Spanish 2010-2011

Position
ABD, not defending soon:3

ABD, defense date set: 16

ABD, no defense, almost finished: 19

PhD in hand: 21

Visiting Assistant Professor/Adjunct: 24

Assistant Professor: 20

Lecturer: 7

Member of a Search Committee: 6

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
 * Colgate University (12/26) 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 x3
 * 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
 * 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 x4.
 * Denison University (TT Latin American): (12/20) MLA interview, phone contact
 * Columbia University (Latin American –since 1800): (12/20) MLA interview, email contact
 * Aquinas C (Spanish & French): (12/18) MLA interview, email
 * 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 x2
 * 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 x3
 * Transylvania University: (12/16) MLA interview, email contact x4
 * Centre College: (12/15) MLA interview (second hand)
 * Grand Valley State University (Colonial): (12/15) MLA interview, phone call x4
 * 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 x2
 * 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
 * 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?
 * University of Oregon (Applied Linguistics/ Heritage Language Learning): (12/13) Skype interview x2
 * 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 x2
 * 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
 * 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 x3
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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 x2
 * 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 x2
 * 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)

Campus Visits Scheduled

 * George Mason University: (12/22) Campus visit scheduled
 * 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) Campus visit scheduled
 * College of Mount Saint Vincent: (12/20) Campus visit scheduled for Feb.
 * St. Edward's U: (12/17) Campus visit scheduled for January
 * College of Idaho (generalist): 12/17
 * Indiana/Purdue Indianapolis (Spanish Linguistics): 12/9 On campus interview scheduled.
 * Grand VIew University (generalist): (12/9)' On campus interview scheduled.
 * Augustana College: Campus visit scheduled (end of November, second hand)
 * UNC-Chapel Hill (Hispanic Linguistics) [Nov. 25] (previous chatter deleted to prevent clutter)

Word on the Street
'''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 informed about the ebbs and flows of the Spanish academic job market.'''
 * 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.
 * University of Idaho?
 * Mount Holyoke?
 * Loyola U Maryland (Spanish Linguistics)?
 * ¿Alguien tiene la menor idea qué ha pasado/está pasando con este puesto?
 * University of Connecticut? 
 * U of Montreal?
 * U of Zurich? 
 * U North Carolina Charlotte (Translation)?
 * Arizona State (Golden Age)?
 * Baylor?
 * SUNY Oneonta (Spanish Linguistics)?
 * Sonoma State U? 
 * College of the Holy Cross?
 * West Chester U? 
 * St. Michael's? 
 * Western Oregon? Q: Rejections?
 * Mid Tennessee? Conducted phone interviews 12/15/10
 * U of Indianapolis?
 * Lindenwood U? Rejection email 12/10
 * Mississipi State?
 * U. of Notre Dame?
 * College of Saint Elizabeth?
 * Michigan-Ann Arbor? - A. For the position in Afro-Lusophone and Brazilian Studies, e-mail confirmation of receipt of app. materials on 11/08/2010. Since then, dead silence.
 * U. Chicago? Skype interviews held early this month Q. Have campus visits been scheduled?
 * Tulsa? MLA interviews scheduled
 * 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?
 * U. New Mexico Albuquerque (TT Portuguese)? - A. I know second hand that New Mexico has scheduled interviews. - Thanks for the news on U. New Mexico.
 * Any news from Holy Cross? R: contacted by phone for MLA interview on 12/17.
 * Anything on U Wyoming?
 * Mi experiencia con los de Wyoming (en lingüística) no ha sido nada buena: problemas de coordinación/administración. Contactad con el departamento por teléfono si realmente os interesa, en vez de hacerlo por email. ¡Suerte!
 * The Spanish Section Head seems to be a great person. As for any news about interviews--no.
 * Ohio State U? (Linguistics) scheduled skype interview (12/14) x2
 * University of New Hampshire? Rejection email (13/12) x2 (22/12) x3(12/15) x1; a generic pdf rejection letter gives me a sense of how they handled and evaluated my application. Hey, it's better than nothing! R. Indeed... Applied for the position at UNH and have yet to receive either a rejection letter or an interview. I believe that puts me on the back burner, sigh...R2: Make that limbo a x2, any ideas as to what gives? R3: What gives, indeed. Is anyone else stuck in purgatory? Has anyone else received news of an interview? R4. Just got an email to arrange an interview.(12/16) x2. R5: Still mum here. Has anyone else still not heard anything, be it a letter of rejection or to schedule an interview?
 * Any news from U of Chicago (despite the suggestion of a strong candidate already in mind)?
 * Any news from Whittier College? Started scheduling MLA interviews 12/22,
 * 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.
 * NYU: Does anyone know about the open-rank colonialist position? ' 'A: They want an advance assistant professor. There is only one AP in the whole department. They know this is one of the best jobs in the market! (insults redacted) Maybe they are not going to be at MLA and are interested in more advanced candidates?//Q: What happened to the colonialist that was there? A: She changed careers and is dedicating herself to translation and (from what I have heard) became a psychoanalyst. /// Got a letter dated December 21 saying they're still reviewing my materials, and "will be back in touch as the process moves forward." R: They already called and all of them are Senior.
 * NYU Liberal Studies (Latin America): Any news? Additional materials requested? Emails? Calls? Interviews?
 * Ashland University: Email with notice about cancellation of the position (12/6)
 * 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: I have it from good authority that they're looking specifically for a female candidate. Q: Very strange. Any sense why that is? A: Just a guess, but the dept. has a striking gender imbalance (two female professors out of some 10). A: I heard that the female professors have been quitting because of hostile job environment (one or two male professors who made their lives impossible...) A: This may or may not be the case--it's highly difficult to guess why people take the decisions they do--however, I would suggest that widely heterogeneous factors like professional advancement, the two-body problem, the destiny of the UC system, and plain old retirements have definitely played a large role here. R. conozco algo del caso, y creo que fueron razones económicas, básicamente. Irvione es lindo pero carísimo, parece que no puedes "hacer dinero". by the way, las dos profesoras se fueron a la misma universidad, plop! UCI Spanish and Portuguese has a 2 decade history of adverse conditions for female faculty. However, the primary hijos de la gran **** have passed away or moved away, unless any of the now senior faculty hired in the last 10 years have carried on that ugly tradition. R. Sadly, that description more or less fits most of the Spanish departments I know of. R. UCI took it to another level. R. From what I know, the rumor the OP mentions is true. True also that Spanish and Portuguese in Irvine is notorious for being a hostile work environment to women, as some have pointed out. But many questions follow. First, what affects all of us directly: is it legal at all for a department in a public University to look for a specific gender? Second, why should younger male professionals, educated in different times and oftentimes supervised by women in their graduate careers, be the ones to pay for the misdeeds of an earlier generation? Third, how is looking for a female candidate at an assistant professor level supposed to improve conditions for women in that department? In cases like Irvine, it's executive action from the administration what is called for, not cosmetic measures like "look, we're hiring women, too!" (who then flee in horror after 1-2 years if they can, or stay to become embittered and sour).
 * 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!
 * Any news on University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)- 'Assistant, Golden Age. XV)-XIX does not mean Golden Age, actually means more contemporary than GA.
 * Anyone knows about Wheaton College and their religious expectations on professors??? Look here: 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.
 * Any news from Penn State (Spanish Basic Language Program Director)? They have a strong inside candidate. A lecturer?
 * Any news from U of Chicago (Golden Age position)?
 * Not yet. It might be too early though. they have someone in mind (inside info): very advanced assist (5th year)/early assoc. with a book on renaissance/baroque poetry.. Anyone heard anything?
 * 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.
 * Any news on Ithaca College? Rejection email for English Post-Colonial/World Literatures position, Dec 5. How about medieval?
 * Any news on Augsburg College?
 * Any news on California Lutheran University?
 * Any news from Boston University (Spanish Linguistics)? The search got cancelled. CONFIRMED.
 * Any news from Pittsburgh (Spanish Linguistics)?
 * MLA interview already confimed (second hand). Comment: I guess you mean LSA interview, that's what they said in the job ad.
 * So, any confirmation? Interviews in the LSA? These people have moved fast if they already have the interviews settled. Deadline was December 1st and I assume they had many applications, since they were not really specific regarding what they wanted.
 * 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?

Advice (as if anyone knew)
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/

'''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?