Early American 2010

Page last updated: 12/15/09, 11:30 AM ET

''As a courtesy, please change the above date and time so that people can quickly see when this page has last been edited. Thank you!''

Demographics:
ABD (early):

ABD (will finish this academic year): 11

Ph.D. in hand (one-year, VAP, Lecturer): 13

Assistant Professor: 8

Associate Professor:

Full Professor:

Lurker: 2

Total: 32

MLA interviews Scheduled:
Baylor University

Boston University

Columbia University

Florida Atlantic University

Franklin and Marshall College

Georgia College and State University

Hendrix College

Marshall University

Ohio State University

Simpson College

Trinity University (San Antonio) 

UMass Dartmouth

Union College

University of Rochester

Wayne State U

Baylor U
Deadline: 11/1

Acknowledgment received: 10/26; 11/2; 11/4; 11/7

request for dossier (by e-mail): 11/12; 11/15; 11/23

MLA interview scheduled: Via e-mail (12/9) x3

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Notes and Questions
"personal data sheet" received and asked to identify church membership and religious affiliation 10/26; 11/2 (x2); 11/4; 11/1; 11/10 11/14

''Question: Anyone have any sense as to whether this "personal data sheet" is required? Or can it be treated similar to an affirmative action request, preferred, but not required?''

Looks like it's required to me, although I'm not clear on whether it's to be used in making initial dossier request decisions or just in making interview decisions. Incidentally, anyone receive a dossier request?

I too inferred that it is required. Since they are sending it now, as opposed to along with dossier requests, I would assume that is going to be an aid in making dossier request decisions. However, I think it is also a way for them to say very explicitly early in the process that they are serious about the school's religious mission and that if you are uncomfortable with it, then this might not be the job for you. That's how I take it, at least.

I also believe that the request for "personal data" is required, for the reasons given by the post above; and I've not yet been asked for a dossier, though I've noticed that someone on the 20/21c. Americanist page has been contacted (11/08). Good luck to all--and quote scripture, if you must.

I think what I am "uncomfortable" about is less the religious mission and instead how personal the question is. I don't even talk about my spirituality with my friends, why would I share this with complete strangers.

I'm not sure if this will help people make the decision to fill these forms out or not, but I came across this article when researching Baylor: it discusses the high number of tenure denials (candidates were often advanced by their departments and then declined at levels higher up in part because tenure requirements had been changed multiple times without alerting faculty to those changes) and how these denial maybe a part of the school's attempts to refocus its identity to be more Christian, while maintaining its research focus. [] -- important to note that this tenure debacle, IHE states that of the 9 women up for review, 6 were rejected.

I'm a tenured faculty member in English at Baylor and to answer your questions above, yes, we are serious about the school's Judeo-Christian mission and the personal data sheet is required if you're a serious candidate. As for the previous poster's information about past tenure denials, I am happy to report that nearly all of those denials were reversed on appeal and that the president who originally denied them is no longer with us.

Fair enough. Thank you for your candor.

After giving a job talk there a few years ago, a friend had obtained a verbal agreement from English of a job at Baylor ago, only to have the President step in to rescind the offer on the basis of answers on the personal data sheet (involving religion & politics) to which the President objected. Hopefully this is the President who is gone. So I would take those data sheets very seriously if you're interested in this institution. It sounds horrible, but a job's a job.

Of course Baylor is serious about their religious mission --- DUHHHH! why is this such a mystery, and ir you are uncomfortable discussing your spirituality with your friends, then why would you seek a job at a confessional, Baptist university? Hmmmmm??

The more interesting question is why you would post such mean-spirited comments, especially now that interviews have been scheduled. But then, no, it's not really that interesting--save your confession and other vituperations for those of your ilk.

Boston U
Deadline: 10/30

Acknowledgment received: by mail 11/14 (x5)'' I found the wording a little confusing. . ? Anyone else? ''(x2)

My letter listed the position as "modern Early American Literature" rather than "19th-C"(???).

Dossier request by email (11/16) (11/17) (x3)

Rejection letter by U.S. mail (11/21) (x2) 11/27 (x2) (12/20)

MLA interview scheduled: MLA interview scheduled by telephone (12/11) (x5)

Q: Would the interviewees mind sharing whether they are ABD, Ph.D. in hand and/or working in academia already?

A: PhD in hand, working as Lecturer in Academia (x2)

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Notes and Questions
Anyone have insight on this job? I'm not sure of the search for EITHER a 19th-century Americanist OR a specialist in American drama/film.

They've canceled the American drama/film component of this search, narrowing it solely to 19thC American literature. http://www.bu.edu/english/DeptJobListing.html

I find it surprising that this converted solely to 19th-century American and dropped the drama portion. They seem to have decent faculty representation in 19th century, especially fiction. I wonder if they are looking for a poetry specialist.

I doubt it. It seems pretty clear that they want someone in hemispheric or ethnic studies; there's also always a chance they're anticipating a faculty departure (though that seems less likely).

Actually, it's now clear that they want someone in "modern Early American literature." Had I known, I would have written a different letter.

umm, what is "modern early american"?

A. Before the interview, you should acquaint yourself with R. T. Firefly's (Inter)Ventions in Modern Early American Literature (SUNY-Fredonia). It is the most important work in this emergent/residual field. --Also see Margaret Dumont's "Pimpin' Hobomok."

Hilarious. Anyway, I'm regular old 19th century American lit and got a request for more materials. And I don't read Spanish.

It gets better: I got a letter today saying that they have received my application for the position in "modern British Romaniticism"! (I applied for the 19th c. American position). I emailed the chair (since it was his name on the letter) and got an apologetic email from an assistant, who says she "made a few mistakes with the letters at the beginning."

Wow -- and now an email to all applicants with all email addresses visible apologizing for the screw up. Seriously priceless.

I didn't even get this "oops" e-mail, though I did get the confirmation letter. I can just picture my application packet for the 19th C. position sitting in a disorganized pile on someone's desk marked as "early modern British drama." Yikes. (x2)

VISIBLE? Wow, wonderful, especially for anyone with a TT position applying for this job under the radar. Thankfully, I did not receive this email, so I must have applied for the Romanticism position too. ..

Care to share the number of emails on that list?

Looks to be about 50. Obviously not all-inclusive. Wonder how they selected us...

added after above & below comments: my non-BCC list had only about 20 names. Maybe they just sent them out in disorganized, inept batches.

Wow. almost glad I didn't get this email b/c if I had, I would probably abandon all attempts at work in an effort to use those .edu's to discern a pattern in answer to the Q "wonder how they selected us..."

I too wasn't among those selected to be exposed. Should I feel bad?

Ackn. by snail mail - received my application for modern Early American Literature - ok, sure, why not? (11/19)

11/19 rec'd email of apology from chair of dept blaming, among other things "a young and inexperienced secretary who only started in Sept"

And was this secretary also responsible for the cheap plain paper on which the letter was printed? This has become unpleasant. (No kidding! Mine wasn't even on letterhead) Right, not even photocopied letterhead.

11/23: Rejection by mail--same low-budget paper of the confirmation and unsigned. Keep it classy, BU.

Did you receive the e-mail apology? I'm wondering if that only went to those who were in the running for the next cut. I didn't receive any e-mail apology, and am expecting an unsigned photocopied rejection in the mail soon. A: I received the rejection letter and was NOT on the e-mail apology list. I don't know if there is a direct correlation, however. The confirmation letter I originally received was for the "Modern Early American Literature" position. It might be notable that the letter was dated 11/16; so, it was likely written before the apology e-mail went out.

I'm not the person reporting on the rejection letter, but my understanding is that the apology email only went to those who received the letter that said British Romanticism?

No, I got the email, and my letter said something that I glanced at and thought sounded approximately right -- it might have been the "modern Early American."

11/27: Rejection by snail mail (on letterhead but unsigned). x2

11/28: Rejection by snail mail, signed, but on cheap plain paper. This is no doubt a good job in a bad market, but the department's treatment of applicants has been shabby.

11/30: Never received ackn, email, or anything else: wondering about my postage now. . . --Don't worry about your postage: I'm sure that they steamed it off and re-used it. (x4)

12/10: And the plot thickens, just received another acknowledgment by snail mail - this time on letterhead

Columbia University
MLA interview scheduled: 12/14 (x2)

Q: Has anyone received a confirmation from them or been asked for additional materials?

Not a word. 12/15

never saw this one. Can anyone share where they found it? thanks! (x2)

A: This was advertised on the JIL as an Asst. Prof. in American literature and culture to 1800.

Franklin and Marshall College - Lancaster, PA
Deadline: 11/16

Acknowledgment received: 11/27 (x5)

Request for further materials:

MLA interview scheduled: 12/11 (phone call) (x3)

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Notes and Questions
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there an early Americanist at assistant prof rank at F & M now? Why is this search being conducted? Does it have anything to do with their tenuring process? Or is a small English dept really looking to have two untenured early Am specialists?

It seems likely he didn't get tenure.

Well, he is listed as teaching courses both semesters of this year. It would be pretty classless to fly someone back to replace a person who is still working there. I am wondering if they have a weird tenure system analogous to Yale's which involves a competition between the tenure candidate and eligible replacements. Maybe jousting could be involved.

Or perhaps they wish to have a department of Americanists: the Department of American Literature and Excellence! I would like this, very much.

Actually, most institutions grant faculty members who are denied tenure a final year after the negative decision. While, yes, it can be terribly uncomfortable for everyone (not just job candidates), the alternative would be far worse.

I don't see how it could be much worse for the incoming candidate...

Really? I think a beloved inside candidate would be far more difficult.

Georgia College and State University
Deadline: 11/1

Acknowledgment received:

Request for further materials:

MLA interview scheduled: 1 via email (11/24) (x3)

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Notes and Questions
references were contacted (11/12)

received notice that I'd "made a first cut" (11/16)

received a very  nice informational packet about the town and university (12/7)

congratulations to those of you who are being interviewed! do you mind saying whether you are an early americanist or southern literature specialist or both? thanks! (12/9) . A: Both, with an emphasis on southern

Hendrix
Deadline: 11/6

Acknowledgment received: N/A

Request for further materials:

MLA interview scheduled: 12/3 (contacted by email with news that dept sec'y will call to actually schedule it x3)

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Notes and Questions
12/8: Has the secretary called to schedule interviews yet?

12/8: Yes, called yesterday.

Ohio State University
Deadline: 11/1

Acknowledgment received: 10/29; 11/3; 11/10 (x3)

Request for further materials: 11/18 (x11)

MLA interview scheduled: 12/10 (by phone)

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Notes and Questions
Just a warning: I sent my reference letters and writing sample electronically to englishjobs@osu.edu address, as the OSU requested, and they disappeared into the ether. The Assistant to the Chair emailed me today (12/02) to ask what happened, and I immediately re-sent all my documents to her address. OSU is aware that a few Interfolio deliveries haven't been received, but if you used Interfolio to send your letters and/or writing sample, make sure you receive delivery confirmation from the department.

I hope this doesn't rub salt in anyone's wounds, but I'm beginning to wonder if anyone who applied for this job *didn't* get asked for more information. Eight requests seems like quite a few.


 * ?!?! Eight requests is *not* a lot. Most schools interview anywhere between 6-12 candidates in the first interviewing stage (at MLA). Therefore, they are looking at a considerably larger number than that after the "first cut" (i.e. the pool they request extra materials from).

Eight is not a lot for all requests, but this wiki is a small sampling of overall applicants. I don't think any other job listing has "x8" for anything, except rejections.


 * Yes, your observation is correct if you're just looking at numbers and not putting them in context; but you need to keep in mind that a much larger pool from the wiki is applying to this job (b/c it's a highly desirable research position) so the numbers are bound to be higher. Take a quick look on other pages--say 20th/21st c. Amer.--and you'll see similar numbers for similarly desirable jobs (i.e. U. of Chicago).


 * I can set your mind at ease on this one: I didn't get asked for more information. Of course, if you didn't want to rub salt in anyone's wounds, you probably would've been better off not making the statement you made. When given the choice between not being a d'bag, or preemptively apologizing for being a d'bag and then doing it anyway, it's generally better to choose the former.
 * I don't really have anything to add. I just want to say that I loooove the term "d'bag." I'm going to start using it! :)

Q: Anyone have any sense as to whether OSU has booked all their MLA interviews yet? Only one poster so far...
 * Seems strange to me too. Out of 11(!) requests for additional material reported on the wiki, only one interview.  Something about this search still seems odd--call me a "d'bag" if you will.  But, maybe it's just as simple as the other interviewees have been late to report back.

A: It is that simple. All the interviews were scheduled the same day and there was nothing "odd" about the process. So far at least the percentage of interviewees reporting on the wiki is a bit lower than the percentage of candidates asked for additional materials who reported their requests, but that disparity doesn't seem all that unusual at this time of the academic year and is within the margin of error for a sample size this small. The only scandal here is the perennial scandal--which is just more obvious this year--of the utter lack of any reasonable relation between supply and demand in this so-called market.

Simpson College
Deadline: 11/9

Acknowledgment received: 11/13 (x4)

Request for further materials:

MLA interview scheduled: phone call (12/2) X3

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Notes and Questions
Simpson ran this search last year and didn't hire anyone.

Union College - Schenectady, NY
Link

Deadline: 11/2

Acknowledgment received: 10/28 x2

Request for further materials:

MLA interview scheduled: 12/3

Q: Out of curiosity, was this scheduled via e-mail or a phone call?

A: email

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Notes and Questions
AA form sent as e-mail attachment 10/28 x2 ; 11/2

Q: anyone else never get the AA form or ack email(s)?

A. I've heard nothing from them (12/05). x5

UMass Dartmouth
Deadline: 11/15

Acknowledgment: 11/12; Received a link to the EEO page, but the position has not been added as an option to select yet. 11/27: The link is now up and running for the EEO page. Email ack. (12/4) x3

Request for further materials:

MLA interview scheduled: by email (12/9) x4; by phone (12/9)

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

University of Rochester
Deadline: 11/20

Acknowledgment: N/A

Request for further materials: 11/24 e-mail request for writing sample. (12/1 x4)

MLA interview scheduled: 12/16

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Notes and Questions
Any word on MLA interviews for this job?

Q: Did they contact you via email or over the phone?

A: Over the phone.

Has anyone else heard anything or just the one? (reporting on the wiki at least). I'm wondering if they made all of their calls on the 16th.

Wayne State
1865-1910 Deadline: 11/2

Request for more materials:

10/28, 11/06: request by email
 * Was this the request to post the materials online, or were you asked for additional materials? If so, what? (11/11)
 * They asked for a writing sample and a dossier, or 3 reference letters if I didn't have a dossier. This was in addition to the job letter/cv/abstract I had already submitted. (x2)
 * Request for more materials (writing sample & dossier) by email (11/16) (x3)
 * Rejection by email 11/20 (x9)

MLA interview scheduled: by email, 12/16. (x3)

Congrats! (had a ws req. but not hoping for an interview.) 12/16

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Winona State
Link

Deadline: 11/9

Acknowledgment received: 11/3

Request for further materials:

Phone interview scheduled: 12/1 (x2)

Campus interview scheduled: N/A

Offer made: N/A

Offer accepted: N/A

Notes and Questions
12/11: references were contacted.