Spanish 2009-2010

Good luck to everybody with their search!

 * Visitor Type:


 * ABD, not defending soon: 9
 * ABD, defending within 4-6 months: 29
 * ABD, I have a set date for my defense: 2
 * ABD, no defense at my U: 5
 * Ph.D. in hand: 21
 * Visiting Professor, Lecturer: 14
 * Assistant Professor: 14
 * Postdoc: 1
 * Muleteer: 2
 * Member of a Search Committee: 1
 * Just browsing: 3
 * Depends on job hunt when I file: 1


 * Specialty:


 * Latin American: 29
 * Colonial: 3
 * Independence era: 3
 * Modern/Contemporary: 18
 * Southern Cone: 3
 * Caribbean: 2
 * Brazilian: 2


 * Peninsular: 29
 * Medieval: 4
 * Siglo de Oro/Colonial: 10
 * XVIII-XIX:
 * XIX- XX: 12
 * XX-XXI: 6
 * US Hispanic:2
 * Linguistics: 6
 * Consider yourself a Generalist: 10


 * How many applications have you sent out?


 * 1-10: 22
 * 10-20: 19
 * 21-30: 8
 * 31-40: 6
 * 41 and above: 3
 * Wishes schools would get off their asses and schedule MLA interviews already: 103 (x ∞)
 * Already planning their trip to LA next year: 4

MLA interviews scheduled:
[NOTE: Please add the school at the bottom of the list and put the date in parenthesis. Thanks. **The date you received the call/email, not the date of the interview!**]


 * Dominican University (11/10)
 * Manhattan College (11/18) email (x2)
 * Washington College (in Maryland), (11/23). Q. For which position? The tenure-track or the visiting? (11/30) (TT position)
 * Bethel College (11/24) email
 * College of Charleston (11/24)
 * American University (11/30)  Q: Which position? Q: How did they contact you, phone or email? Thanx! Emai, 11/‚
 * Monmouth College (12/1) email
 * Indiana U (not sure when--second hand) Q: for linguistics?
 * Western Washington U (phone, 12/1)
 * Trinity U (12/1) (X3) phone + e-mail
 * Brandeis University (12/2) email (x3)
 * U of Oregon (12/3)
 * North Carolina, Greensboro. (Phone, 12/02)
 * Grinnell College (12/3 x2) phone. (Be prepared, Grinnell asks some intense questions) (I second that: Make sure to have examples of books for all the courses they teach, that's what they asked me last year, It didn't went well for me, good luck, yeah and be prepared to have 5 seconds to recite random 50 minute class plans)
 * U of San Diego (Phone 12/4) (3x)
 * U Penn (email, 12/4). Q:  Lat Am. or Peninsular?   A: Lat Am. (2x) A: Peninsular (x3) Q: When (for the peninsular)? A: email, 12/4 (x2). Q: Anyone else? Nope, curious... are they looking for    an advanced assist. prof? no, just an entry level (for peninsular) A: The ad for the Lat. Am. position seemed to indicate that applicants needed to have a PhD, and the two people I've heard of who received interviews do indeed (one is already an Asst. Prof.). I know for sure they are gonna interview ABD's for the Peninsular position. Q: Peninuslar, so, according to a couple of you, Penn is not interviewing Assist. Profs? They just wnat somebody at entry level? Not necessarily, but they are interviewing some ABD's...but they definitely prefer entry level... Q: Do you (the ones who got a call for the Peninsular position) work on late XX and/or XXI centuries or not? Yes.
 * Saint Ambrose University (email, 12/7)(x2)
 * Central Michigan University (Phone 12/7)(x4)
 * Columbia College, Chicago (Phone 12/7) Q: What position? A:US Latino/a literature  Q: Was this the position advertised by the English department?
 * Albion College (Email, 12/7)(email, 12/10)
 * U of Delaware (Email, 12/8) (x4)
 * Colorado College, Golden Age (email, 12/8), Peninsular (email, 12/10) (x2) Q. Are these two for Golden Age or the Modern Peninsular? Q. Has anyone heard from them post-phone interview? A. This posting is very confusing. It is clear that the first candidate, the Golden Age one, is for the Golden Age/Cervantes position. As for the other two, it is not clear if they are also for the Golden Age position, or if it is for the Peninsular position. Golden Age is also Peninsular but if these two contacts are for the Post-Franco period, they should not be together with the other one. Could the two candidates specify if the postings are for Golden Age or for the Post-Franco? Post-Franco (x1)
 * Bentley U (12/8) phone, (12/16 phone) (x2)
 * Gustavus Adolphus (12/8, email) (x4)
 * Harvard Latin Americanist (12/8, phone) (x4) congrats and best of luck!
 * Saint Louis University (12/8) (x2)
 * Dartmouth (media) (12/9) email (x5) Q: Just out of curiousity: What kind of media do you people work on? A: Cinema. A: Film, TV, Advertising
 * Dartmouth (19th C.) (12/9) email (x2) Q: curious, are you 2 Latin Americanists? A: yes. Q: any peninsularista got an interview for this position?
 * Towson U, Peninsular generalist (email, 12/9) (x3)
 * Dickinson College (latin americanist) (email, 12/9) (x5)
 * Lebanon Valley College (Peninsular) (12/9) phone (x4)
 * University of Kentucky (Lecturer) (email 12/9) (x4): is this the TT job turned into a Lecturer position?* Thanks, and congrats!!* Q. When did they decide that they were changing the TT Early Modern position into a lectureship? Are we talking about the same position or it is another lectureship? A. It is another position. This year they advertised two jobs from the beginning: the Golden Age TT and the Lecturer. ALL WRONG: They advertised THREE things, 1. Lecturships 2. TT Early Modern. 3. TT Latin American Lit/cultural studies.
 * Wellesley College (email 12/9)
 * SUNY New Paltz (phone call 12/9)
 * Brandeis (12/10) (x2) Q: Is that the date you got the e-mail? Just checking. A: Yes
 * Knox College (phone 12/10)
 * University of North Florida (phone 12/10) (x5)
 * Birmingham-Southern College (email 12/10) (x2)
 * Hamilton College, Early Modern TT (12/10, email) (x4)
 * U of Colorado, Boulder (12/10)
 * Portland State University, Early Modern (12/10 email) (x7)
 * Creighton (12/10 email)
 * Rice, Mexicanist position (12/11 phone x 2)
 * University of Kentucky, Latin American Lit/Cultural Studes TT (12/11 phone) (x4)
 * University of Kentucky'. Early modern 12/11
 * Ohio Wesleyan University (Linguistics) 12/11 (e-mail x 2)
 * Saint Michael's C (Visiting) 12/11 (email) x2
 * U of Mary Washington TT position 12/12 (email)
 * Worcester Polytechnic 12/13, phone
 * U of Kansas. Latin American Lit and Cultural Studies TT (12/14 phone)
 * Vanderbilt. Andrew Mellon Fellow in Spanish (12/14 phone) x3
 * Williams College (Visiting). (12/14 phone) (x6) Q: Just out of curiosity, do all of you work in medieval/early modern peninsular? Q2: Did they have 2 searches? Isn't this a LatAm job? Q. Are the calls for the Early Modern position or for the Latin America? I think both were VAPs. Q: Hmm, no answer. Did Williams call for the Peninsular position or for the Lat Am postion? A. Early modern (x2) A: I don't think they are going to be interviewing for the LatAm position at the MLA, so were all these calls about the Peninsular position?  A: A friend received an email about a future phone interview for the Lat Am VAP. A: the LatAm position is a VAP for one semester (Fall 2010), they are not interviewing at MLA for this position, but they will make phone interviews in January after the MLA, when people knows what happens with their other applications.
 * St. Bonaventure University (phone, 12/14) (x2)
 * University of Michigan (email, 12/14). (x2) Q: Is this the Linguistics or Literature position? Many thanks! A: Literature. Q: why do you keep erasing my question? One said below he/she was an ABD. I just want to know if the other person who got the interview is an ABD or a PhD... It is not a big deal! Please, do not erase the question. A: Sorry, just now seeing this. I am also ABD. A.Lucky, lucky. They got over 100 applications! Just make sure if you get a campus visit that your job talk is interesting, last year they brought in 4 candidates, all ABD, and all except one had snooze fest job talks...and they didn't hire anyone.(second hand knowledge) A. actually, upwards of 150 applications is more like it. A). Given the likelihood that those folks are reading this, maybe the poster above would soften their language (e.g. "snooze fest" is pretty harsh, and of course, in this business, one person's snooze fest is another person's gold). The fact that they didn't hire the thrilling job talk giver either points to the more canonical reading of what happened with that search: it suffered from not being as well defined as it could have been. Luckily this year it is.
 * Northern Kentucky U (email, 12/14)
 * Fairfield U (phone & email, 12/14)
 * NYU, Mexicanist (Spanish and Portuguese) (phone, 12/14)
 * Bates C (Latin American Lit) (email, 12/15)
 * Puget Sound (Latin American Lit, Visiting) (phone, 12/15)
 * Denison U TT Latin American Lit (email, 12/15) (x2)
 * Clemson U: phone call (12/16) email (12/16)
 * Columbia University TT Latin American Cultural Studies (phone 12/16) (x6)
 * Columbia University TT Luso-Brazilian Cultural Studies (phone 12/17) (x3)
 * Marist College Generalist (12-17) Q. How did they contact you? By phone
 * Oakland University (phone 12/17)

Phone interviews scheduled:
[NOTE: Please add the school at the bottom of the list and put the date in parenthesis. Thanks. **The date you received the call/email, not the date of the interview!**]


 * Albright College Phone Interview (11/5), Phone Interview (11/6)
 * Susquehanna University Phone Interview (11/7), they will do campus interviews on first week of Dec., and make an offer before the MLA, Phone Interview (11/8). They emailed saying the position was not filled & the process was slower than expected. Q. When did they send this email? Q: Did you have a campus visit with them?
 * Hastings College Phone interview scheduled for 11/18 (11/16)
 * University of West Georgia- phone interview scheduled for 12/8 (x2), for 12/10  Q. When they sent the notice? by email or phone? A. Phone Q For which position? Latin American or Peninsular? Latin American A. And Peninsular (x2)   Q: When were you called to schedule foracademicjobs.wikia.com verdad, el dia exacto ne se' pero seri'a hace una semana. Q: Has anyone heard from them after the phone interview or know anything about when the might decide about campus interviews?
 * Westminster College Phone interview scheduled for 12/4
 * Wake Forest University (11/26)
 * Berry College (12/1)
 * Albion College (12/3) (12/4)
 * University of Alabama Tuscaloosa (Transatlantic 20th & 21st C) (12/4) x3. Q: At entry level or adavanced assist prof? A. entry level. Thank you
 * University of Alabama Tuscaloosa (Linguistics) (12/14) x 2.
 * U Penn (Latin American) 12/4 (anyone else?) No one has heard anything for the Peninsular? Yes, MLA interview scheduled on 12/4 (email) // I was wondering the same thing about the Peninsular position, as I've heard nothing so far. // a phone interview? not in the MLA? // They are probably just doing some initial scouting before deciding on finalists to interview at MLA. But who knows? The position was also open to 'exceptional senior candidates,' so there could be some informal discussions going on. An email for an MLA interview was received on 12/4 I had to call the HR office since one of my refs did not get the email. They will tell you who to send it to so it gets put in your file 12/7(see above).
 * Auburn University (12/4) (x2)
 * Illinois State University (12/4)
 * University of South Florida (12/4)
 * Illinois State University (12/7)
 * Ohio University (12/8)
 * Colorado College Golden Age (email, 12/8) x3 Q. This does not make much sense. How would they schedule a campus interview for one candidate and a phone interview for another? Could anybody explain that to me? A: It happens when a candidate cannot attend the MLA for different reasons... A: I am afraid they may be sure about the MLA candidate and less so about the phone candidate (myself). A. Ok, this is the first time that I see it. Thanks for the feedback. I thought there was a mistake. Q. Did they ask the candidate over the phone interview that the next step is a campus visit? If it is you, were you going to the MLA convention anyway? A: Yes, their email specifies that they are "moving toward settling whom we'll talk to at the MLA." I mentioned in my cover letter that I would attend the convention. A. Good luck with the phone interview then. No se acuesta uno sin saber algo m'as. Things are so weird these days. Q.  Anyone hear from them post-phone interview?. A. GOt an MLA interview (notified via email).
 * Franklin College (12/9) Phone interview to be conducted early January Q: Did they call you to set it up or email you? A: They called me.
 * University of Texas PanAmerican (12/10) Q: Sorry, for what position? Q: Is this the World Lit/ Lat Am position? A: No, it is for the Linguistics position.
 * Western Illinois University (12/11) Linguistics

Video interviews scheduled:
(They should ALL be like this! Think of all the time, money, and stress we'd save) (x2) Indeed! What a great experience! (NOTE: don't forget to account for time-zone differences when scheduling! If there is phone-call you can hide the mistake, but on video, there is no hiding!) [NOTE: Please add the school at the bottom of the list and put the date in parenthesis. Thanks. **The date you received the call/email, not the date of the interview!**]


 * University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (12/3) (x2) Wow! this should be interesting (techie and all!) good luck!
 * University of Missouri (12/4) (x4)
 * UofChicago, Golden Age (early December)
 * Georgia SU, pending budgetary approval (phone 12/15) (x3)

Campus Visits Scheduled:
[NOTE: Please add the school at the bottom of the list and put the date in parenthesis. Thanks. **The date you received the call/email, not the date of the interview!**]


 * University of Western Ontario (Oct- Nov '09)


 * Albright College (Nov'09)
 * Susquehanna U. - (Nov '09) (2)
 * Morningside College (Nov '09)
 * Hastings College (second week of december)
 * UofChicago, Golden Age (12/9) (x2)
 * University of North Carolina Charlotte (12/4) & (12/6).  wow, that's early!
 * Wake Forest University (12/4)
 * U of South Florida (12/16) (congrats!)
 * British Columbia (12/16)

Offers Made:
(conversation about offer timing moved to question section)


 * Western Ontario (Nov. 25)


 * Morningside College (Nov. 25) - Accepted [CONGRATULATIONS! x4] Parabéns!
 * University of North Carolina at Charlotte (12/9) Congrats on the offer!
 * Susquehanna University. (Second hand knowledge)

Canceled Searches

 * Highpoint U
 * Virginia Tech Q. Which position? The tenure-track or the instructor?


 * A: I believe the tenure-track search was canceled and changed to an "Instructor" position instead (ugh).


 * Illinois Wesleyan position "transformed" into a 2-year non-tenure position. Q: Does anybody know anything about it after it was transformed into a 2-year position, and later into a 1-year position? Did it get finally canceled? R: Seems like the search for the 1-yr VAP is still on. They probably got hundreds of applications as the the job description included three possible fields, Mexico, US-Latino, and Colonial. R: Due to change from TT to VAP, IWU will not attend the MLA, will conduct phone interviews in late January, and then invite 2-3 finalists to Campus.
 * Calvin College (12/10)
 * Southeast Missouri State U (12/16). They actually changed the job description to French and Spanish Assistant Prof. A. I have not received any confirmation yet. A: if you go to their website and then human resources and then positions, there you'll find the new job description

Rejections:
[NOTE: Please add the school at the bottom of the list and put the date in parenthesis. Thanks.]


 * Benedictine College (e-mail, 11/3) x2
 * Wofford College (letter, 10/20)
 * American University (e-mail, 12/4) Q: I assume this was linguistics?
 * Middle Tennessee SU (e-mail 12/4) x2
 * Morningside C (very polite email, position filled 12/7)x5
 * Cincinnatti U (e-mail, 12/7)
 * Connecticut College (e-mail, 12/7) x2
 * Amherst (letter, 11/30) -- Is this for the position in Women's Studies? A: yes, women's studies
 * Bentley U (email, 12/11) x5
 * Indiana U (email 12/11) Hispanic Caribbean/US Latino (x5)
 * UNC Greensboro (letter, 12/11) Linguistics x2
 * Southern Methodist University (email 12/10) x2
 * Susquehanna University (snail-mail, early December)
 * Sam Houston State University (snail-mail 12/12)x2
 * Colorado College (very nice email, 12/14) (x6). Really nice, it even looked personalized. Q: which position? Seems like I don't even deserve this nice email. A: My rejection was for the post-Franco position. Mine (very nice) for Early Modern. A (original): thanks to both of you. Good luck with the job hunt. A. Yeah, does anybody else suspect they personalized their rejection letters? I've never heard of such a thing, but it's really nice! I applied for the post-Franco position. I am not sure if they personalized the letter, but al least they had the dignity to say something.  Q: why do you suspect it´s personalized? A: I don't think it was personalized. I have a friend who received a letter that said exactly the same thing as mine.
 * U of Michigan Peninsular, email (12/16) (x5)--but by email. LatinAmerican, email (12/16) x3. Q: According to message above Re: preference given to ABD's, does any of the "rejected" feel overqualified for the position? BTW, I do. A. Ditto. I think that it is rare for that to happen, right? It seems to me that when you don't have your PhD you are not "there", then you get it and the next year being ABD is the best option. It's crazy. A:hay mucho para discutir sobre la política de los comités. Creo que en Universidades como Michigan, quieren alguien destacable, pero no mucho tampoco, alguien que nos los ponga en jaque, digamos. A. I think it's very difficult to figure out what they are looking for, period. But just because they are interviewing ABDs doesn't mean that those people are not qualified. They could be interviewing PhDs too, for all we know, considering presumably they are interviewing more than 2 people. A. I would image they gave preference to the best candidate for the particular field that needed to be filled in their department, independent of whether he/she is ABD or not. Congrats!   They are interviewing 10 candidates approx. (inside info) A. For gods sakes, it´s the University of Michigan!!! Probably one of the Spanish best departments, if not the best. It´s not about a candidate "que no ponga en jaque" a los demas, but rather, an independent researcher, with projects outside the box (these people, wiki friends, come as ABD´s, or PhD´s) I was a candidate there on a previous search, I sooo wanted that job.  I wish the best for the interviewees there. A. Well put. Totally agree with last post. And yes best of luck to those interviewing for what is a very exciting opportunity indeed.A: Everyone is free to believe in illusions like "pure meritocracy". And anybody is allowed to believe in conspiracy theories and/or to' invent any a non-existent, non-probable conclusion based on extremely limited information. This "ABD vs. PhD" hysteria is a pure invention of -- mejor dicho, fueled by -- the wiki. What limits ABD's is when they don't have enough of the diss approved. First, I'd like to congratulate those who got an interview. Then, ninguno de los "defensores" de ABD's o PhD's ha tomado en cuenta lo que, a mi parecer, se cae de maduro: no van a contratar a alguien que tenga un currículum de p. madre porque, quizá (y enfatizo, quizá), no les da el presupuesto. Es una universidad estatal, ¡ojo! y la mayoría de ellas no está en las mejores condiciones económicas. ¿Qué está haciendo UPenn si no lo mismo? Os lo dice alguien que trabaja en una universidad estatal, y de las consideradas "buenas". Al (o a la) que achaca la "histeria" del dilema ABD-PhD a esta wiki, le diría que no tiene la obligación de meterse aquí. Esta wiki es un "remedio" muy bueno para aquellos solicitantes (como alguien ha dicho por algún lado en esta misma página) de tener un poco de información/control sobre algo de lo que no se puede tener control alguno. Que siga esta Wiki tal y como está. Yo la descubrí este año y me parece cojonuda. Por último, al que dice que Michigan es el mejor depto. de español y portugués/romance languages, bue... No tiene ni zorra idea. ¿No te suena a ti Duke, Virginia, Harvard, Texas Austin, Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, Pittsburg? Y aparte, depende mucho a qué aspecto del hispanismo te dedicas: ¿latinoamericana, peninsular? Te doy un ejemplo, si quieres hacer estudios centroamericanos, olvídate de todo y vete a Ohio State. Allí estarás mejor que en cualquier otra "R1". A). Wha? (2x)  A.) ABD Hysteria here again: I love the wiki and all, but I also enjoy reasonably sound information. Ten en cuenta tambien que hay personas que se obsesionan cosa seria sobre el wiki y todo este proceso. Entonces cabe pensar muy bien en lo que deducimos de la informacion presentada. No podemos controlar si somos ABD/PhD inmediatamente. Mejor ni pensarlo, porque realmente no importa tanto como el valor del dossier en su totalidad. A. Amén.  Ningún comité de búsqueda dejará pasar la oportunidad de entrevistar a un candidato ABD que tenga un dossier brillante. A. Sabiduría de una salsa: "lo que está pa´ ti, nadie te lo quita". Lo que quiere decir que cuando te llaman para una chamba,  lo que buscaban, les convenía era alguien como tú. Nada más. No significa nada objetivo, en verdad. No hay regla común. sorry guys, ustedes que creen que un dossier brillante es algo universal, y que esa es la razón universal para ser aceptado. Les falta vida, chicos, mucha vida, para entender cómo se mueven los intereses dentro de un faculty. Anyway, por supuesto, felicitaciones a cualquiera que consiga trabajo, pero que nadie se mande la parte que es solo por su brillantez, com´n. A: me encantó lo de "ni zorra idea". Totalmente de acuerdo.  I don't think we're communicating here AT ALL. I think the original point was to counter the silly notion that being PhD would hurt you in this particular search. If that's the case, that's a rarity. Pero bueno, todo lo demas es ya un desmadre. A: No se porque le estais dando tanta importancia a un puesto de Ann Arbor...ni que fuera lo mejor del pais...pero a ver si nos ponemos las pilas. Discrepo con lo del dossier brillante. Todo el mundo sabe que tan solo por obtener un PhD de una Ivy, por ejemplo, aparta al candidato de obtener ciertos puestos...la academia es un puto circo y la gente deberia pensar que hay mejores cosas en la vida que obsesionarse con un puesto de trabajo...pero a ver, si todo el mundo con dos dedos de frente sabe que el hispanismo esta considerado de tercera division...dentro de la academia americana.... A: Que la gente discuta tanto por un puesto en Ann Arbor demuestra el nivel de histeria que tenemos en estos momentos. Yo era optimista este año (mandé solicitudes a unos cuantos sitios) pero entre las personas muy cualificadas que no pudieron encontrar TT el año pasado, y los Ivy Leaguers que salen ahora al mercado, me doy cuenta de que a estas alturas está todo (o casi todo) el pescado vendido. Habrá que trabajar de lo que sea y donde sea y después esperar mejores tiempos...aunque yo pienso que las TT que se volatilizaron nunca volverán. Consejo: el/la que quiera un TT que se ponga a publicar desde que está cursando el posgrado. Ya no dan trabajos por la cara... y tenure, mucho menos.... Hasta los state colleges ya te piden publicaciones, y eso que tienen un teaching load de 4-4 ó 3-3-3. A currar, gente, que se viene la noche....
 * Knox College (email 12/17)x2
 * Northern Michigan University (email 12/17) x4

________________________________________________________________
se dice que " desde que se esté cursando el postgrado", a ver si nos acordamos del subjuntivo

Does anybody know about...
[NOTE: Please write the name of one school/position at a time, and please add all follow-up information to the original entry for that school. If there is already an entry for a position, please follow up through that entry rather than adding another; clutter confuses things.]
 * Northeastern Illinois University: Latino/a Literature?
 * Fairfield University? MLA interviews have been scheduled
 * British Columbia (Peninsular): anyone received phone call/email to schedule interview at MLA? UBC, as most Canadian universities, don't interview people at MLA. I ma not quite sure about it. I was interviewed at MLA by Alberta a couple of years ago. A: for the current opening they´ve been interviewing at MLA for the last couple years. A: They've also been canceling it for the last couple of years. A: Don't hold your breath for British Columbia: They haven't been able to fill positions for the last five years. Q: do you know why they haven't been able to fill postions for the last years? Money? Unable to find suitable candidates? Thanks. FALSE, they filled the medieval position last year.
 * U of Michigan (Peninsular): anyone received phone call/email to schedule interview at MLA? A: Committee is still reviewing applications. I'd wager they will start contacting people next week (Insider knowledge). Q: Can you get more info from your insider, such as are they looking for someone at entry level, an advanced scholar? A: As far as I know there's no preference. They just want to hire the best possible candidate in one or more of the areas that need to be filled. When are they going to start calling/emailing people for G.. sakes??? A: Next week, definitely. They met today (12/11). Thank you very much for the information, whoever you are!!!! Q:  When was that "they met today" posted? A: 12/11 A: They called me today (ABD in Peninsular) Q: when is today? 12/14? Phone or email? A: email, 12/14.
 * U of South Florida? (Peninsular) As of the middle of last week, I was under the impression that they hadn't started narrowing down candidates. HR did not turn over the list of candidates until 11/30. Thanks!! Q: What does "HR" stand for? A. Human Resources. Phone interview (contacted by phone, 12/3) The Medieval/Early Modern Positions? Thanks. A. I believe it was for modern peninsular/transatlantic, but I wasn't called so I do not know.
 * Chicago A. Forget about the Chicago position. It is described as an assistant position when they are looking for an early associate professor. If you do not have a published book and almost got tenure you are not going to be considered. Furthermore, they are looking for a specialist in poetry. Q. How do you know that? A. I know somebody in the department. OK, thnx. Does Chicago have an internal candidate? A. No, they do not. It is going to be somebody from outside, but at least a senior assistant professor, that is, somebody who has been an assistant professor at least for 4 years, who has published a book and who concentrates on poetry. As you can see, the other Golden Age professor in the department focuses on novel and theater. A: Thank you.
 * Washington C. Washington C has made its interviews for MLA. No idea about the other places. Thanks!
 * USC (Media)? Q: "media" means medievalist? A: No, it is a position for a specialist in 20th and 21st Century Film. Q: I am the one who listed this position as Peninsular (above). Now I realize the ad reads "20 and 21 C Spanish film and culture, and welcome applications from scholars who work in Spanish literary, visual, and cultural studies and/or across disciplines and national tradition." How do you read "Spanish"? As Peninsular or as somebody who works in Hispanic cultureS/literatureS (broad sense) ? A: I don't know for sure, but I interpreted it to mean Spanish language film due to the ambiguity. If they wanted Peninsular only (I hopefully reasoned) they would have stated so, but the "across national traditions" made me think that ambivalence was what they had aimed for in their posting. Good luck!. Thank you for your answer. I erased USC Peninsular above so people don't get confused. A. It is a peninsular position, they have talked about that need in their department at least for three years. Also, it would say Latin American if it were to include other regions, or else, how would you name "Cine español?" Q:para el último que escribió: ¿Te han llamado o sabes si han empezado a llamar gente? A. No, la verdad no se como vaya el proceso. Ademas trabajo en Lit Latinoamericana... Animo de todos modos!  A:Para el que preguntó como llamarían "cine español" pues, para una búsqueda como en literatura, sólo faltaba aclarar (peninsular). De todas formas, nadie ha oido nada todavía, o sí? A: nada por aquí. Se tirarán directamente a las on-campus? Podrían mandar una comunicación tipo "todavía el comité no ha decidido", "se está por reunir", "no iremos al MLA, pero la búsqueda sigue"... qué sé yo....
 * Washington College instructor position?
 * Portland SU? (for Medieval/Early Modern) Insider info: The meeting of the search committee wasn't until today (Dec. 9), so people should be hearing shortly regarding MLA. A. Interviews scheduled already.
 * Hamilton C.?(for Medieval/Early Modern) A. I wonder if the position is going to be for the visiting professor they have this year. A. I doubt it. The position you're talking about is I think pretty long term (3-6 years), so they won't need to figure out a way to keep that professor around for a little while yet. In the meantime, they've needed to hire a a Golden Age person for a long time. The search failed last year, so they opened it up to juniors, and now I would suspect that they're probably having a long discussion about how they want to go so they get the right result this time around. Of course, you could still be right... I'd just rather be a bit more optimistic. (see above, interviews scheduled)
 * Stony Brook? Does anyone know if they have an internal candidate? Last year there was an internal candidate. This year I don't know. A). Year BEFORE last there was an "internal candidate." Last year was canceled. A. No internal candidate. They are just taking their time going through the tons of applications they received (second hand info). A. Is this credible information .. about there being no internal candidate?
 * Siena College?
 * Gonzaga?Any news?
 * California, SU Stanislao? Q: Which CSU, which position? Stanislao, Portuguese
 * Creighton U? See above. The email arrived on 12/10 in the evening.
 * John Jay C, CUNY?
 * Angelo State?
 * Florida Gulf Coast University? Isn't this due next year (Jan/Feb)??
 * Johns Hopkins, Comparative from 1750 to the present?
 * Arizona State University (Comparative Ethnic, Transnational or Hemispheric Literary/Cultural Studies )?
 * Arizona State University (Linguistics)?
 * U of Mass. Dartmouth? Are they going to interview at the MLA?
 * Puget Sound? A: Nice place to work. They will do an MLA interview followed by campus visit. They usually schedule this later since it's a VAP and they want to let people sort out TT positions first. If you get a campus interview, make sure to clarify expectations for formal presentation. They will also ask for a model class. Making both of these as interactive and dynamic as possible is highly suggested. A. This is one of those positions where you will never know what they are looking for. Last year for a similar 3-year VAP, they announced the position as an assistant professorship. It did not say that they were looking for a senior assistant professor. They ended up hiring a professor who had been working as an assistant professor for 3 years in another college. All in all, no chance from newly graduates. A: I would disagree with the second answer on several points. I was one of the final candidates, and was still VERY ABD. Also, the post was announced as VAP last year. They posted Peninsular and Latin American, and the person who had the LA job previously was a newly minted PhD. They are looking for the best possible candidate, and they are very picky, although I'd be surprised to see them leave the position unfilled again this year. Salaries are good there, and the campus is beautiful. Most people in the department live in Seattle, though, and you would probably want to as well, so be ready for a relatively long commute. Tacoma has some good things about it, but Seattle's better in many respects. The market is tight this year, so there will be a lot of competition, but they are very open to hiring the right ABD. You'd almost certainly want/need to finish before starting. Considering what's available this year, if you get a chance at this one, jump on it. A: As someone who knows several people in the department, I concur: they're really looking for a good candidate and a good fit. Experience can be part of that equation, but it doesn't have to be. People who are ABD should finish before starting, because teaching the first year out can be quite absorbing. Tacoma is improving; Seattle is better, and quite accessible from Tacoma. If finances are tighter, pick Tacoma.
 * Swarthmore College? VAP A. An email receipt of my application was sent today, and they said they would be making decisions by the 21st of December about who would be invited to interview at MLA. (x2) (email 12/16)
 * U of North Carolina Charlotte (Linguistics)?
 * Case Western Reserve U? (Their deadline hasn't even passed! I doubt they're interviewing at the MLA, given their late deadline.)
 * U of Pittsburgh (lecturer Latin Am-Peninsular)?
 * Rockhurst U?
 * Northern Michigan?
 * Kennesaw State University generalist? A. I'm wondering about this too because the deadline was in October.
 * Universidad de Monterrey (Mexico), Professor for the Humanities?
 * King's College, generalist? Avoid this one if you can. Q. Why? Do they have coodies?
 * Illinois Wesleyan University, one-year visiting? A. They contacted the candidates asking if they were still interested in the position. They will make phone interviews in late January and campus visits in February. (3x) Q: Are you still interested even after change from TT to 1-year VAP? A: Yes (4X), No (0X), Yes, of course, at this moment, and looking at the job market I am even interested in janitor positions (really interested).   A: I would even be the janitor's helper. A: Yes, 1-yr VAP beats semester-to-semester lecturer
 * University of San Francisco, instructor?  A. an AA form by mail 12/14
 * Emory and Henry College instructor?
 * Georgia State University? video interviews scheduled, see above.
 * Georgia Gwinnett College several positions in Spanish (undetermined)?
 * Hillsdale College visiting?
 * George Washington University instructor?They have been looking for a language Specialist for 3 years in a row. Please, make that position AP and you will see how many qualified candidates you get. They do not want to have an expert in SLA as AP, why?
 * University of Florida?
 * Pomona College?
 * Trinity College?
 * Loyola University? (linguistics) Great place/city and even better staff, colleagues and people. I used to work there as an adjunct instructor and they were very friendly, nice and good people in general. Good luck in the search, and I hope they open an Early Modern position in the future, soon. I would go there in a heart beat.
 * University of Wisconsin, Madison (linguistics)?
 * Davidson College? If this is the 2 year post doc, I know one person got it (second hand) Q: Really? That's really disappointing (for me, not the person who got it! congrats!) because their deadline hasn't even passed yet. I thought there was time left to apply.
 * NYU (Medieval)? Someone erased the information: they have contacted candidates for an MLA interview. Q: Is this for the "Early Modern Studies" position? A: As far as I know, there was never such thing as an Early Modern Studies position, that it was for a medievalist. Good luck with NYU..I do not envy you at all :) A: Totally agree...eso es una pelea constante de gallitos...definitivamente no es un buen sitio para trabajar...pero cada cual...
 * NYU (Center for LatinAmerican and Caribbean Studies)?
 * Warren Wilson College? They sent out e-mails on 11/30 with interview questions. What is up with these questions, its like taking my prelims again!
 * Villanova? The DEADLINE was yesterday!!!! What do you expect...???
 * Augustana College? 
 * Northeastern Illinois?
 * Southeast Missouri SU? See comment above on canceled searches // thanks, and yep, after reading your comment I checked my email and there it was... It's frustrating... Sin palabras.
 * Evansville U?
 * Wiston-Salem U?
 * Jacksonville?
 * Grambling SU?
 * Salem State U? 
 * East Stroudsburg U?
 * Lycoming C?
 * John Carroll U?
 * Quest U? A. I know that a friend of mine was invited for a campus interview in early december. He teaches Spanish. They also invited another candidate who teaches Chinese. They were to decide between the two of them, but he has not heard anything new from them in the last weeks.
 * University of Wisconsin-Madison? 
 * Northwestern U?

Q&A or comments:
'''1. Can we try keeping this alphabetical... '''

A. Es mas facil ubicar la informacion si esta ordenada cronologicamente, que por orden alfabetico...

A. No sé por qué sería más fácil cronológicamente...parece que lo estamos haciendo por orden alfabético.

A. Look at other disciplines in past years. The ones that do it alphabetically AND have a lot of activity, it gets to be difficult to monitor different positions. When you apply to 30/40/50 places, it's easier to keep track of MLA and campus interviews by the date they get placed here.

A. The "Submitted applications" section should definitely be kept in alphabetical order. Anything else would be best kept in chronological order.

A. I applied to 100 jobs last year, and the chronological order didn't help me.

A. 100 jobs? The help you need dependeth not on the order of the Wiki. :)

A. LOL. Just keep the alphabetical as usual. Chronological makes no sense.

A. SOOOOOOO... "Submitted Application Status" in alphabetical (this category will be compressed and/or disappear anyway as more significant news starts to arise), and everything else in chronological order? That sounds good to me, even though I was initially one of the above voices of support for alphabetical order.

A. Great! Gotta love some consensus!

A. Why some people is deleting comments? Censorship here? OH, PLEASE! Lets go by the chronological order.


 * PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL AND PROFESSIONAL.*

A. 1) 100 positions? I applied to 10 last year, and still got a t-t position. This year I am part of a search committee in Spanish, and reading all materials we can easily discard those that "apply to everything" because they have no clue what this position is about; they did not spend time personalizing their dossiers because they were too busy applying to 100 positions. Get some help, as someone said. La gente a veces tiene que "apply to everything" porque tiene que comer, alimentar a sus hijos. Como se puede ser tan soberbio...y pensar que gente como tu esta en los search comittees...ahora si que veo que me equivoque de profesion...por favor, un poco de respeto con todo el mundo.

A.) According to your "logic" then you should have only applied to one! What a braggart!

A) Where do you work? Just to avoid applying there...

A) The problem, at least for me, is that many job descriptions are really vague, and it is not really clear what do they want in concrete. Sometimes, it seems, that is because even the insitution is not really defined and are differences among people. Other it is because they are not really clear in what they want.
 * 2) Some people is talking the way our kids is learning (Bush dixit).

A.) For the record in case this comes up again next year, now that the wiki is getting numerous updates every single day, it is much easier to track your interested positions chronologically. You notice 4 new MLA interviews and 2 phone interviews and you only have to pan up a few spots to make sure you haven't missed anything. Much easier than hunting down 8 universities in a list of 100 schools.

A)For next year camarades: I agree with the previous answer. A chronological list is easier to check after a while, it does not matter how many positions you've applied.

'''2. ¿Qué significa AA? '''

A. AA es la forma de "Affirmative Action."

A. Alternate meaning: Alcoholics Anonymous. You may need their help after a year on the job market...

A. Thanks. Yes, I recently learned about the high incidence of AA and NA in academia.....note to self....

A. Anxious Academics. I do not know if it is me or the universities are taking much more time to contact people this year. By this time last year, I had 2 interviews scheduled for the MLA.

A. Anxious Academics is right! I have 2 MLA interviews as of now, but so many schools are still completely MIA...no ackn. letters, nothing, nada. I guess next week we will all be overloaded with responses? Maybe not.

A. I agree that things seem to be going a little slower (and of course lower). Thanksgiving was late this year--that could be part of it, and also a higher number than usual had their deadlines between the 20th of November and the 1st of December.

3. What about including open positions for Spanish language/literature in European universities?

A. If you have some news on them, go ahead and put it up! There is nobody moderating this Wiki, just add it yourself.

A. Here's one: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AAG219/college-lecturership-in-spanish; And you may be able to find more in days to come at www.jobs.ac.uk.

'''4. Anyone know what happened to the "MLA interviews scheduled" information from last year's Wiki? Or have some record of it? Although I remember more or less, I would be interested to know when interviews really started to come along. '''

A. They started appearing right after thanksgiving, if I am not mistaken... That part got deleted after a while in last year's wiki. But check the year before last (someone already posted the link above) you'll see it's after thanksgiving that things start moving quickly.

A. Yes, after thanksgiving is the usual. Dont get so anxious... yet...

'''5.Any advice as to possible answers for the question&gt; How would you teach X or Y course? (first timer here!) '''

A: If you have already an interview, and know which classes they teach usually and might want you to teach, you should prepare a short class description, with readings and some activities that may help you to give concrete examples. If you want to go further you can always prepare a full syllabus, but that may be too much. Hope it helps.

A: It is impossible to prepare possible syllabi for all courses being taught in every university you apply. But have at least 2 or 3 syllabi ready for courses you would "ideally" teach. Now, have you taught anything at all? If yes, then you're fine. Think of activities that worked really well, lesson plans that you were proud of, and modify them accordingly to the question they pose. Explain 1) methodology to prepare the class and syllabus (language/literature: what is the main drive force behind the course?) and 2) exemplify how a typical class would work with examples of things that worked in your classes. Important always: specific examples: that will keep them asking you more

6. Why am i checking this website obsessively?

A. The same reason I am, it gives you a sense of control over something you have no control over. LOL. Good luck on your job hunt! :) This must be AM.

'''7. nothing much on this wiki this year... besides a reduced market, maybe not enough people know about it '''

A. Nothing has happened yet, hence nothing on the Wiki. (11/29)

8. Someone deleted an exchange about postdoc. Please don't do that. In any case, here goes again the link http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Humanities_and_Social_Science_Postdocs_2009-2010

'''10. What is a muleteer? (see visitor type section above). Is this a Quijote reference or do you mean that you travel between various part-time teaching gigs and get paid next to nothing? (If it is a Quijote reference, then at my current job I feel as exploited as la pobre Maritornes, but this year hope to "marry up" or move up professionally-speaking and become more like the astute Dorotea!) '''

A. I took it as a bit of sarcasm regarding the over-the-top specificity of the "self-identification" section with regard to seemingly irrelevant factors...for example, native speaker vs. non-native speaker vs. heritage speaker. But perhaps that was just my reading. And by the way, how many of us have green eyes? Brown eyes? Blue?

A. Please also include your over-the-top specificity for your coffee at Starbucks.

11. U Penn:Did anyone else have problems with their referees not receiving the automated email requesting letters for U Penn? 3 of mine received it a week ago and uploaded their letter, but my advisor says she never got the email. And the website gives no contact info for technical help- just the provost's office. Ay ay ay.//Yes, I am having the same problem, only 2/3 of my letters are up on their internal HR site. SAME HERE... .// Me too, problems with referees not receiving automated email requesting letters. If you ask your referees to send letters directly to dept., they (clerks) do not upload letters in your file.

'''12. What does "2x" mean? '''

A. It means 'two times', but read it as 'two people' (i.e. two people agree, two people have been contacted...etc)

A: It means (at least as far as I understood it in other entries throughout the wiki) "por 2" so that 2 persons had been requested an interview, it is a way to not repeat the same.

A. It makes sense when two people have scheduled interviews, are contacted, etc., but it's not particularly helpful when used as in "I second this question." Adding "x2" to a question doesn't clarify or add urgency, but rather confuses the issue of whether this is a response or a question. (x2)

'''13. It is my first time on the MLA. Does anybody have recommendations? What should I take with me? Thanks!!! '''

A. for 1. ideas on how to answer the staple questions (course offerings, dissertation summary and new project) 2. confidence, 3. ear plugs 4. notebook, the common sense stuff. there are plenty of tips in the Chronicle of Higher Ed, which probably explains why no one has taken the trouble to respond to your query. Good luck!

A: If you have an interview, congrats for the interview!! let's start from the most simple: you should think in bringing clothes that would really take the question of dressing out of your mind, and of your interviewers. You also should think in bringing something that might help you to distract, a book that you might want to read, music, that is, something that helps relaxing you and does not add to your stress, as well as bringing your materials for the interview. Check the school, see what they might want you to teach, be prepared to give them short class descriptions of those clases, as well as your dream class. Have a nice description of how you teach a class, what is your research. Prepare a few questions for them. Check the MLA or the Chronicle, and ask your advisors for more developed advice. Finally, enjoy Philly, which is a great city. Buena Suerte!!

'''14. Do grad students that are only going to the MLA Convention for an interview have to pay the registration/membership (i.e. I know that the interviews in the large cattle-call room require a badge but what if you just have 1 hotel suite interview - do you think the interviewers know/care?)? '''

A: Congrats for the interview! After that, if you have all the information about the room hotel and that, I do not think they might care. However, that implies probably that you would not be able to use any of the information center of the convention if something happens. I would pay, just to take the doubt from my mind. That is, if you are having an interview you want to really focus on important stuff and not on an imaginary "what if" that only distracts you and put you more nervous. Also remember that you can still get another interview and if it is in the massive and hellish room you would need to have your registration for sure, so again, I would take the problem of my mind and pay. Good luck!

A: Estos eventos no requieren registro para la convención. http://www.mla.org/convention/conv_listings/conv_listings_type/mtgs_openpublic

'''15. Okay, today is Monday Dec. 7.  STILL waiting for that phone to ring. Almost in panic mode/full-scale tears and depression mode. When should I give up on the phone ringing? Or, when is the latest they could call in your experience? Have already tried distracting myself with exercise, work, reading, and shopping. Please advise. '''

A. I think the search season is just now getting underway. My sense is that this year the calls are going to come mostly this week and next. So I think we've all really got until the 18th or so before we need to start thinking the worst. My fabulous predictions, by the way, are based on how late we're all getting acknowledgement receipts of our applications this year as opposed to years past, as well as bits and pieces I'm hearing from people on search committees. So hang in there. Don't distract yourself, though, just make sure you've got all your interview materials lined up and ready to go! Good luck!

A: I do agree with you. I have also heard from people who's been called during the MLA. It is not normally the case but it can happen... If you compare the job list with the wiki, there are plenty of institutions who haven't called yet so we have to be patient...good luck!

A. They can call you even at the 24th. So, you get the idea.

A. I agree with the first response--there are too few things up on the wiki to despair yet... Looks like things are taking longer. Also: 1) thanksgiving came late this year and 2) many applications were due between late November and early December--more than usual.

A. I'd like to be optimistic and think they are late this year, but Cuidado. There are a lot of searches cancelled and they didn't send notifications, yet.

A. When you say that positions were canceled, which ones are you referring to? Is it a rumor that is circulating or you know something in particular? Speculation does not help here and there are many people getting anxious about that.

A. Cuidado: this doesn't seem helpful. Why don't you add this information (about canceled searches) to the wiki.

A. Yes, sorry for the confusion. Disregard posting above. I posted the "searches cancelled". I was just repeating what a big fish from a R1 told me.

A. Also, keep in mind that many places are dealing with end of semester stuff right now. And the market seems to be smaller this year.Waiting for the phone to ring here too! It is very crappy that they keep us all waiting so long - whatever the reason! It is stressful and pretty much just drives us all nuts! Good luck all!

15b. Original question-writer here: Thank you everybody for your reassuring answers! Feeling better already. Hope to see you (even though I will have no idea who you all are) at the MLA. Buena suerte.

A/Q. Just curious, OP, now that it's 12/15, has your situation changed at all?

'''16. Friendly advice: don't take anything that this Wiki says too seriously, or as an indication of the be-all-end-all truth of any particular search. No search is over until a contract is signed or a cancellation is official. Now that "insider information" has started to rear its head, reliability can quickly go out the window. I know of multiple people who have written things off rashly because of something they read on the Wiki, and later gotten a position. Take it all with a grain of salt! '''

A. True that, friend.

A: Yep, I know some more examples as well...so, do not despair...there is plenty of time...

A. And to think I based all my job-search decisions off of this thing!

A. In my 3 years on the wiki, I've had pretty reliable experience with it w/ the exception of last year's UC Berkeley position and faux insider info.

'''17. Hey people! What about a meeting with all of us at the MLA? :) '''

A. Sure, I am game. Drinks? Coffee? A: Totally up for it. Let's do it!!! A great idea my friend!

A. Look in your convention program and crash any of the many Cash Bars. Atleast that is how a poor graduate student rolls.

A. So which cash bar should we meet up at? How will we know each other? Should we all wear giant name tags that say "Obsessed Wiki Checker" (OWC for short)? Or should we all bring our favorite books with a red rose tucked inside?

A. Dale!

A. OWCA: the "A" means we are anonymous. No one really wants to see who is on this thing.

A. If you don't want to go, don't do it. You hater.

A. I say we include a seppuku-clause. (Not a Santa Claus)

'''18. Does anyone else feel like they should have applied to more VAPs and full-time non-tenure positions? I'm starting to think that I was too narrow in my search based on my current nonexistent interview schedule. '''

A. Past tense?! There are still plenty of visiting jobs and non-tenure-track jobs whose deadlines haven't passed, and there is always a round of announcements that come around for such positions in the spring. I was in a similar position to you last year, and I am in a nice visiting position now. There's no need to think that you're done because you already sent out your "main" bunch of applications--it ain't over 'til it's over!

A. Personally, yes and no. I'm starting to think that maybe I should have applied for some VAP or Instructor positions, since currently I only have 2 interviews (hey, it could be worse, I am lucky in a sense). I just don't want to move my family and my entire life halfway across the country for a year, despite the fact that a VAP would be beneficial to my CV. On the other hand, I wonder what would happen if everyone decided to boycott all VAP and Instructor positions for a few years? Of course it would never happen, we all need jobs. But I wonder if some of these universities would finally realize that the system of relying on VAPs and Instructors is so damaging to so many. There are both positives and negatives in these positions, as some have even scored TT positions as a result of their VAP-ship. Ah, maybe I'm just bitter : )

AZ. What you're talking about is the union. And that would be a great idea--but it's hard for many reasons to get "knowledge workers" on board. Still: to the OP: it's early for VAP positions now. Those are usually more of a spring-thing.

A@: In my opinion, VAP is a good idea for people who want to build a CV, get experience and be able to work for a good future TT position elsewhere, that they might not get a chance without that experience.

AZ. Yes. There are many good things about being a VAP but let us remember: part of why enrollments are going up--in this sand and mohawk based economy, no less--and t-t lines are yet decreasing is precisely the casualization of university labor of which the VAP is a fundamental part.

A@. Entiendo, realmente de ninguna manera quise defender la flexibizacion laboral que implicaria la expansion de VAP, ni decir que es bueno que las posiciones TT se dejen de lado, pero a veces una posicion VAP tiene sus ventajas, si es que uno no quiere asentarse todavia, quiere ganar experiencia ya que no le da el cuero todavia para buenas posiciones TT. Seria un desastre que predominaran las VAP y no los TT, en eso estamos, creo, de acuerdo.

A. But some schools are scheduling interviews before the deadline is even up.

'''19. I think it would be a good idea to have a section on the specializations and stuatus (beg. assistant, abd, etc) of those who got interviews at the different institutions so those of us who did not get anything can have a clearer idea of what where those institutions looking for, for next year. '''

I agree. that kind of information would help me in preparing my application for the next MLA.

Me too, i think it is a great idea to share this info so others can prepare.

Me three.

A. Fat chance, to put it bluntly--people don't want to out-and-out give themselves away to committee members as participants in a website that can be perceived as gossipy and detrimental to the profession. When committees see false information on this Wiki, they get pissed, and they have a bad impression of the Wiki overall, even if you're just an innocent and helpful participant. At any rate, think about it, they're looking for what you think they're looking for: more experience, better experience, more publications, etc. Work on all that, and you won't need help preparing your applications. I'm not trying to be snide, but I don't see people who have opportunities self-identifying in any way that might, just might, jeopardize those opportunities. (A. Good gosh, while I understand your concerns, it's hard to read what you wrote and not interpret it as snide. So much for congeniality. I couldn't agree more with the post below.) (Yeah, I might have expressed it a little harshly; I'm really a congenial person, but a few years of obsessing over this thing can make you jaded :) Hope I didn't offend anyone, but remember, the market's not sympathetic either! I also agree with the post below, which I address beneath it. Happy holidays and good luck.) (Thank you! That was nice of you to say. I am a first-timer going to MLA this year and I have been completely freaked out by this process. It's just way more crazy/competitive/random/exasperating than I thought. Happy holidays to you too and good luck!)

A: It's not altogether accurate to think that committees judge only based on the quality of a candidate's CV. Committee often have profiles (theoretical, regional, even in terms of a candidate's "pedigree," etc.) in mind, even when they don't specify. They have distinct cultures and want someone that will complement what is already there. They also may have an internal or external candidate already in mind. Job searches are not always necessarily about the *best* candidate (and what is *best* can differ from faculty member to faculty member), and often about internal dynamics in committees --- they are a delicate balancing act, with lots of variables involved. It's better to understand the market from this perspective, rather than approaching it as a pure meritocracy. In other words, it's like any other job --- a mixture of your hard work, and lots of factors you can't really control. Whether or not people want to "out" themselves on the wiki --- that's a separate issue.

A. All true. My point (above) and your point here drive at the same issue, as far as the original question is concerned--all you can do is make your CV as good as possible; everything else is beyond your control. Knowing whether people were ABD, beginning Assistant Profs, or whatever, is not going to improve your chances because there is no predictable formula to this decision-making process.

A. I don't see why using the Wiki is "gossipy" or "detrimental". It provides valuable and (mostly) accurate information!! Many times universities don't even bother to let you know if they have even received your application! Or they don't even let you know when they have hired someone else, leaving you hanging after slaving over applications on nights and weekends after work. At least the wiki does that, it helps to relieve the stress of waiting and not knowing. Plus there is a sense of community with others who are in the same situation!

A. Hey, I (the above poster) am all about the Wiki and its helpfulness. But... "When committees see false information on this Wiki, they get pissed, and they have a bad impression of the Wiki overall, even if you're just an innocent and helpful participant." False information and speculation is gossipy and damaging to searches, and even if most of the information is reliable, if you're on a committee and see false information about your search, it's going to leave a bad taste in your mouth about the people who are contributing to the Wiki. (I will refer you to the [|back-and-forth lying accusations about last year's Berkeley search], even though it was all erased by angry committee members!) I can't speak for anyone else, but this is why I won't be sharing the type of information that would directly identify me as a participant in the Wiki to a potential employer...why risk giving a bad impression? There is no real reason that such information would be necessary or helpful. Meanwhile, I'll keep obsessing over this Wiki like everyone else! (ok, ok, point taken : ) I have no idea what happened last year re: false info, but it sure sounds interesting.) The Berkeley false info was erased/corrected by grad students and alumni familiar with the search. Also, earlier in that particular search there were other falsities put on the wiki. (Even after a year and a finished search, then, the controversy hasn't died down?) The search was successful; anything "interesting" is based on gossip' and assumptions.

A. Most searches I've seen have finalists and semi-finalists all over the map: ABD, recent PhD, early assistant profs, tenure-denied advanced assistant profs, etc. Fretting over your status and what the committee wants is about as useful as worrying if you're non-native or heritage and not native.

'''20. Is anyone else surprised at how many places have the same job posting 2,3, or even 4 years in a row? I can't believe some of the places that are interviewing this year still have not found someone!'''

A. Which places are you talking about? Is that normal?

A. I don't know if it is normal...is anything about this process really normal? ;-) Off the top of my head, I can think of Western IL, Worcester Poly, East Stroudsburg, Charleston College, Lebanon Valley (I think it's the same job), Sienna College, Middle Tennessee, John Jay College... I'm sure there are a couple of others. They are all looking for basically the same thing they had advertised in the last 2 -3 years.

A: i think it´s quite obvious-- the rigid and expensive set-up doesn´t work, it´s not flexible enough and relies on too many blind protocols.

'''21. I read above that we are not supposed to get job offers before the MLA because it' the law. Is that true? Why is it like that? Thanks!''' A: there si not written law about it, especially if a dept. is hiring a senior person. The law (not universal, though), is that they have to do a national search. PERIOD. Therefore, yes, it is fair game to offer a position before MLA. A: These are guidelines, not laws.

'''22. What do you think about offers made before the MLA? How ethical is that?'''

(I mean, the Canada one, we'll they're not bound by these gringo laws... And I'd rather work at Western than almost anywhere else, so I don't think it's too big of a problem...)

A: Depends on the context of the offer. MLA guidelines state that offers should not be made before 1/22 in order to allow people to attend the convention and consider competing offers, etc. If an option is offered to the applicant after feeling out how receptive they might/might not be to an accelerated process, it is probably fine. If it is something unilaterally done by the institution, I would say that it should probably be discouraged out of fairness to the applicant.

'''23. Do departments that have already invited candidates to the MLA ever invite MORE candidates later on? In other words, if a department notified 3 people on 12/7, would it be verosímil to expect them to then invite 3 more candidates on 12/11?? (por ejemplo)'''

A: I rarely happens. Remember that not everybody uses the wiki and that a lot of candidates just read it, they don't post on it. So if you see that 3 people have been notified it does not mean that they haven't notified all the candidates, on the contrary.

A. It has happened (last year a research 1 university contacted me a couple of days after the name came up in the wiki. How often does this happen? I'm not sure.

A. I think it's an overstatement to say it rarely happens. While it certainly is not something that's frequent, it has happened to me on two or three occasions. Ultimately, until you receive a letter stating you're out of the pool of candidates, the game's still on. Having said that, your chances aren't super high...

24. Is there a wiki for dissertation fellowships (predocs)?

'''25. Do departments invite candidates in the reserve list right before or even during the MLA, when a selected candidate communicates that s/he can't make it to the interview? I've heard about people getting phone calls in the hotel but I don't entirely believe it... Truth or myth? Is it a realistic option, considering that some people couldn't afford travel plus other expenses?'''

A. If an applicant is attending the MLA conference it should be clearly stated in the cover letter. Having said that, I would not count on interviews to be set up during the MLA. However, it might have happened...

'''26. Can anyone that has had a telephone interview and an MLA interview tell me which is harder to deal with? I have heard stories (that could be just urban legends) about people getting jobs after a telephone interview without having to do a job talk afetrwards...but it just doesnt make sense...does it?''' A: definitivamente te conviene la entrevista cara a cara. En el teléfono no ves las reacciones de los que te entrevistan. Se pueden estar cagando de risa de tu respuesta y tú ni te enteras. Aparte, a los que no dominamos completamente el inglés, el teléfono es una tortura. Creo que depende qué tan bueno eres para comunicar ideas a través de un aparato. Yo necesito una cara enfrente... qué quieres que te diga... Suerte con las entrevistas de cualquier manera.

Submitted Application Status:
(this seems entirely useless to me'; maybe once MLA interviews start kicking in we can delete this??? please do not erase anything, what is useless for you is useful for others / ditto! This is not useless information for some. Please do not erase. // Q: Has anyone recieve writing sample or other documents request so far beyond Vanderbilt and Indiana U? (23/11)//  //A: Warren Wilson, Amherst have requested more materials.

Q: Is this section still helpful to most, or is it ok to start deleting it since supposedly we are now moving on to the "Interviews Scheduled" stage? I think we should just leave it since I'm sure there is somebody who might need it. Besides, it takes less than a second to scroll past.

A: How about we move it to the bottom of the page? I'm doing this now.

A: Well, at least this solution allows people for next year to check it if they want to see when things started to happend. Also, there are still people putting new stuff here since there are schools that are a bit late in the process, so moving it instead of erasing seems a good idea.

'''If you are adding info to this list please put it in bold, so it is easier to check the new data. Thanks'''

Albion College-letter with AA 09/11, 11/16, phone call scheduled to talk about the position (12/3)

Albright College - letter with AA form 10/1

Amherst College - letter requesting more materials 11/23

Angelo State University - Ackn. e-mail 9/25

Augustana College - Ackn. e-mail 10/26

Bates College - Mail ackn. with AA form, '''Ackn. mail 12/3 '''

Berry College - letter with AA form 10/07

Birmingham-Southern College - Ackn. e-mail 10/5, 10/27, 11/17

Brandeis University - Ackn. e-mail 10/22; Ackn. e-mail 11/9; Ackn. e-mail 11/24 (2)

Case Western Reserve U - '''Ackn. email 12/16'''

Clemson U - Ack. letter and AA form 11/16

College of Charleston - Ackn. e-mail 11/16

Colorado College - Ackn. email 9/30, 10/30 (3)

'''Columbus State U-Ackn. snail-mail 12/17'''

Connecticut College - '''Ackn. email and AA 12/7 '''

Emory and Henry College - letter with AA form 10/14

Franklin College - letter with AA form 10/27, 10/28, letter 11/18

Georgia State University - Ackn. email 11/16, 11/30

Georgia Gwinnett College Q: any news? A. This is a very weird place because they want several people for next year, some at different ranks, and they did not post any deadline. After that, they said they also wanted people for January. Plus, being a new university founded in 2005 you never know what their plan is. We will have to keep on waiting.// Thanks, is good to know this.

Grinnell- Ackn. email 11/11 (2); Ackn. e-mail; candidates who will be interviewed at MLA will be notified in early December (11/19);

Hamilton College - Ackn. email 10/23, 11/10, 11-19

Harvard email 12/1

Hastings College - letter with AA form 9/28

Illinois Wesleyan University - Ackn. email and confirming that the position has been transformed into a 2-year visiting 11/3 (X2)
 * new version of job add says 1-year

Indiana University - request of writing sample 11/13, ackn. email 11/19

Jacksonville U: ??

John Carroll University: Ackn email, 12/1''', ackn. email 12/16'''

Kennesaw State U - letter with AA form 10/7

King's College - Mail ackn. 11/5, letter with AA form 10/12

Lycoming College: Ackn email 12/07 

McKendree U -- Ackn letter 12/12 

Middle Tennessee SU (MTSU) - Ackn.email 10/27

Missouri Southern State University - Ackn. e-mail 10/16

Monmouth College - Ackn. e-mail 11/2  (3)

Morningside College - Ackn. e-mail 11/5

Mount Royal University (Canada) - Ackn. e-mail 11/17

MMSU - Ackn. e-mail 11/11

Northern Kentucky U - letter with AA form 10/15

Portland State University - ackn. email and AA form 11/17 (3)

Penn State at Berks - Ackn. e-mail 10/16 (2)

Rice - Ackn. e-mail 11/02 (2)

Rice U, instructor - email asking about visa status (12/16)

Sam Houston State University - '''Ackn. letter 12/2 '''

Siena, 11/30

Southern Methodist University - Ackn. e-mail 11/05

Southeast Missouri State U- letter 11/13

St. Ambrose U- email with AA 11/17

St. Bonaventure U - Ackn. e-mail 11/9

Stony Brook, SUNY: ??

SUNY New Paltz - Mail ackn. with AA form 11/5 (3)

The College of Wooster - Ackn. e-mail 11/13

The University of British Columbia - Ackn. letter 11/17

Towson University - letter with AA form 10/23

U of Alabama: Ackn letter with AA 11/18, Ackn letter with AA (Linguistics) 12/11  

U of Alaska: Ackn. e-mail 12/10

U of British Columbia - Ackn. letter 11/23

U of Colorado Boulder - Ackn. e-mail 10/30

U of Delaware - Mail ackn. with AA form 10/29, 10/20, 10/23

U of Evansville letter 11/4

U of Kansas - Ackn. e-mail 11/2; Ackn. e-mail 10/19, Ackn. e-mail 11/10; Ack. e-mail 11/23

U of Kentucky - Ackn. e-mail 10/27

U of Massachusetts Dartmouth - '''Ack. e-mail with AA form (12/4 x3) '''

U of Michigan Ann Arbor - Ackn. e-mail 10/20 (3)

U of Missouri at Columbia - Ackn. email w.AA form (11/13)

U of Oregon - Ackn. email will AA form 11/17

U of Puget Sound, Ackn letter with AA 12/4 

U of San Diego - Mail ackn. 11/5; Ackn. e-mail 11/13

U of San Francisco--'''email ackn. 12/9 (x2) and AA form snail-mail 12/14'''

U of Southern California - Ackn. email 11/10 (3)

U of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Q: any news?

Vanderbilt - email requesting more documents 11/11

Virginia Tech instructor - Ackn. e-mail 10/9

Warren Wilson College - Ackn. e-mail 11/9, AA 16/10, 10/29; email requesting more information (11/30)

Washington College - Ackn. e-mail 10/3, 10/29

Williams College - letter with AA form 10/06, letter 11/3

WPI - Ackn. e-mail 10/12, ackn. email 12/4, ackn. email 12/4 also