Talk:Medieval 2011

Format

 * I've never had this problem before, but every time I edit the page or add a new entry it ends up looking horrid. I'm copying/pasting the template but I must be doing something wrong...does anyone have any ideas as to why my posts look like this?
 * It looks like there's some pre-existing formatting that's involved, perhaps when you cut and paste the title or description from the original posting? If you just highlight what you've added and then go up to the menu under Text appearance. Find the dropdown box on the left and select Normal. I did that and got rid of the wonky formatting that you had in the entry.
 * Huh, that must be what it is. I just copied/pasted the template, so it might be a problem we'll see in the future once more jobs are posted.

Oregon

 * The Oregon Old English job says to have PhD in hand by the start date, but nowhere do they seem to list a start date. Is it August? September?
 * According to their website, Fall 2010 classes start on September 27, so I would assume the Fall 2011 would be around that same time. I would also assume there would be some orientation at least the week before, but since that first day of classes is well into September, it's more likely the start date is September rather than August.
 * A weathered American academic told me, though, that July 1st is the usual start date for an academic position in the US, nevermind the start date of the term. The Boulder job says August 1st. So based on that information I'd expect it to be sooner rather than later. Does anyone remember the start date on last year's posting?
 * Oregon is on the 10-week (trimester?) system and Colorado is on the semester system (I believe), so a somewhat later start date for Oregon would make sense. My guess is that Oregon means degree in hand by September.

Wisconsin-Parkside (Early Modern)

 * Just posted the Wisconsin-Parkside job. It calls for 15th C. literature and Early Drama, so I thought it should be cross-posted?
 * Although it does say 15th C, under requirements, it says, "PhD in English with a dissertation in Renaissance Literature and/or Shakespeare" so I'm not sure if they'd want a medievalist. But it doesn't hurt to leave it and to try it out. I'll just add the above to the notes section so people are aware of it.
 * I saw that as well and I definitely think it's good to add that info. to the notes field and leave it up on the Med. page.
 * Based on comments on the listing (which I'm pasting below), it sounds like this really should just be on the Renaissance page, so I've deleted it. If you want to find it, the details are still there - just go to the Ren page instead of here.
 * Q: With a Ren diss required, is this a medieval job that belongs on this list?
 * A: I don't think it really does belong on this list--UW-Parkside already has a medievalist, and they have no early modernist. There are in the neighborhood of 10 full-time faculty, I think, and it seems HIGHLY unlikely that they would hire another medievalist when they have no specialist to teach Shakespeare. :) Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Ivy vs. Non-Ivy Candidates

 * HOW LIKELY WILL NON-IVY LEAGUE CANDIDATES BE TO GET A JOB AS A MEDIEVALIST THIS YEAR? I am told by my faculty that as I am not from an ivy league school I am extremely unlikely to get a job this year - I have just one publication (co-publication) and lots of teaching experience. Any suggestions?
 * Non-Ivy candidates get jobs. Publications are important. Teaching is important at most schools. I'd say just put together the best app you can and don't let worries about not being Ivy stress you. Ivy vs. non-Ivy is not something you can control. Focus on that you can control - your job materials. I'm just praying this year is better than last year and that there are more jobs (and at a greater variety of types of schools).
 * Judging by the postings so far, last year was tighter than this year. Two of the "best" later medieval jobs last year (U.S. R1 and Canada R!) went to people from outside the Ivies (both large, well-regarded state R1s). I was one of them, first year on the market, ABD, fifth year of study, no publications in my field. But my work fit the job description. Everything you hear about "fit" is absolutely true. If your project and you yourself fit with the department's vision for the position, it doesn't matter if you're not from an Ivy, or a top-ten program. Of course it will never hurt to have publications in major journals. I did have something in the pipeline with a major journal (my writing sample) and it was accepted during the final decision process. There is every reason to be hopeful and positive about this year's market: some really great jobs and relatively a lot of them. Best wishes to all the candidates.

Schools with Religious Affilations

 * PROVIDENCE COLLEGE: Does anyone know how the school's Catholic affiliation affects this job? I can't tell from the school's mission statement whether non-Catholic faculty would be welcome/encouraged to apply.
 * A: I believe Providence is one of the more conservative schools, but that said, it is rare for Catholic schools to expect one to sign off on "faith statements" or that kind of thing (as Protestant evangelical colleges often do). I would go ahead and apply for the job even if you aren't Catholic.
 * Providence is not like Bob Jones or Westmont!
 * And Westmont is no Bob Jones!
 * In reply to the post on Westmont: I think it is just as conservative as Wheaton and Bob Jones.
 * People from the world of Christian colleges do not think of Wheaton/Westmont as having much in common with Bob Jones. There's a vast difference in academic seriousness.
 * Personally, as a non-Christian, I have no problem applying to a school such as Providence. In my experience, in general, Catholic universities are a lot more open that some other religious colleges. Unless a school requires a statement of faith, I don't think that it would be unwelcoming to faculty of other religious affiliations.
 * They do require an essay on "how you see yourself fitting into a Catholic college" or some such euphemism. I suspect that this is a signal to agnostics/atheists like myself that we need not bother. It does seem to leave room for people of other faiths, unlike some of the evangelical colleges (as above poster notes). My sense is if you are devout, go for it. But I don't know this college's rep. Perhaps someone more informed can enlighten us?
 * Providence college and any other college that is religious is founded on the rock of faith and one has to have some kind of implicit faith in the mission statement of the college in order to be given a decent chance. Search committees can tell if you are faking your faith in the divine. I think the best you can do if you are not religious is embrace the religion of the college you are applying and then go from there. Even if you don't get the job, you will at least repent and earn some remissions from the penances that you will anyway have to suffer in purgatory.
 * You can embrace a "mission" of "social justice" without being Catholic or even Christian, and that is likely what would be sought in such an essay. That is a significantly different thing from what an evangelical school might expect (some, I have heard, will expect you to agree to precise Scriptural calculations of when the earth was created, for example). I think showing respect for a larger tradition is desired, but specific belief is not necessarily expected (as opposed to what the poster immediately above is implying, I think?). I am speaking from some experience at Catholic colleges (although not specifically Providence).
 * I agree with the above but in times of crisis such as these search committees tend not to take chances and lean towards candidates of their kind: if a practicising Catholic and a non-Catholic were shortlisted as finalists for the same post in a Catholic college, then the chances of the Catholic getting it are certainly higher; likewise if the search committee were to choose between an Ivy Leage finalist and a non-Ivy League finalist (assuming both are academically sound and socially affable), then the chances of an Ivy league candidate getting the job are higher. Alas, we are atavistic when times are tough!
 * With all due respect to the speculation above, I doubt the previous poster has actually served on a hiring committee at a Catholic university. Because of the usual hiring practices that serveral posters have already noted, it can be the case that many, if not a majority, of the faculty are actually not Catholic or not practicing Catholics. In that situation, believe it or not, being a practicing Catholic can actually be somewhat of a liability for a candidate. It is, in any event, not necessarily the distinct advantage the poster above suggests. To the larger question, I don't know the exact situation at Providence, but as suggested above, there are acceptable ways for non-Catholics/non-Christians to answer the "catholic university" question, and I think it would be ill-advised for anyone to psych themselves out of applying on the basis of religion alone in this kind of tight job market.

Publications

 * HOW MANY PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES DO WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE WELL THIS YEAR? ??? I ASK BECAUSE LAST YEAR, THREE PEOPLE WHO GOT MEDIEVALIST JOBS - ALL FROM IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS - HAD ABOUT 4 PUBLICATIONS EACH.
 * I had a book of four chapters out and hence got a job!
 * Well, finally, I got a job at a R1 university last year and had 6 campus visits and 2 job-offers at R1 and highly research-oriented colleges: the thing that stood out on my application was not just the number of publications but, as every search committee pointed out, the VENUES in which they were published and the RANGE of themes on which I published and my ABD status when I had them published: I had 7 PUBLICATIONS in rank 1 peer-reviewed journals in all ( 2 in my field (Anglo-Saxon), 1 on Chaucer, 1 on Lydgate, 1 on Gower, 1 on mysticism and 1 on Shakespeare). Range, Ranke, and ABD status helped me and one of the 18 jobs I had applied for! I had just one year of teaching experience but when push comes to shove no search committee care beyond knowing that you have been in a class-room and can teach. I am from a non-IVY college but a R1 university with major letters...Hope this answers the question!
 * Some of us in an ivy-league univ. are considering getting book-contracts before we get to the job-market.
 * Yeah, I think the 'publish or perish' syndrome hits ABDs as well - at my university (Invy-league), we are being trained to have at least 3 peer-reviewed articles. I have ony 2 so far and am the odd person on the market...
 * Does "Invy" mean "Ivy envy"?
 * I am not at an Ivy, but at a public R1. We strongly urge our graduate students to have at least one, and preferably two, well placed peer reviewed publications before going on the market. And when we run searches for assistant professor positions, we rarely give serious consideration to a candidate who does not have at least one publication, and if there is only one, it better be a REALLY good one, in a very strong journal. Two is definitely the norm for candidates who will make our MLA interview list. Three would certainly be impressive, but we do not really expect that. I should also add that we are not currently running any searches this year (my state has no money at the moment!), so don't get all panicky thinking I'm a search committee member lurking here.
 * I agree with the above: not the number but the quality of the journal matters! As a member of a former search committee in a small liberalarts college, I as well as the other members looked for REALLY WELL-PLACED publications - venues like Speculum, Exemplaria, Medieval Studies, Viator, JEGP, MP, Traditio, SAC, YLS, not anthologies and lesser known "easier to get it" journals
 * All very interesting. One of the candidates who landed an R1 medievalist job last year from my degree-conferring institution (non-Ivy, big state school) had NO publications. Sadly, there isn't a magic formula.
 * Yes, sure (to last response) but as another candidate I know got a job at an R1 institute was ABD and 2 extermely well-placed publications but NO teaching experience in medieval studies at all. She had 3 campus visits and two offers and told me that all the search committees admitted that they singled her out in the first round because of her two publications....
 * Not sure but I know that too many publications can hurt in a small liberal arts context: a friend was told by the serach committee that their college didn't care much for research and preferred the "teaching types" as they did not ask too many hard questions. I think teaching counts more in the second-rate liberal arts colleges even though they now have pretensions to research.
 * I don't agree: all is based on Fortuna: nothing mattters except luck! I know a young person who got an Ivy job several decades ago with ZERO publications and Zero teaching experience...
 * I have to agree with the above poster. There is no magic formula. Sure, well-placed articles will only help your application, but let's get real, folks.


 * As a person from an R1 state school had some success last year on the market, I can say this: whatever you've got, flaunt it. If it's articles, flaunt it. If it's teaching, flaunt it. If it's both, thank your lucky stars that you're so versatile and marketable, and flaunt it! But it is generally true (in my experience) that the R1s like to see some articles, the more well-placed the better, and the teaching schools like to see depth and variety of teaching experience. It's best not to put the eggs in one basket, because, let's face it, no one is so lucky as to be choosy anymore about what kind of school you would like to be at. Flaunt it everywhere you can!
 * Flaunt it but not too much. I know that a number of candidate are claiming that they have articles accepted when they are only under review (and will likely be rejected)

This Year's Offerings Compared to Last Year's

 * I have a question about demographics and the jobs, is the situation looking better this year or worse than the situation same time last year? It seems like more schools already, but somehow less choices?
 * It appears to me to be a better year--more attractive schools and somehow fewer applicants (if we are to judge by the wiki numbers). On the other hand, there are more Ph.D.s on the market and fewer ABDs.  This could make for a very competitive situation for those of us who are already have our degrees, and possibly a worse one for those who don't.