Spanish 2010-2011

Welcome to the Spanish 2010-2011 wiki page!
FUCK THE SISTEMA, VIVA LA REVOLUCION (x3)

If the ideas we write about were actually carried out in practice many of us would offer to cut these positions in half, give half of our classes, research and service responsibilities, and salary to another equally-qualified colleague with a family to feed. Who needs 80 grand a year when one can live very well off 40?

But most of us are self-centered and ignore the collective benefits we rely on.

Amén!

Unfortunately, many of us acquire more than 100,000 worth of student loans and credit card debt, that we need an $80,000/year salary in order to eventually pay that off. Besides, we are often so old once we finally get the PhD and start to work that we're only going to have a few years before we're forced into retirement.

Offers Extended/Accepted
Whoever is in charge of the webpage, should put this section on top. I think now that most schools have scheduled campus interviews, the Offers Extended/Accepted is of more interes to all. Just a thought!! Thanks!  Position ===
 * Georgia Tech: Offer extended (second hand)
 * Francis Marion University (Golden Age), offer accepted (2/15).
 * George Mason University: Deal made
 * Carnegie Mellon University: Offer made
 * Has someone heard anything from Florida International University (after campus visits)?
 * R: An offer has been made for at least one of their searches. (reliable second hand). Q: Do you know which one? Spanish or Portuguese? Thanks! R: Portuguese
 * College of the Holy Cross: (2/14) Financial opportunity extended. Q: Accepted? A: as of 2/17 Yes.
 * Rider U deal made
 * North Carolina S: (2/10) accepted yum yum
 * Southern Oregon University: (reliable source) (2/7) accepted
 * Macalester College: Offer extended (2/7) Accepted?
 * IUPUI (Spanish Linguistics): (2nd hand) - Accepted?
 * Q.: At what rank (Assistant or Associate professor) did they hire the finalist of this position?
 * A1: Associate Prof rank? How on earth could it be? Regardless of being PhD, the 3 finalists were far from getting tenure! - - - A2: This job was opened for two ranks: Assistant professor or Associate professor. Hence the question: did they hire a fresh PhD (at the rank of Assistant professor) or an advanced scholar, at the rank of Associate professor?
 * Q.: Folks, I understand that it's a page for jobs in Spanish but this year IUPUI also opened a position in French Linguistics? However, no info about this position on French 2010-2011 page. Any information about French position? Did they finalize French search or not?
 * University of Houston (2nd hand) Accepted. Congratulations! Is this for the Mexicanist/Transatlantic job or the Latino Studies position? A: They just hired someone who does Caribbean / Women Studies. A2: They have actually hired a Mexicanist.
 * West Virginia U: Q: Is this the linguistics position? Yes (2nd hand)
 * Middle Tennessee State University: 2/2, offer accepted
 * Middlebury (1-year VAP, Portuguese): 1/26 - Offer accepted.
 * Michigan Tech
 * UNC-Chapel Hill (Ling.)
 * Indiana U (Director of Language Program

ABD, not defending soon:3

ABD, defense date set: 20

ABD, no defense, almost finished: 23

PhD in hand: 24

Postdoc in hand: 1

Visiting Assistant Professor/Adjunct: 28

Assistant Professor: 25

Lecturer: 9

Member of a Search Committee: 6

Leaving academia: 2

Leaving academia if I don't get a job this year: 2

Campus Visits Scheduled
Pssst. There's a "word on the street" section a bit further below for when you want to know if anybody has info on a particular position

Put the MOST RECENT at the TOP

 * Mary Baldwin College (2/16) It is listed below (1/11), so this must be a second round Q: is this the Spanish/Latin@ position? A:Yes
 * Ohio Wesleyan (2/15)
 * Virginia Tech (2/11) [comments have been moved to "word on the street" below] Q: Really????
 * U of Georgia (lecturer) (2/11)
 * Lewis University (2/11) - campus inverviews scheduled early for March
 * University of Northern Iowa (2/11)
 * Aquinas College (2/7, second hand) Q: For the Linguistics or Spanish/French position? 2/09, Linguistics.
 * West Virginia University (February; second hand), Q: Is this the LatAm teaching assist prof position?
 * Buena Vista University (2/3), (reliable second hand)
 * University of Central Arkansas (2/1), (reliable second hand)
 * University of Texas, Austin (2/1) - 2 VAP (Colonial & Peninsular), 6 Campus Visits Scheduled
 * Comm College of Philadelphia (2/1)
 * University of Oklahoma (Cono Sur)-(1/31), Q: Any word on the Linguistics position?
 * Centre College campus visits set up for feb.
 * U of New Hampshire (1/29) x2
 * University of Wisconsin LaCrosse (1/27)
 * Siena College (1/27)x3
 * Ithaca College (1/25)
 * Rhodes (1/27)
 * Emporia State (1/27)
 * Mount Union 
 * Providence C. (second hand). can anyone confirm? Have they contacted all candidates? Thanks Rejection email after MLA interview 2/1/2011
 * UMASS, Golden Age, 2/15
 * Northeastern Illinois University (01/26)
 * University of California, Irvine (second hand)
 * Georgia Tech
 * Columbia (I'm assuming; friend has received a post-MLA reJECtion via email) Confirmed, 2nd hand.
 * Portland State U. (Lat. Am., 2nd hand, solid info).
 * Swarthmore College. (Visiting). When? Can anyone confirm? confirmed (1/17)
 * Dartmouth College (TT Portuguese position) - (1/23)
 * George Washington University (Golden Age) (1/17)
 * Austin Community College (1/21)
 * University of Texas (1/21) VAP 18th-19th
 * Oberlin -- 1/18 First hand. Communication by email.
 * U of Mississippi -- IAP position (second hand)
 * U of Virginia - email 1/17. Q: Which position? Spanish Linguistics
 * Colby College (Modern Peninsular): phone, 1/15
 * Wesleyan (Connecticut) 2nd hand
 * U Idaho: (2nd hand; solid info)
 * University of Richomond: (first hand):
 * Elon University (2nd hand); confirmed
 * Denison U (1/19)
 * Middle TN State (1/28) reliable 2nd hand
 * Hobart and William Smith Colleges (1/18), 2nd hand, (1/17) Q: Is this information confirmed? (1/25).
 * Whittier College 1/18. Is this first round or second? They were interviewing local people outside of MLA during first round. R: Second round
 * University of Wisconsin 1/18 (18th-21st Peninsular Lit and Linguistics) Q: How many in linguistics?
 * Willamette University (Spanish and Film Studies) 1/17
 * Gettysburg College (Linguistics) 1/17 x2
 * Gettysburg College (Latino Lit): Campus visits scheduled.
 * Dartmouth (21st century) (1/14) x2
 * Purchase University 15/1 FLEd / applied linguistics
 * Judson College: campus visits held: 1/7 and 1/14
 * St. Michael's College, (phone) when contacted?
 * Carnegie Mellon (2nd hand, very reliable) x 2
 * U. of Tulsa (2nd hand) Can anyone confirm?
 * College of Holy Cross (Lat-Am/Peninsular Poetry) 1/13
 * Oakland University ( Golden Age 1/13) x2
 * West Virginia (2nd hand) Spanish Linguistics. x2 (phone call 1/12)
 * Mary Baldwin College. (1/11/). They were at the MLA and they also conducted phone interviews.
 * Bard College (1/10) phone call.
 * Wayne State (2nd hand)
 * St. Olaf C (1/12) phone call.
 * Colorado C (1/12) Email
 * Reed (1/12) x2
 * University of Alabama.(Tuscaloosa, Latin America)
 * Bentley University, 2nd hand. Can anyone confirm?
 * Rider University (Golden Age), 1/11. x3
 * Middlebury College (Spanish Linguistics): (1/12) (phone contact) x2 (1/11)
 * Middlebury College (January; second hand)
 * Manhattan College (Spanish Linguistics): (1/11) (phone contact) x2
 * Berkeley MLA 1/7/2011 [is this date/place campus visit was scheduled???] No, el dia que me dijeron que era finalista. [so, the answer is YES ;)] Q: There is only ONE person scheduled for Berkeley and it was scheduled either at the interview or right after? A: No, ya llamaron al resto.
 * University of Houston - MLA 1/7/2011
 * Temple University: Portuguese position. Campus visit scheduled for January.
 * Temple University (Colonial) - Inside candidate. Q: can anyone confirm this?
 * George Mason University: (12/22)
 * Illinois State: (12/22) Campus visit scheduled for January
 * Providence College: Campus visit scheduled (12/4) for Jan. Position: Spanish/ Women's Studies
 * McDaniel College (12/20)
 * Valdosta State (12/20)
 * College of Mount Saint Vincent: (12/20).
 * St. Edward's U: (12/17) Campus visit scheduled for January; They ran 2 searches. Which position was this for? Generalist with emphasis in oral communication.
 * College of Idaho (generalist): 12/17
 * Indiana/Purdue Indianapolis (Spanish Linguistics): 12/9.
 * Grand View University (generalist): (12/9)' .
 * Augustana College: Campus visit scheduled (end of November, second hand)
 * UNC-Chapel Hill (Hispanic Linguistics) [Nov. 25] (previous chatter deleted to prevent clutter)

Interviews Scheduled
Schools with which interviews have been scheduled as well as means - MLA or phone. Remember to mention the DATES. Put the most recent at the top.
 * U. of Indianapolis (2/15): phone contact for Skype interview
 * Ball State University: (2/8) email contact for phone interview. x3 any new information? some of you know if they have an internal candidate? I'd expect they'd have several, because a fair number of those labeled "assistant" professors tend to be visitors.
 * West Chester U: (2/7), email contact for Skype interview. x3
 * Luther College (Span/Ita): 2/4, email contact X 3
 * University of Alabama (Ling): 2/4, email contact x2
 * University of Georgia (2/2): phone interview for lectureship x3
 * Lewis University (2/1): had phone interview today
 * Western Oregon (1/26): phone interview x2
 * Western Michigan University: (1/24): Skype interview, email contact


 * University of Northern Iowa: (1/21): phone interview
 * Duquense University (1/19) Spanish Ling position - after MLA interview, recieved rejection email, 2 campus interviews were scheduled;
 * University of Mississippi: (1/14) email contact. Phone interview Q: Is this for the Instructional Assistant Professor position?
 * Augsburg College: (1/14): email contact. Written interview to be emailed by 1/24.x2
 * Sonoma State U: (1/14) phone interview Q: email or phone contact? e-mail contact, only one person heard from Sonoma? Internal candidate? R. yes.
 * Community College of Philadelphia: (1/13) web cam interview. Someone needs to update their HR job postings site -My application status still says in progress.
 * U of Central Arkansas: (1/12) phone interview
 * Regis U: (1/12) Mail contact to ask for an additional Mission Statement to the short listed candidates. Phone interviews TBA. Has an interview been scheduled yet?
 * Florida Gulf Coast: (1/12)x2 Phone interview, phone contact--Q: has there been any follow-up? Campus interview scheduled?
 * U of Wyoming: (1/12) Phone interview, email contact x2
 * NYU Liberal Studies (Latin America): (1/10) Email requesting more materials and announcing future telephone interview. x3. Phone interview scheduled (1/27).
 * UPenn (Lauder Institute Lecturer): (1/6) Phone interview, email contact
 * Colgate University (12/26) MLA interview, email contact
 * U of Texas, Austin: (12/24) VAP Colonial, MLA interview, email contact
 * Saint Michael's College: (12/22) MLA interview, email contact x2.
 * Whittier College: (12/22) MLA interview, phone contact
 * University of Louisville (Translation/Peninsularist): (12/21) Skype interview scheduled, email contact
 * Cornell U (Lecturer in Spanish): (12/21) MLA interview, email contact x2 Q: Is this the 17th-19th VAP?
 * Florida International U (Lat Am): (12/21) MLA interview, email contact x4
 * Columbia U (Spanish Linguistics / Director of the Language Program): (12/21) skype interview, email contact x3
 * Aquinas C (Spanish Linguistics): (12/20) MLA interview; email contact (x2)
 * Reed College (TT Latin American): (12/20) MLA interview, email contact x4
 * Columbia University (Contemporary Latin American Cultural Studies): (12/20) MLA interview, email contact x6. Interviewed (3 questions only: what is your research, what texts do you use, do you have any questions: then rejected via email).
 * Denison University (TT Latin American): (12/20) MLA interview, phone contact. They will most likely ask you to describe what a normal day looks like when you teach a course, that is, they want you to describe what you do and how you do it. Good luck! Oh, forgot, they will also ask you if you have ever been to Ohio and how you feel about that part of the country. They were nice people.
 * Columbia University (Latin American –since 1800): (12/20) MLA interview, email contact
 * Aquinas C (Spanish & French): (12/18) MLA interview, email x2
 * College of Mount Saint Vincent (Asst. Professor of Spanish): (12/17) Phone interview x2
 * University of Illinois, Springfield: (12/17) MLA interview, email x2
 * Emory U (Spanish Linguistics): (12/17) MLA interview; email contact x4
 * DeSales U (Spanish Applied Linguistics): (12/17) Skype interview; email contact
 * Gettysburg C (Spanish Linguistics): (12/17) MLA interview; phone contact x2
 * College of Holy Cross (Latin American/Peninsular Poetry): (12/17) MLA interview, phone contact x2
 * Swarthmore C (VAP): (12/17) Phone interview in January, email contact x2
 * Wesleyan University: (12/17) MLA interview, email contact x4
 * University of Michigan (17-19c): (12/16) MLA interview, email contact x3
 * Middlebury college (Spanish Linguistics): (12/16) MLA interview, phone contact
 * U of Virginia (Spanish Linguistics): (12/14) MLA interview, email contact x2
 * Buena Vista University (TT Spanish Position): (12/16), phone interview in February x2.
 * Middlebury College (TT Spanish Transnational): (12/16), MLA interview, phone contact x4 Q: Is anyone else still waiting to receive word on the scheduling of their interview for this position? I received a call from the department administrator on 12/16 informing me that I had an interview; she asked for possible times, and then said she would get back to me when the schedule was set, probably by the following Monday. Since then I've heard nothing- I emailed last week but still haven't heard back.
 * Centre College: (12/15) MLA interview (second hand)
 * Grand Valley State University (Colonial): (12/15) MLA interview, phone call x5
 * University of Central Florida (Spanish Linguistics): (12/15), MLA interview, email
 * University of Virginia (Film Studies): (12/15) MLA interview, email contact
 * Hobart and William Smith Colleges: (12/15) MLA interview, email x3
 * University of New Mexico (Portuguese/Latin American): (12/14) phone interview
 * Northeastern Illinois University: (12/14) Phone interview, phone contact x2
 * Florida Int'l (Portuguese): Second hand, interview scheduled. (12/14)
 * Temple U (Portuguese/ Spanish): Second hand, already carried out phone interview (before 12/14) Q: Anyone else get called for an interview? To the person who interviewed: Did they mention anything about further interviews at the MLA? Or is this the position in Golden Age? A: (not the person who posted the original info) I had an interview for the Portuguese/Spanish position- they are not going to MLA and said they would be making decisions on who to invite to campus later in January.
 * Clark (Chair position): (sometime before 12/14) MLA interview (second hand)
 * Middlebury (Portuguese, non-TT): (12/14) MLA interview, email contact x2
 * George Washington University: (12/14) MLA interview, email contact
 * University of Massachussets (Amherst): (12/14) MLA interview, email contact x2, Golden Age phone contact x1
 * Bard: (12/14) MLA interview, email contact x2
 * Siena College: (12/13) Skype interview on January, email contact x4
 * Ohio Wesleyan University (Golden Age): (12/13) MLA interview, email contact x2
 * Cal (aka Berkeley): (12/13) MLA interview, phone contact x3.
 * 1. Caribbean or Mexican?
 * 2. Interviewees won't tell you! But I know there is more than one "internal candidate", all doing Mexican more than anything else.
 * R: Caribbean
 * R: generalist (neither Mexican nor Caribbean)
 * Sounds like they have a few current favorites, but "internal candidates" sounds implausible, especially in the plural. 
 * University of Wisconsin, Madison: (12/13)(Peninsular) MLA interview, email contact x4
 * University of New Hampshire: (12/13) email contact
 * Q. MLA interview or phone? Q. What is your area?
 * Have they scheduled any campus visits? Has the search been canceled?
 * they scheduled campus visits.
 * University of Oregon (Applied Linguistics/ Heritage Language Learning): (12/13) Skype interview x2
 * (12/27) email contact after Skype interview to inform not a finalist
 * Illinois State: (12/13) Phone interview, phone contact x4
 * Wayne State: (12/13) MLA interview, phone contact x4
 * SUNY (Purchase) (Spanish Linguistics): (12/11) Skype interview, phone contact x3
 * U of Wisconsin, Eau Claire (Spanish Linguistics): (12/11) Skype/Phone interview, email contact
 * Mary Baldwin C (12/11): MLA interview
 * Davidson C: (12/11) MLA interview (second hand).
 * Virginia Tech: (12/11) MLA interview, phone contact x5
 * U of Texas at Austin: (XVIII/XIX Peninsular): (12/10) MLA interview, email contact
 * Portland State University (12/10) MLA interview scheduled.
 * Emporia State: (12/9) MLA interview, email contact x2
 * IPFW: (12/9) MLA interview x2
 * Ithaca College (Asst. Prof. of Spanish, Medieval/Golden Age): (12/10) MLA interview, email contact x3
 * University of Wisconsin, Madison (Linguistics): (12/9, email) MLA interview, email contact x5
 * Q: What areas were they looking for?
 * A: dialectology, language variation, sociolinguistics, syntax, or semantics, according to the job description. There are two positions!
 * Q: Yes, but we'd like to know the areas of those who were called for MLA interviews.
 * A: Sociolinguistics.
 * A2: I think that is too much information.
 * A3: dialectology, language variation and change, phonetics
 * A4: Socio
 * West Virginia U (Teaching Asst. Professor position): (12/9) MLA interview, email contact x2
 * U. of Minnesota Duluth: (12/9) Phone interview scheduled
 * Rockhurst University (12/9) MLA interview scheduled
 * Willamette University (12/9) MLA interview scheduled, email contact x3
 * University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (12/9) Skype interview. Phone call.
 * University of Oklahoma: (Lat) MLA Interwiew scheduled (12/9), phone call x4
 * American University (World Literature) MLA (12/9 phone call)
 * Dartmouth College (Spanish 21st Century). MLA (12/8 email) x5
 * Dartmouth College (Portuguese position). MLA (12/8 email) x2
 * Elon University (Spanish Linguistics): (12/8) phone interview; email contact x2
 * University of Evansville (Spanish Linguistics): Phone interview (12/8) x3
 * St. Olaf: (12/8) MLA interview, e-mail contact x4
 * Georgia Tech: (12/8) MLA interview scheduled, email contact
 * University of Richmond: (12/8) MLA interview scheduled, phone/e-mail contact x2
 * Oakland University (Golden Age): (12/8) MLA interview schedule, phone contact x4
 * West Virginia University (Spanish Linguistic s): MLA interview scheduled (12/7 email) x3
 * Rhodes College (Medieval/Golden Age): (12/7) MLA interview, email contact
 * McDaniel: (12/7) phone interview, email contact x4
 * University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) (Spanish and Global Studies): (12/6) Skype interview x4
 * Texas State University San Marcos (Medieval): (12/6) MLA interview, email contact x4
 * University of Oklahoma (Spanish SLA): (12/5) MLA interview x4
 * University of Alabama: (12/4) Phone inverview
 * University of Cincinnati: (12/4) Phone inverview scheduled x3
 * North Carolina State University: (12/4) Skype interview x2
 * Rejection letter following Skype interview, end of December.
 * Colby College: (12/3) MLA interview x4
 * Rider University: (12/3) MLA interview x3
 * Southern Oregon University: (12/3) Phone interview x3
 * Providence College: (12/3) Phone interview scheduled x4
 * Q: Which position (Spanish/ Women's Studies or Caribbean)?
 * Ans. Caribbean. --Thank you. Campus visit for the Spanish/ Women's Studies position scheduled.
 * Michigan Technological University: (12/3) Phone interview x2
 * College of Idaho: (12/3) Phone interview x2
 * George Mason University: (12/3) Skype interview scheduled
 * CUNY-Lehman College (FL Education): (12/3) Phone interview, phone contact
 * CUNY-Lehman College (Spanish Linguistics): (12/2) Phone interview, e-mail contact
 * St. Edward's U: (12/2) Phone interview x2; Was this the lang. and culture position or for the other posting???
 * Duquesne U (Spanish Linguistics): (12/2) MLA interview, e-mail contact
 * Francis Marion University: (12/1) Skype interview x3
 * University of Connecticut (Golden Age): (12/1) Skype interview x2
 * University of Houston (Mexican Literature/Transatlantic Studies): (12/1) MLA interview x3 (1/7/2011)
 * University of California Irvine: (11/3) MLA interview, phone/email contact x3
 * Columbia C (Assist. or Assoc. Prof. & Coord. of the Spanish Program): (11/29) Skype Interview
 * College of Charleston (Assistant Professor of SLA in Spanish): (11/29) MLA Interview
 * College of Charleston (Medieval/Golden Age): (11/23) MLA Interview x3
 * Oberlin: (11/2) MLA Interview, email contact x4
 * Gettysburg College (Latino Lit): (11/23) MLA Interview
 * University of North Florida: (11/23) Phone Interview x2
 * Carnegie Mellon University (Peninsular): (11/23) MLA interview x5
 * IUPUI (Spanish Linguistics): (11/22) Phone interview x3
 * Manhattan C (Assistant Professor of Spanish Linguistics): (11/22) MLA Interview
 * Bentley University: (11/17) MLA interview x3
 * Tulane U: (11/12) Phone interview x2
 * UNC-Pembroke: (11/10) Phone interview
 * Liverpool: Invitations to campus (Nov 25-26) and rejections sent by email on 11/11
 * UNC-Chapel Hill: Videoconference (11/07)

Word on the Street
Word to the wise: be very wary of any rumor that would make you be less prepared at any stage of the job search, from initial application to MLA/phone interview to campus interview.

'''Please attempt to provide more pertinent information and less commentary. We all know the job market sucks, so let's focus on what the wiki does best: provide a space to keep us informed about the ebbs and flows of the Spanish academic job market.'''


 * Any news on Colgate University? Does anyone know how many candidates were invited to campus? Thanks.
 * Anything on UPenn Lat Am (XIX C.)? Isn't that last year's job description? A: claro que si, como el de contemporanea o como el de temple de siglo de oro y como el de barc c. y otros tantos...son puestos que ya tienen a la gente dentro, pero necesitan procesar visados...
 * Any news on Mississippi State University? Thanks. A: I suspect they will hire an inside (visiting prof) candidate.
 * Any news on University of Evansville?
 * Any post-MLA on IPFW?
 * News on Emory U (Spanish Lecturer)? A (2/15): I reached out to the Search Committee asking for an update 2 weeks ago and never got a reply. No one has heard anything? OP: I haven't heard either. . . A: One rumor is that they may hire one of their current/former grad students since the job market is so bad.
 * Virginia Tech (2/11) A: Medieval? In any case, they had 6 searches. Do you know if all candidates have been contacted?Thanks /// Tenían un puesto en latinoamericana también… alguien sabe algo? Gracias. A: yo creo que esto de VTech es mentira, y aun no han contactado a nadie. Es extranno que de seis busquedas solo alguien ponga 2/11. Una cosa es que solo hubiera 1 busqueda, pero de seis y solo un apersona confirma? Fijate que cuando llamaron para la MLA inmediatamente 5 respondieron...no se, esto huele a mentira... A friend of mine got an interview for the Latin American Position. /// An interview or a campus visit???? A: they called for campus visits - at least for some positions, I can't speak for all 6. Q: Was any of these call for Medieval? Thanks /// I thought they were hiring for 3 positions, not 6... Q: la persona contactada hace que area de latinoamericana? Habia un puesto de caribe y otro abierto a cualquier cosa... gracias!. Q Any news on this job? What area of Latin America does your friend do? I believe that there were 3 lines in Spanish, not 6. A: 3 lines, but 6 hires. They are very interested in Cuban candidates. A: They ended up only hiring one person tenure track. Q: What was it in? I thought they had 3 positions for tenure track? Medieval? A: Es el mismo cuento de cada anno con VTech...Ya es el tercer o cuarto anno consecutivo que hacen lo mismo. Imagino que la persona contratada es la visiting que tienen de Toronto, verdad? En fin, buena suerte para quien sea...Q: Any news? So 1 new hire or 3? If one, as reported, in what area? An assistant hired as tenure track?

[Temporary note: all information below has been deleted. It was duplicate information.]
 * Any news on NYU Liberal Studies?
 * Queen's University Belfast: Latin American studies, Assistant Professor (British Lecturer)?
 * College of St. Elizabeth: Novedades? (Is this a confirmation of an interview, or should this go into "Word on the Street"?) Rejection e-mail received 1-18, Have they already conducted a round of interviews, or is this in reference to the first cut (1/18)? Q: Does anyone have any iformation on this position, interviews, other rejections, etc? - Thanks! (1/20). No hay novedades aqui entonces? Has anyone received news other than a rejection for this position? (2/9). En serio, que pasa con este puesto que lleva meses en los anuncios de MLA y nada mas que una "rejection" aca en wothest.?
 * Does anyone know if the Lauder Institute at UPenn is still receiving applications for the Spanish Lecturer position? R: Yes, they are. They are accepting applications and interviewing on a case-by-case basis. - Thanks for your response. Q2: Do you know what their time frame is, or when one might expect to hear from them? R: They're pretty quick. I sent in my materials at the end of December, got an interview in a week or so, and got a rejection email a couple of weeks later. All within a month. FYI, I think they're looking for native speakers, so if that's you, go for it.
 * Any news regarding the Spanish Instructor position at Loyola Chicago?
 * Any news about Princeton University's Latin Americanist position?
 * Any news about Columbia lecturer position (regular, not senior)?
 * U. of Minnesota Duluth? 
 * Any news about Texas State-San Marcos (Medieval)?
 * Any news about U. Chicago?
 * Looks like Hamilton had a SUNY professor to campus this week. (what a mess this page has become, stuff is copied and pasted and bullets are everywhere) OP: And certainly not conforming to the MLA Formatting standards for Academic Wiki's (6th edition of course) OP: Yeah, and people wonder why they don't get jobs?
 * Any news on Norwich University? Application date was 12/15, not heard anything yet. Got email Feb. 11 saying I was a finalist and they would be scheduling phone interviews soon. x2
 * Any news about Francis Marion?
 * Any news about Univerity of Texas El Paso (UTEP) campus interviews?
 * Any post-MLA news from Creighton University?
 * Arizona State University (1/26) Asst Prof Span Ling POSITION CANCELLED.
 * Regis?
 * U Cincinnati? A: Campus visits have been scheduled. Q: Any developments?
 * Bucknell? (Spanish linguistics)
 * Immaculata?
 * Mount Holyoke: Is this in reference to the VAP? Yes. Any word?
 * Valdosta State? R: Campus visits scheduled (TT peninsular) (contacted mid-december)
 * Valdosta State (TT Latin Am)?
 * Air Force Academy (NTT)?
 * Morehouse College?
 * U Tennessee at Chattanooga?
 * Molloy College?
 * UNC_Greensboro? R. Deadline hasn't passed. Seriously, we all know the job market sucks, but some patience is required.
 * Georgia Southwestern State?
 * Wiley College?
 * BMCC...CUNY started the semester today, 31 Jan. Probably they will contact soon?
 * Providence College, post-MLA? Have campus visits been scheduled? A: I had a skype interview back in December for Spanish Ling position...but have not heard anything yet! No news on campus visits?
 * Lindenwood, post MLA? Haven't heard back. (second hand) offer extended and accepted.
 * Any post-MLA news on Middlebury (TT Transnational) post-MLA interviews? x3 - A. Campus visits currently in progress.
 * Any news on IUPUI (Spanish Linguistics)?
 * High Point? R: I think they are still in the process of doing Skype interviews with candidates. Campus visits to follow. OP: Didn't know they had reached Skype interview stage, even. Thanks! Campus visits happening/already completed (2nd hand info). OP: I am doubtful that the visits are complete. I know second hand that there were still interviews with the committee as recently as las week . . .that they are done with visits sounds like rumour to me, but who knows. I was the 2nd hand info; I heard from a colleague that a friend of his had a campus visit a couple of weeks ago, so I extrapolated from that.
 * Any news on College of Charleston (Golden Age) (1/25)? A: It's my understanding (second-hand, from candidate, though a bit iffy) that invitations to campus have been made.
 * Albion College (Latino Studies): Any news? If you get a campus visit here, be careful what you say, the spanish prof is nice, but a conservative mormon
 * Weber State? Was anyone interviewed for this position?
 * Syracuse U? (Latino in Spanish?)
 * Temple U (Golden Age)? inside candidate Q. Can you elaborate on this? A: they hired someone two years ago (golden age specialist) and they are very happy with him.
 * any news on U Wisconsin - La Crosse? heard 2nd hand position was earmarked for someone
 * Any news from University of Central Florida (Spanish Linguistics)?
 * Anything on that Cornell 1 year Early Modern visiting position? Does this still exist or is it the same as the lecturer position mentioned above?
 * Any post- MLA news from Rhodes College (Medieval/Golden Age)? Anything yet here? Anyone heard from them?
 * Any news on Elon University (Spanish linguistics)? Have they already scheduled campus interviews? A: Yes.
 * Any news on California Lutheran University? Know many people who applied and nobody has heard, very strange, have they canceled the job search? R: no news here, but would also love to know. R. Very similar to last year. Search was either cancelled or failed.
 * Wabash College? Heard they had an inside candidate. Don't know about an inside candidate, but they are already having campus visits for the t-t job. Also heard this position was designated for someone already teaching there currently, job description matches this person's diss topic, so seems true. Might be bringing other candidates to appear like they're running a legitimate job search, this unfortunately is not uncommon.
 * University of Connecticut? Visits have been in process for a while now. Not sure if they have made an offer.
 * Univeristy of Richmond: True post-colonial scholars be aware of this position. There are two war fronts: one led by the usual Spaniards and the other by Latin Americanists. They want a post-colonial scholar that does not challenge coloniality of power but rather replicates it. Enjoy the ride!
 * U of Montreal? Has anyone been contacted?
 * U of Zurich? 
 * U North Carolina Charlotte (Translation)? Still nothing?
 * Arizona State (Golden Age)?
 * Baylor? Campus visits scheduled, first-hand.
 * SUNY Oneonta (Spanish Linguistics)? Rejection letter received by e-mail on January 11th.
 * West Chester U? Received an e-mail (1/26) today asking to indicate by 1/28 if you would like your application materials reviewed.
 * Western Oregon? Q: Rejections? No, I am still waiting for any news as well.
 * U. of Notre Dame? A: I'm guessing they are going with an inside candidate (the Visiting Professor who has a number of great publications and is Rolena Adorno's protege).
 * Does anyone know if the Universite de Montreal is going to schedule MLA interviews, despite the heavy implications (below) that they have a Canadian-Franco-phone insider?
 * St. Olaf: Not that I'm callow or new to the ways of the world; I do know that there are bad people everywhere. This is certainly a plausible story. But it seems that whenever a certain profile of Peninsular interview comes up, a set of rumors about the institution/position also tend to pop up. St. Olaf: horrible racists; Colby, Carnegie Mellon: positions canceled; NCSU: vague implications that the committee did not practice due diligence; West Chester will fire you as soon as they hire you, if they hire you; Univ. of Minnesota this year and USC last year: it's Teh Gheys, and so on. Either the 18th century-21st century Peninsularists are all heading into poisoned waters, or there's a good deal of manure being spread. Agreed! ¡Totalmente de acuerdo! x3 Pensad lo que querais, si conocierais bien la academia no seriais tan ingenuos. De ingenuo nada; conozco bastante bien cómo (no) funciona la academia. Más ingenuo sería el que se tragara sin pensárselo dos veces el chismeo que circula en este blog, sin embargo. Btw. West Chester tendra que contratar al candidato que echaron de Mansfield -o sea que seguid pensando lo que querais, pero la realidad es esta que planteamos aqui. Y es bien posible que sea así. De hecho, es el «rumor» más probable, desde mi punto de vista. R. I'm sure that some of the nearly dozen rumors have some validity, but it's rather curious that some of the more ridiculous ones have been about modern peninsular, followed by nasty back and forths. R (original poster): My point exactly. It's not that I believe that academia is a pleasure palace; it's not even that any of these rumors are wrong. It's simply that the preponderance of ridiculous stories about Peninsular positions makes me question the validity of any rumor about any of the Peninsular jobs.
 * University of Minnesota, Twin Cities: Word on the street is that they're actively scouting a gay faculty member Good news is that you probably will be invited to give a job talk rather than a job fuck, so whether you dig the same or the opposite, you can just keep em guessing all the way to an offer ; ). Sigh. I've seen a lot of searches and I must say that I haven't come across one where they seek out a faculty member b/c they are gay. Gotta love the anonymity of the wiki! It's a great medium to let your true bigoted self shine. For some reason this (insane homo-paranoia) happened on last year's wiki too; as you say, the kind of conversations that a committee/dept. would be required to have in order to "scout a gay faculty member" are just unimaginable (or rather, perhaps slightly hilarious to imagine, depending on the dept. but still, it just couldn't happen). Such a search assumes a series of invasive questions have been asked and inquires made into areas of candidate's lives are that inappropriate and illegal. (And also suggests that current faculty have submitted themselves to the same. Presumably, in a such an institution a head-count was made of the faculty in which each member identified their sexuality and it was determined that more gay faculty members were needed? Give me a break!) *Shut up. If I want a gay job I'm willing to do what it takes to get it! Honey, if they had wanted a gay candidate, they could have hired me several years ago! ;-) The U of M is one of the great PC universities, which will cancel a search if they can't find a candidate who fits its agenda. If you don't play hockey, you're dead meat as a white male. Como es diferente la perspectiva! la conocí muy bien, y la U of M me parece todo menos PC, qué chistoso comentario. R: el asunto es que buscan gay y hombre que cumpla cuota, veremos. A quota on how many gays in a dept. and university??? Really? Absolute bollocks. How does the university verify if current faculty/employees are gay? How does the university keep records on this? Maybe they want someone who does queer theory and/or gender studies, but if they wanted that they probably would have had a completely different job ad. These "Oh no! It's Teh Gays" "contributions" to the wiki remind me of a headline from the Onion this past summer: "Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Pave Way for Gay Sex Right on Battlefield, Opponents Fantasize." R. I have a pretty good idea who is talking all this shit. And yes, that's how I know he's gay.
 * Dartmouth College? What are they looking for? It is not very clear for me. Any advice? R. My sense is that they don't really know either; this the recycled form of the search they failed last year. That position was in media studies or something like that (and they interviewed people working with radically different questions and regions). My sense would be to just present yourself well (like always) but I don't think (like almost always) that any calculation can be averred that would guarantee things because what they're looking for, well, they'll know it when they see it, or something like that.
 * UC Irvine: R. Campus already scheduled. Does anyone know when notified and how many candidates?
 * East Carolina U? Letter received 11/25 saying the search committee will select the top 3 candidates from the pool for on-campus interviews. No mention to the MLA at all. (Nov 27) Q. What position? A: TT, not the non-tenure-track. Hang in there!
 * Anyone knows about Wheaton College and their religious expectations on professors??? Read faith statement: http://www.wheaton.edu/welcome/aboutus_community.html).
 * Any news (rejections? phone interviews? other?) from John Hopkins U (Lecturer position)?
 * Any news from SU of New York, Purchase C? Is anyone even exactly sure what they are looking for here? Honestly, I wasn't able to tell from the MLA posting. Anyone have word on them since skype interviews??? A (2/1): No...still no news since the skype interview in December for Spanish Ling position!?! I have no idea what they are lookig for!
 * Any news from Penn State (Spanish Basic Language Program Director)?
 * They have a strong inside candidate.
 * A lecturer? A: Well, this candidate didnt promote, so (s)he might be a lecturer now (BTW, es un secreto a voces....); what I'm wondering is the way in which (s)he will play the cards -specially when it's popularly known that (s)he is in the job market...
 * Any news from the C of the Holy Cross (Position in 19th-21st century Latin American poetry)?
 * Any news from UC Berkeley? I heard some applicants were ask to provide aditional materials. Can somebody confirm this? Confirmed. R: Apparently there is an 'internal' candidate with 'conexiones'. R: Who is this candidate with "conexiones"? R: Alguien borro esto! Es profesor de una universidad top del este? Reporten de nuevo, estoy interesada, me pidieron la disertacion y quiero saber cuan posible es mi chance. R: Han pedido la disertation a muchas personas -es normal en ellos, pero cuando piden la disertacion es solo para comprobar que realmente estais avanzados. El candidato que tienen en mente es de una universidad publica muy prestigiosa del norte del pais (no tan al este, pero casi). R. If it makes you feel better, it seems they asked fewer people for their materials this year than last time around (2008)--nearly everyone I know received such a request in 2008. As far as insiders... "tienen en mente" is a bit of a joke; departments--and Cal in particular--are let's say very "heterogeneous." Perhaps a few members have this person in mind, and perhaps this will give that person a strong advantage, but it's hard to imagine a department having such a strong and singular will. (See also the open-ended nature of the description.) R: De cual universidad? No se me ocurre, den mas pista por favor! R: Que importa de que universidad? Ademas, segun supe la inside candidate con sus conexiones ESTA en Berkeley con un posdoc. R: Rejection email on 12/17 x2 (a really nice rejection, too. I'm impressed.) Q: Did anyone esle not receive a rejection email? Was asked for additional materials but this was last communication.//Q: Why are they conducting a search? Did someone not get tenure or because of a retirement? R. Retirements, scholars moving to other schools, etc. Large undergrad and grad program means they need people. The department is stabilizing and will continue to have searches every 1-2 years (I'm guessing) for the foreseeable future. I point this out b/c there's a lot of gossip about Berkeley. The past couple of searches and searches in the future will be about replacing ppl that have left through natural attrition or retirement. R. Like others have said, you just cannot say that the entire dept. is behind 1 candidate. Any post-doc currently at Berkeley was selected by the university, not the dept. And keep in mind that post-docs at UCB are extremeley competitive, so anybody coming out of UCB w/ a post-doc is going to be sought after by *other* top ranked universities'. Bottom line is if you got an interview, you're still in the game and best wishes to you! Does anyone know how many candidates? R: 4 campus visits scheduled. 1 is a current post-doc. 1 is an advanced Assistan Prof. 2 are abds. Btw, the reason they ask for all writing is because they actually READ potential candidates' research before inviting them to campus. (Crazy, I know... they are actually interested in knowing the work of who they hire...Can you imagine?) I thought that was standard until I went on the market, where 9 of 10 times, its about how well you talk the game. Most of the faculty I know at Berkeley hardly agree with each other about what day it is; it's unlikely they are conniving to give anybody special treatment.
 * Any news on Ithaca College? Rejection email for English Post-Colonial/World Literatures position, Dec 5. How about medieval?
 * Any news from Pittsburgh (Spanish Linguistics)?
 * Q: (2/1) Any further news on this position? I recieved a letter of afirmative action in the mail in early January...but have not heard anything regarding interviews.
 * 2/1 I know several candidates were interviewed at the LSA on Jan 6-7 (I was one). Haven't heard from them since (yet).
 * Does any one know anything about the job ad from Western Michigan University? (Spanish Linguistics) Is this job for real or they have an internal candidate? They have a tiny PhD program and DO NOT believe in academic incest, so an inside candidate is doubtful
 * Portuguese and Spanish, please: I think we should mutually cross-reference each other's pages, especially considering that many positions (prime examples this year include Macalester College and Temple U.) seek candidates who can "double-dip" in Portuguese and Spanish, and/or Latin Americanists who incorporate Brazil.

Advice (as if anyone knew)
Do's and Dont's of Campus Visits:


 * Q: Any advice from successful campus visits? What are some good questions to ask the committee? When is a good time to give them syllabi you prepared for their institution? Thanks!

The popular case of UNC-Chapel Hill (Spanish Linguistics):


 * Q: Has anyone else heard from UNC? Thanks!


 * A1: The internal word is that a guy from Iowa (ABD) got a videoconference interview for this week (11/18). It would be interesting to know how many other applicants received any news from the search commitee)


 * Q: Have they only interviewed 1 person, or is the Iowa guy #2?


 * A1: No clue whether the Iowa ABD was #1 or #10, but the word around was that his interview was scheduled for this week. No other rumor has been spread before, so this may mean something


 * A2: Just FYI, I got a rejection letter from them yesterday (11/23). They must have someone in mind because I had all three of the languages they mentioned in their posting and still didn't get an interview. I know my portfolio does not suck THAT bad.


 * A3: No me cabe la menor duda que tienen a un candidato porque pensaba que mi perfil podría encajar en lo que buscaban (PhD en Lingüística Hispánica Teórica desde el 2009 y, además de investigación aceptable publica en varias revistas y colaboraciones, el plus de bilingüe gallego-portugués de nacimiento) y esta semana he recibido la carta de desestimación. Me río de toda la parafernalia que montan al abrir plazas de profesor en este país cuando al final el sistema es endogámico desde el comienzo. Una vez más intentan vender al público este tipo de proceso de selección para ocultar la falta de profesionalismo e integridad en el mismo. Estoy impaciente por ver el nombre del candidato en la lista de profesorado el año que viene y deseando que sea uno que no se haya doctorado de Iowa, porque, de ser así, tendrían razón los comentarios de arriba, así como otros que he escuchado recientemente por personal del departamento. It gets worse the longer you're in the profession. Apply for an "open rank" position year after year, only to find an enrty-level Asst Prof is always hired. Totalmente de acuerdo. Por lo que he oído y he visto en mi departamento, los trabajos suelen casi siempre ser asignados a candidatos internos o a personas con muy buenos contactos. Esto último es lo que más cuenta.


 * A4: Una cosa que aprendi de un actor cuando lo rechazaban en las audiciones: no están diciendo que seas malo, es solo que no eres el que ellos buscan. Nada más. No significa nada sobre el nivel académico ni las cualidades personales. es una cosa de contextos, en los seis años que he estado en una universidad grande y prestigiosa, he visto 4 searches, y en ninguno de los cuatro eligieron necesariamente al "mejor", sino al que: se acomodaba mejor a la cultura del departamento (lo que diablos sea que el faculty entienda por eso), el quilibrio de poderes, géneros, etnias (vi a un tío buenísimo ser rechazado porque buscaban una mujer, y la mujer era muy buena también, por supuesto). Tampoco quieren problemas entre ellos, eso está claro. De allí a decir que son mediocres aquí, hmmmm, en mi país era igual o peor, creo que la proporcion es la misma en todo lado, un tercio son buenos, un tercio son promedio, y un tercio son del tipo "cómo consiguió trabajo este tipo?". Nada sorprendente, es más una cuestión de suerte.


 * A5: Llevo muchos años enterándome de los que consiguen los puestos y diría que más o menos 40-50% de los casos son casos de endogamía. el campo académico de español es un small world. tener una carta sólida para lo que buscan y cartas de rec de profes famosos son lo que más ayuda, en mi opinión. lo demás (un par de publicaciones, experiencia dando clase...) todos lo tenemos.

I am a Colonial Mexican and Caribbean scholar that just defended a PhD at a "top ten" university and in a top five department (not according to the latest NRC rankings que son risibles). I have applied to a variety of universities. A friend of mine gave me the advice of not putting my publications (variety of journals) for teaching and mid-level big state universities. '''Is that a good advice? I understand that in the past they would worry about scholars leaving after a year or two, but in this climate, would they still go with a lesser candidate for "safety"?'''


 * A: I don't know who your friend is but this is the worst advice I have ever heard. I've been on multiple committees and when we questioned whether someone from an elite university would be interested in our department long-term, it was never because they had too many publications, but rather because they displayed a condescending attitude to our institution.


 * A: I think things are too unpredictable to give an answer one way or the other, and I'm not sure I would go so far as to delete publications from the vita when applying to such institutions. But it can be a problem, for example, if your publication records is seen to rival those of people who will soon be going up for tenure at such institutions. Sometimes, of course, and not always: there are a lot of playa haters out there. So you certainly might find yourself walking a thin line in some cases. At the same time, I'm glad to hear the above poster and her/his comrades only ask such questions when the candidate displays a hostile attitude. In my experience it has been to the contrary--defending my candidacy along such lines at institutions I very much liked. Indeed, the expectation should always be that your application stands as proof that both the institution as well as the place are in some sense attractive to the candidate.


 * Original respondent again: I may have been a bit hyperbolic by saying that was the worst advice ever....I don't doubt that there are insecure senior faculty at lots of institutions and it's definitely good to have that in mind. I just meant that rather than dumbing yourself down, I'd focus on showing interest in their department and the opportunities you see for yourself there. - Muy bien. Gracias por el consejo! At the end, I left the publications on my curriculo.


 * A: I think it would be unwise to leave off pertinent research publications, but I would leave off non-pertinent publications--those just clutter up the cv and are a nuisance for people trying to get to the meat of where you are in your career. Committee members know what their institution requires for you to get tenure, and they want to make a successful hire (someone who will excel and get tenure), so they are evaluating your research in light of that. If you have published more than what you say before coming there, those publications might not count at their institution if they pre-date your job, which may mean that you may not have as much other work as they anticipated for you to publish in time to successfully get tenure there. In essence, you want to have published enough to show that you can succeed at it, but not so much that you won't have enough material in reserve to publish to help your pursuit of tenure. I think mis-representing your research pubs is a bad idea. You can only package yourself so much--you also have to be true to who you are, because they are hiring the real you and you want it to be a good match.

¿Alguien puede aconsejarme un grupo de investigación sobre Teatro del Siglo de Oro (en USA o UK) donde realizar una estancia postdoctoral?

en eeuu el tema de los grupos de investigacion se da poco. quizas deberias pensar mas en una persona concreta. sin embargo, hay un grupo sobre barroco transatlantico en canada. R1. Gracias, pero necesito que sea en EEUU o en UK... Ya he visto que es difícil encontrar grupos, pero necesito saber si hay profesores o investigadores que puedan "acogerme" y a los que mi trabajo pueda interesarles más allá del compromiso con mi director de tesis... R: Suscríbete a este grupo: http://mail.comedias.org/mailman/listinfo/comedias_comedias.org. Una vez que estes suscrito/a, envía un correo electrónico preguntando si alguien te puede dar información sobre lo que deseas hacer en EEUU o en UK. R: Piensa en M. Greer, en Duke, se que ella recibio a algun postdoc en el pasado reciente.

-¡Muchas gracias por ambos consejos! Me he suscrito a la lista y el proyecto de M. Greer parece muy interesante y acorde a mis necesidades. De verdad, gracias.

'''¿Alguien tiene alguna idea de cuántas entrevistas en promedio debe uno tener para sentir que tiene alguna posibilidad en este mercado? Leyendo el Wiki me ha entrado un poco de pánico, pues muchas de las universidades a las que he enviado solicitudes ya han programado entrevistas con otros candidatos. Me preocupa no tener una idea de cuándo sentir que mis oportunidades se agotan o hasta cuándo guardar alguna esperanza. '''

He conocido a gente que tuvo UNA entrevista MLA, UNA visita y UNA oferta. Son casos algo exagerados, pero los hay. Pero más en concreto, si tienes un par de entrevistas que son con escuelas donde hay un buen ajuste (la descripción del puesto, la vibra del departamento) es mucho mejor que tener cinco entrevistas con escuelas donde no o con escuelas que con frecuencia tienen búsquedas fracasadas y eso. R: Gracias por la respuesta. Es mi primera vez en el mercado y no estoy acostumbrada a buscar trabajo en este país. En mi patria las cosas funcionan de una forma muy diferente y a veces hace falta saber un poco de las experiencias de los otros para hacerse una idea!! R. Una cosa más: para estas fechas hace un año no tenía ninguna entrevista MLA (o quizá una) y acabé con unas seis o siete. Sin embargo, algo que sabía de entrada: la mitad eran "posibles" (buen ajuste, etc) y que la otra mitad no iban a contratar a nadie (que es más o menos lo que pasó) o en un caso, a alguien muy, muy distinto. '''R2. De acuerdo con la primera respuesta; parece que en enero también hacen muchas llamadas, como una segunda ola de entrevistas... tenemos que armarnos de paciencia...R3:''' Ojalá sea eso verdad, porque de 28 aplicaciones que he mandado no me han llamado de NINGUNA, y estoy al borde del ataque de ansiedad. Mira, que no consiga trabajo, vale, pero ni siquiera una entrevista? Lo peor es que yo no pensaba que fuera tan mal candidato... tendré que replanteármelo. R3: Animo, hombre. Hay muchos buenos candidatos que no han conseguido nada este año...el mercado lo hace muy difícil. Salen más puestos en la primavera... R4. ¿Sirve de consuelo contarte que mandé 25, tengo un CV bastante bueno, publicaciones, experiencia docente y evaluaciones de la PM, trabajo comunitario EN SERIO, contactos para study abroad, etc. y no me llaman de ninguna? Mi impresión es que cuando alguien es realmente bueno pero no está dentro de lo que buscan, haría muy embarazosa una comparación con "su" candidato. Por eso ni siquiera le llaman a entrevista. Tiene lógica, si lo piensas. Pienso que si me dan una entrevista es porque en verdad tengo oportunidad, pero si solo quieren dos o tres bobos de comparsa para que parezca que eligieron en buena lid a su "tapadito", o sea, el apadrinado de turno, no me van a mandar ni un email de rejection. Y quién sabe si no me están haciendo un favor!!! R3 de nuevo: gracias por el consuelo, pero es que no sé qué le voy a decir a mi "advisor" cuando vuelva de vacaciones y me pregunte "cuántas entrevistas tienes?", y al resto del departamento...! Voy a ser el hazmerreir del año. Estoy por inventarme una entrevista con la Universidad de Don Nobody para evitar los comentarios, no te digo nada. R2 de nuevo: Después de mi mensaje de paciencia, me uno a tu entrevista en University of Don Nobody. Nos tocará replantearnos la idea de ser "buenos candidatos" y dejar de buscarle lógica a un proceso que no la tiene. Tantas expectativas más la presión de nuestros advisors y departamentos se pueden ir al carajo, el sistema no funciona para todo el mundo independientemente de tus calificaciones. La moda académica, las influencias, el tono de la voz, la preferencia por un junior candidate o, a secas, por alguien que cuadre mejor que vos con las necesidades del departamento, entre mil variables que no controlamos, deciden tu trabajo en este clima laboral. Conclusión... a sacudirnos el "qué dirán", el "ego bruise" y a replantear las opciones laborales...

Check this out, great article about US academia: http://chronicle.com/article/The-Big-Lie-About-the-Life-of/63937/

Otro:

http://www.economist.com/node/17723223

y la tragicomedia... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obTNwPJvOI8
 * Yo no me quejo, estos cinco años en el PhD me han dado un sólida formación y una experiencia notable en áreas que yo mismo no imaginaba que serían mi fuerte, y a las que seguramente les deberé mucho de mi futuro, en otro campo laboral y otro país. Hacer el PhD en los EU me enseñó:

-a conducir en highway, con nieve, patinando en hielo o lluvia, o a 40 grados celsius sin aire acondicionado.

-a sacar fotocopias, vamos, es toda una inversión a futuro, una destreza insuperable!

-a llenar una y otra vez la planillas de los taxes, por mí mismo, y ahora, seguramente, me ayudará a llenar la petición de Bancarrota. Eso es casi un minor un International law, com´n!

-a palear nieve, correr de una tormenta, esconderse de un huracán o salir huyendo por la carretera con las cosas ya listas.

-a calcular el peso de una maleta de 23 kg al ojo, o mejor, a puro pulso, de tanto armar y desarmar el equipaje en cada bendito viaje.

en fin Estados Unidos me ha enseñado lo útil que es comprar estúpidas cosas inútiles en los outlets, servirse más comida de la que uno puede comer, digerir esas bombas de grasa del McD. Todo eso me ayudará en el futuro. Lo que no va servir una mierda de mosca es la discusión queer-rizomática-posposde-colonial, psico neurocrítica, Habermás (y habermenos) y otras cosas que ya mismo he empezado a olvidar. japi niu yiar, folks


 * P1:Me alegra saber que no soy la única persona que se preocupa por esto. La verdad yo envié más de 50 solicitudes y esperaba que me llamaran por lo menos a 10 entrevistas. Al final, sólo obtuve 4, pero por sus respuestas siento que no debo sentirme tan decepcionada después de todo. Es que pensaba que las estadísticas debían haber sido más altas para la cantidad de solicitudes enviadas, el dinero y el tiempo invertidos.Igual, había dejado de revisar el Wiki desde el 10 de Diciembre, pues ver cómo muchas de las universidades a las que envié solicitudes empezaban a programar entrevistas con otras personas y no conmigo me transmitió un sentimiento de frustración y desesperanza que no es conveniente en un proceso como este. Ahora sólo espero a ver qué pasará con mi vida este semestre y si no consigo trabajo, será volver a mi patria. Gracias por todas las respuestas y buena suerte a todos.
 * Bueno, tuviste aprox. el 10% de "retorno". Según me han dicho personas de la profesión y también del área de ciencias, es un buen número dadas las condiciones laborales de hoy. Creo que la wiki te puede dar ese sentimiento de frustración, pero también te ayuda a salir del limbo, sabiendo qué lugares ya puedes desechar. Aunque no es fácil la sensación de desesperanza, a mi me dio cierta tranquilidad saber que ya no tenía que esperar nada de algunos lugares. Para mi, estar en el limbo ha sido lo peor de este proceso. Buena suerte!

'''Para los comites de busqueda, que tan importante es que el candidato se ha defendido la tesis antes de presentarse al mercado de trabajo? Y hay una diferencia, segun su perspective, entre un estudiante de cuarto año y un estudiante del quinto?'''

'''Any advice for/thoughts about Skype interviews? I've never done one before.'''

Question: I'm still waiting around for an MLA interview, and haven't made any plans yet. I'm not freaking out quite yet (I see that many of the schools I've applied to haven't contacted anyone yet, according to this wiki), but I'm wondering how long I can/should wait before giving up and assuming that I won't be getting an interview at the MLA. I just don't have the funds to travel to the convention if I don't have an interview, and I think that might be a little depressing anyway! Is anyone else in this situation (or been in this situation in years past), and if so, what would you recommend? I can stay with friends in LA, so I'm not as worried about the hotel, but I don't know how long I can wait before buying a ticket- airline tickets from the East Coast to LA are expensive enough, but I'm worried that I'll pay twice as much if I wait until the week (or days!) before. Ideas?
 * A: you might find this blog post helpful: On Skype Interviews

Answer: Without knowing your field/what schools you're waiting on (which of course you should not divulge), it's a bit harder to say. I have landed interviews this late and, indeed, later. (And the MLA is itself later this year, and my sense is also that the interview invitations got rolling on the late side as well.) The 17th, of course, should be the deadline for schools to schedule interviews, since if you made travel arrangements through the MLA, that is the last day to cancel. You are not in this situation, from what I gather, which makes the 17th less of a deadline. Air travel is a speculative market, so things just might--might--be cheaper later on. Another option is to just keep an eye on the prices and then book when you see a good fare (and try different airport combinations... there a many airports in the LA area aside from LAX). If you buy a ticket and don't end up using it, you can usually cancel it and reuse it (less a fee, usually around $150, I think, but you should be sure to look/ask before buying). Hope this helps and good vibes and good luck.

Relevant Reading/Viewing
Antes de lanzarme por la ventana:

Lo escribiré aquí. Entiendo que para todos es un tiempo muy duro, demasiado estrés, demasiadas presiones. Y entiendo que acaso sería más fácil hallar culpables más corpóreos, digamos, del malestar que nos ataca, no sé, las mediocres universidades, los corruptos comités, las preferencias de género, los lobbies de nacionalidades, ja, lo que sea. Pero comparto mi verdad de estas cosas: es el mercado el que se ha reducido trágicamente, son puestos que han desparecido los tres últimos años y que no volverán, como las golondrinas de Bécquer, perdonen la tontería. Es ese el verdadero, inatrapable, enemigo. Estamos como las ratas obligadas a pelear su espacio en los experimentos, y eso genera todo tipo de fricciones. No voy a dar un mensaje pacifista y estupideces por el estilo, porque soy muy materialista para estas cosas: se trata simplemente de un capítulo más de la lucha de clases, de la lucha en el campo, o como quieran llamarla. Y es una ley natural. Estoy convencido de que yo podría hacer un buen trabajo en la gran mayoría de universidades a las que postulé, pero también estoy convencido de que comprender lo que cada universidad quiere, o cree querer, es para mí absolutamente misterioso. Muchas veces los programas son muy díscolos en sus búsquedas, y es cierto, muy disfuncionales en su estructura interna. No me arrepiento de haber hecho este PhD, pero me exijo ser muy realista: las cosas ya no son lo que eran antes, los puestos no volverán y las cosas irán iguales o peores en lo que viene. No tienen toda la culpa las universidades que nos formaron, pero sí tienen una que afrontar: aumentaron la oferta de Doctorados de una forma alarmante los últimos diez años, de una forma que no era consistente con el mercado de trabajo, y que de varias formas recuerda el asunto de las hipotecas basura. Así es cuando el mercado gobierna. Ni modo. Sé que mi trabajo es importante, que lo que escriba o enseñe en adelante será siempre importante, pero ya abandoné la idea de sufrir por no conseguir la entrevista o el puesto soñados. Tengo familia que alimentar, no puedo darme el lujo de deprimirme porque así va el mundo.

La mejor de las suertes a todos, a todos, en esta tómbola todos tenemos un solo numerito. Suerte.

"Little anónimo" writes: Sí, tienes razón, muchos trabajos "tenure-track" se perderán y serán reemplazados por puestos de adjuntos, "lecturers" a tiempo completo o parcial, o quién sabe qué nueva terminología vendrá en los próximos años. Es una putada con todas las de ley, sobre todo cuando un0 piensa que muchos de los que somos candidatos seguro que tenemos ya un currículo igual (o hasta mejor) que los profesores que nos juzgan y que serán ya Associate o estarán a punto de serlo. Y eso de que sin libro no hay tenure... ejem. Conozco a más de un Associate que se quedó con el puesto permanente sin libro pero, ya se sabe, en la época de vacas gordas con chapurrerar español te daban un trabajo con la condición de que defendieras al subalterno y citaras a Lacan y Foucault. Pues nada, a joderse. ¿Alguien propone algo para el MLA?

-> Estoy totalmente de acuerdo con Little anonimo. He asistido a charlas y congresos de profesores, tanto tenured como assistant, de universidades prestigiosas y estatales en los ultimos años que, muy francamente, dan verguenza - no todas, cabe señalar. Y aqui estamos nosotros una generacion perdida. Perdida, porque se la van a perder, je

- De acuerdo tambien completamente. Pero me pregunto porque dejais a algunos full professor fuera. De esos tambien los hay, y unos cuantos. Y eso no significa que todos los de nuestra generacion seamos buenos tampoco. Pero ni entre ni mucho ni poco...Hay que joderse, amigos, no nos queda otra.

- "Little Anónimo" replies: pues sí, amigos, esto es lo que hay. Lo que sí me gustaría ver es a la gente que consiguió la "tenure" (¿el "tenure"? who cares) dar un poco la cara por los que venimos detrás. Te dan la palmadita en el hombro y te sueltan el rollo de "uff, qué mal están las cosas" pero a ti te dan ganas de decirles algo así como "pues mira, majete, en el próximo consejo de departamento, a ver si hacéis que la plaza del carcamal que se acaba de jubilar siga existiendo como "tenure-track" en lugar de disolverse en el "thin air", como dicen por aquí". ¿A quién interesa ese número creciente de adjuntos? ¿Cuánto dinero se ahorran los departamentos al no dar pasta para la investigación de adjuntos y "lecturers", incluso asistentes visitantes, mientras las vacas sagradas disfrutan de sábaticos para seguir engordando la industria Almodóvar ("don't you really know about other Spanish directors, darling?") en el mejor de los casos y, en el peor de ellos, jugar a "hacer teoría" cuando no es todo más que hacer seguidismo de lo que hacen los departamentos de Inglés con cinco o diez años de retraso. Como digo, nuestra miseria es lo que asegura el bienestar de otros.

- "Tocomadera" replies: Little anónimo, estoy totalmente de acuerdo con tus comentarios acerca de la "industria Almodóvar" y de las vacas sagradas que la apuntalan. También creo que hay que hacer todo lo posible por conservar las plazas de "tenure-track" tras la jubilación o muerte de algún colega (no todos son "carcamales" y me resisto a creer que en treinta años nos convertiremos irremediablemente en eso). Te puedo asegurar que los nuevos profesores (asistentes), e incluso los que ya han alcanzado la permanencia (asociados y titulares), podemos defender la necesidad de conservar esos puestos, sin embargo, son "los otros" (los administradores) quienes parten el bacalao. Así las cosas, secundo la idea del "non-cash bar".

-- ''In my experience, professors fight tenaciously for TT lines, but it's the University Administrators who resist and go for the easy money (adjuncts, lecturers). At the department level, they know that long-term they bring in more money, have better retention rates, higher enrollment and a more dedicated faculty when instructors are on TT. Not that lecturers and VAP aren't dedicated, but c'mon... And I say this as a dedicated non-TT prof passionate about teaching and scholarship: I don't go the extra mile b/c I have to publish and focus on the classes that will strengthen my cv.''

- Viernes o sábado noche podría estar bien. Podríamos quedar en la puerta de un hotel oficial o quedar en algún lugar de la zona.

'''Lo dicho! Hey, hagamos un non cash bar o lo que sea en L:A: quién se apunta?'''

- "Little Anónimo": ¿sería en un hotel o en un bar cualquiera? ¿Ideas?

- Mid-career Assistant: apoyo la quedada, pero sugiero que tenga lugar a la hora del almuerzo en domingo. Todos habremos terminado las entrevistas y para quienes sea su primer año en el mercado académico les puede servir de "debriefing".