professor in Russian literature, tenure track


 * Acknowledged receipt of application, over e-mail. x6
 * Interview request, was told formal requests were coming, so no one should panic yet. 12/10 x2
 * Formal interview request. 12/10 -- x5
 * How did they contact you? -- (by e-mail, 12/10) x5
 * Is it standard for AATSEEL interviews to be just 30 mins long?
 * Yes - although some committees may take less or more time, 30 is a reasonable expectation.
 * Is anybody who got an interview an ABD? Answer: Yes, I am--x3.
 * Rejection letter received (mail) 12/13. X5

University of Edinburgh (UK) - Princess Dashkova Centre Research Fellow (deadline 11/10/10)
 * Does anyone have any info on this one? They said they wanted someone to start in Jan. Anyone hear of anyone being contacted?

University of Exeter (UK) - 3-Year Associate Research Fellow for "Reconfiguring The Canon Of Twentieth-Century Russian Poetry, 1991-2008" (Deadline: 09/08/10)
 * They have picked someone and announced it on their website.

Indiana U, Bloomington - Open rank in Russian literature

--Acknowledged receipt of application (email 11/04)

--I heard they have been scheduling interviews (grapevine); can anyone confirm?

-- Yes, confirmed.

Indiana U, Bloomington - Visiting Lecturer in Czech


 * Add updates here

University of Kansas - Assistant Professor of Russian literature, 19th century specialization required --Acknowledged receipt of application (email) 11/1
 * 3-year renewable - it's a regular tenure-track job with a 3-rd year review in the middle, which is normal
 * "Review of completed applications begins November 1, 2010 and continues as long as needed to identify a qualified pool"

--Request for writing sample (email) 11/3 x2

Say, to the person whose writing sample was requested, had you applied awhile ago, or was this request pretty much instantaneous? Thanks! Answer: I submitted on 11/1 -x2

Again to the folks who've had writing samples requested (thanks for answering before), do you already have your Ph.D.s in hand, I wonder? Thanks! Answer: nope, I, for one, am ABD. Answer: I also am ABD, have submitted two writing samples to them, and they'll be getting in touch (by phone) with my diss. advisor this week. Answer: I have the PhD. --Okay, thanks for the info. Good luck!

-- Scheduling phone interviews (email) 11/16 -x3

-- Notified that an on campus interview will be scheduled. 12/14 -x2

Kenyon College - Mellon Post-doctoral Fellow in Russian Literature


 * Add updates here

Lewis and Clark College - Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Russian Studies


 * interview request by email (12/27)

Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador - Assistant Professor of Russian language and literature --Acknowledged receipt of application (snail mail) 11/2 x2

--did anybody else get an email ascertaining whether the applicant is a Canadian citizen or not? Is it conceivable for a US citizen to be considered for a Canadian job, or do they really prefer (or must hire) Canadians?

Answer: they do hire Americans all the time in Canada, but Canadian law requires that preference should be given to Canadians, if they have two equal candidates of different nationality, for example, they have to hire the Canadian one, otherwise they have to "explain" to the government that the foreign national was the best fit for the job, which is very common in academia. I do not think nationality would be a decisive issue in their hiring process (I am a Canadian and a graduate of a Canadian institution).

-- can anyone confirm if they have an internal candidate?

-- Isn't this Fred White's old job?

-- I think it is, but they ask for entry-level, aren't they? there is an accomplished postdoc in the department and i think the position might be intended for her, but i do not know really

-- does anyone have any interviews scheduled with them?

-- I've heard they are requesting references (grapevine)

-- Can anyone confirm? References from candidates, or contacting referees directly? -- What I heard - referees

-- I heard that some people have an on campus interview (grapevine)

Oberlin College - Mellon postdoc (Deadline: 1/15)


 * Add updates here

University of Oklahoma - Assistant Professor of Russian (Deadline: 11/20)
 * Acknowledged receipt of application (mail, 11/5). X5
 * AATSEEL interview scheduled (email 12/13) X4

Oxford (http://www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/files/docs/jobs/fp_ul_russian_univ.pdf)
 * Due date: Noon, Friday January 14, 2011 (GMT)

University of Pennsylvania - Lecturer in Foreign Languages; Russian Language Coordinator (Deadline: 11/30)
 * Add updates here
 * Has anyone heard anything? Letter of receipt? Interviews?
 * Request for skype / AATSEEL interviews (email 12/15) x3

University of Pittsburgh - UCIS Postdocs in Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies


 * Add updates here

Princeton University - Slavic, East European & Eurasian Studies Librarian


 * Add updates here

Reed College - Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian -- 1 yr appointment (Deadline: 12/10)
 * Invitation to interview at the MLA (email, 12/20) x6
 * Who knew we would be returning to the ol' Westin Bonaventure so soon...
 * Any clever ideas on how to get there without much hassle/expense from Pasadena?
 * Yes -- share a cab ride with 2 or 3 others who also would like to check out the MLA. Not necessarily even those who are interviewing.
 * It is not too hard to take the metro there. Yellow line from to Union station then red/purple to metro center.
 * Is it really necessary to register at the MLA to interview in a hotel room? Does anyone know? I am a cheapskate!
 * I once gave a paper at the MLA without registering for the conference...So, short answer is no, you don't need to register to just go interview. Its a massive conference, and no one will notice you as you head up to a hotel room. Plus, the interviews are not MLA sponsored and the dept. is not taking MLA space, so I wouldn't waste the money on registering.

University of Southern California - Assistant professor in Russian and/or central or eastern European cinema (Deadline: 11/01)

-- Interview scheduled at ASEEES (phone) 11/10 - Question to the person who got this interview: do you do film exclusively or film as part of something else? (asking because this is perhaps the only straightforward job I've seen posted). Answer: Yes, my primary research area is film, but I am not from film studies department, so I have also done lit and culture

-- Any post-ASEEES updates? Callbacks? No, unfortunately. I met only one other person who did interview there

-- Skype interview held 12/8

Vanderbilt -- Mellon Assistant Professor of Russian, 3 year with possibility of becoming tenure track


 * Deadline: November 10, but they say review will begin on Nov. 15


 * Odd: they want a 19th century specialist, who's ALSO a specialist in "Post-Soviet Studies, Film Studies, Jewish Studies, European Studies or Gender Studies". At least one of those combinations is very strange/unusual.
 * I have heard nothing from them - has anyone heard anything? They asked for a ton of stuff for the application, so I'm just a little peeved to not have gotten so much as an acknowledgement of receipt.
 * Interview request 12/10 x3

University of Vermont, Burlington - Assistant Professor in Russian language, literature, and culture (Deadline: 11/15)
 * 19th century specialist preferred
 * Acknowledged receipt of application (mail; 11/15) x4
 * Rejection letter received, via snail mail 12/08. x4
 * Was it a rejection just of your application? Did they indicate that a candidate had been selected?
 * It was a rejection of the application. I heard through the grapevine about someone getting an interview with them. That person found out about a week before rejection letters came out.
 * No rejection yet, no interview request either. I wonder what that means....
 * Same here - we're probably in a pile of applicants they're not ready to reject but they're not ready to interview either. I end up in that pile a lot. Man, the job market sucks.
 * Sure does but at least you did not get teh rejection letter. You still have hope. First time in years that classes are over and no interviews...
 * My rejection letter said that I had not made it among the semifinalists who were going to be interviewed even though they were impressed with my application (riight...thanks). I've looked at their website and just think that they have an internal candidate, which is why we're all being rejected en masse like this. So the question about whether they've selected someone seems quite valid to me, though its not what we were explicitly told in the letters.
 * agreed re: internal candidate. and I was one of the above posters and got my rejection letter today, so I guess they waited a little while and then decided to reject me after all. ;)
 * I also was one of the above posters and also got my rejection letter 12/10. I predict the internal candidate will get it.
 * Me too! But am frustrated that we had to waste our time on this when its so clear that we never had a chance to begin with.
 * on-campus interviews scheduled (grapevine)

Virginia Tech - Assistant Professor of Russian (Deadline: 10/15)
 * Specialty: 20th century and 21st century


 * They called and asked for an interview by phone 11/05 (Or rather, they called by phone to ask for an interview at ASEEES). x3

Washington & Jefferson College - Visiting Assistant Professor of Modern Languages (Russian as possible language) (Deadline 01/20/11)


 * some candidates have received a request for additional materials (grapevine)
 * I heard (grapevine) that the additional informaiton is proof that candidate will have dissertation done by the fall. (1/9) .... I also heard (from people that received the request who have PhD in hand) that they are asking for writing samples, teaching evals, and letters of rec

William and Mary - Instructor of Russian
 * Add updates here