Europe: Modern

Navigation

Europe

Europe: Open searches

Europe: Ancient

Europe: Medieval

Europe: Early Modern

Europe: Modern

Back to AcademicJobSearch

Discussion

Section Last Updated: 7 April 2008, 9:00 AM EST (please update regularly!)

WIKI MODERN EUROPE Applicant Counter: Yes, I'm on the market = 30 persons

POST-AHA DISCUSSION

• [I'm not sure if we have a general discussion page or not; if we do, this probably belongs there, so feel free to move it...] Now that the AHA is over and at least some of us are more or less anxiously awaiting to hear from at least some of the people we interviewed with in Washington, I'd be curious to know if there are some of us out there who have had all the luck (i.e. were invited for, say, 15 AHA interviews and will move on to about 10 campus visits [congratulations to anyone who actually achieved that feat, both from an intellectual and a logistical point of view...!]) while many other have been entirely ignored, or whether the opportunities have been distributed more evenly. Of course, being a cultural historian who has not done any advanced math since taking the GREs (except checking my change at the convenience store around the corner), I have no idea how to make this a meaningful exercise in quantification. But of course we could go for a more qualitative approach. So, what are your experiences this year?

• To make a start, I applied for 14 positions, received 3 invitations for the AHA, and have thus far received 1 invitation for a campus visit.
• I applied for around 40 positions to start in 2008, including 5 due to begin in January, and got one AHA interview. I had a campus visit for a spring-semester job that was eventually closed for lack of funding.
• I applied to 31 jobs, had one AHA interview. So far, received 8 rejections. Still waiting to hear from the rest. (WOW, shocked to see how many are not even finished with dissertation yet and getting interviews! I have been done since May and only got one interview...hmmm).
• I applied to 43 jobs, had three phone interviews, eight AHA interviews, and four on-campus. This is my first year on the market and my dissertation is about half written. Just got an offer, accepted it and will defend and file the dissertation this July.
• I applied to 35+ jobs, had 7 interviews (some phone, 1 AJS, some AHA). I have 3 campus visits scheduled. This is my second year on the market. I'm filing my Dissertation this Spring, regardless of whether I find a job or not.
• I applied to c. 30 jobs, had 9 AHA and phone interviews, and currently 2 campus visits. This is also my second year on the market, and I've had much greater success with a dissertation that is truly "almost finished" this year
• I applied to ca. 14 jobs, had 5 AHA/phone interviews, and have 1 campus visit. This is my 3rd year on the market, and so far it's looking better than last year. I am also finally done, which seems to have made difference.
• Anyone in this boat? 7 applications, 7 AHA interviews, so I was feeling great (if a bit overwhelmed at the AHA). (I've got a multi-year postdoc so am being selective in applying this year). Then, no campus interviews at all.
• Applied for about 25 jobs, had 7 AHA interviews + 1 phone interview, 4 campus visits.
• I have applied for about 30 history jobs now as an ABD, had 3 AHA interviews, 1 campus interview following the AHA screening, and an additional campus interview with a school that didn't do the AHA, BUT... no job offers yet. This is just such an _awful_ experience and I am sorry so many of us have to go through it.
• I applied for 33 jobs, had 8 AHA interviews, and 2 campus interviews, out of which I received two job offers.
• I applied for about 12 jobs, had 0 AHA interviews, and (duh) 0 invitations for campus interviews. Since the AHA, I've applied to 2 other jobs, one tenure-track. I've currently got a visiting job, though, so I'm being selective about applying. As a side note, this is my 5th year on the market, and in my opinion, it is the most dismal yet.
• [I feel your pain - and share it, since I am in a very similar boat ( but in early, not modern)! Did you read the InsideHigher Ed piece about the faulty stats of the AHA? Too true]
• I applied for about 25 jobs, one AHA interview, two campus (one did not do AHA).
• Applied for about 25 jobs, 1 phone, 4 AHA, 2 on-campus (2 "back up" on-campus, whatever this means), 1 job offer. I am early modern not modern. I don't know which market is more brutal. I am a May 07 PhD from a top 5 program in European history.
• I applied for 12 jobs this year. I had five AHA interviews and three on-campus. From those three on-campus interviews came two job offers. This is my fourth year out (I did get a TT offer two years ago, but turned it down after getting freaked out about the 4:4 teaching load).

• Question about the above posting: could you cut and paste in the linke for the Inside Higher Ed piece? Thanks!

• I'm not sure how useful this sort of counting is - however, I would like to see more institutions notify those whom they interviewed at the AHA that they/we were not among those initially invited to campus. I'm sure that there are those who might disagree, but it seems that the profession needs a bit more transparency.
• response to previous post: Yes, yes, let's hear it for more transparency! As each search committee interviewed, let's say, 10 to 15 candidates tops at AHA, there's no reason they can't send out a brief email to the 7 to 12 people not invited to campus. Even a group email would do, so we're really only talking about taking the time to write one little email. Grrr!
• Maybe search committee members don't read Perspectives. If they did, they'd know that what we're saying here is the official AHA position, too. See: [1]
• Well, there's a clear reason why they don't notify people that aren't invited to campus: They're not done with the search process yet. If they go through the 3-4 people they've invited to campus but they don't find the right person (or they change their criteria), they'll go down the list and invite some others. It happens all the time. Why should they risk losing an interested, qualified candidate by saying that they've invited other people to campus?
• response to above: Yes, but.... Yes, obviously some search committee chairs may refrain from updating candidates not selected for campus interviews for the reason you state. But search committee chairs can communicate transparently and clearly about the status of a search without "losing" interested and qualified candidates. After all, it's not as if the candidates wish to be lost! We'll still be (more than) interested if the first few campus visits fail and we're called in as "back up" candidates thereafter...
• I can only concur. As a matter of fact, I AHA-interviewed at one college I really liked (the school, the people, the location), but, alas, they invited others out to campus. But the SC chair nonetheless sent me a very nice (and clearly personalized!) e-mail telling me that I was not among the lucky few, but also not to give up hope altogether because one never knows what happens. So I do wonder why other schools can't do the same? I, for one, would jump to get another chance there any time (even though I did get invited to campus elsewhere).
• Is it all over now? (2/3). Have the campus invites all gone out??
• Damn. What a killer question. A darkness has fallen over the wiki...

• I think many jobs are in danger now--the housing crash has really hit some state budgets hard.
• No, not all on-campus invites have gone out. A number of searches only closed to new applications in the last couple of weeks, so I presume these others will be making selections and calling us in March.
• People have referred to department rankings repeatedly (esp in the Fullerton discussion below). Which rankings are being cited? Just curious.

PRE-AHA DISCUSSION

-Anyone find it unusual how few offerings there are so far this year?

-Yes, unusual and frightening.

-Will others trickle through over the next few weeks? Or is this really about it?

-Don't fret yet! It is still early September and ads will be posted through October. It isn't looking good, but it isn't disastrous yet.

-Okay, it's October, and the good news is I'm saving a ton on postage. Is this year looking like a bloodbath to anyone but me?

-Glad someone else mentioned this. I'm in a visiting position (unlike last year) and thought that I must not be looking hard enough. There were more by last year at this time, I'm sure.

-I am now starting to panic. What is going on this year? If only we studied Africa...

-It also seems like there are many more country- or area-specific jobs than in previous years. Leaves those of us outside these parameters out of luck...I think I had applied to 30 jobs for the AHA last year - this year, I'm down to 11.

-European history is dead. We don't need NATO any more, we have condi; we don't need culture anymore, we have Youtube. Who could ask for anything more?

-I applied for 14 last year, 21 this year, so more jobs seemed to fit my categories than last year (1 last year was country/region specific, 3 this year were.)

-Funny how so many of the ones we all applied to aren't showing up in this list.

Jobs

Section Last Updated: 25 April 2008, 12:17 PM EST (please update regularly!)

To make this section a bit more manageable, I have moved all jobs where someone has posted that an offer has been made down, into a separate section. Objections? Please feel free to undo. (You've done a great job - thank you!)

Albion College (VAP)

• 3/17 Acknolwedgement letter.
• 5/4 Any news here?

Bowdoin College (VAP, Britain)

• 3/25 Phone interview scheduled
• Anyone invited to campus?

Bradley (Modern France)

• Higheredjobs.com
• (NB: Looks like someone deleted part of the Auburn material (the controversial bit about the language requiremen) and managed to delete the Bradley ad in the process. I restored Bradley, but was not sure how to restore the rest)
• Rejection letter via snailmail, 12/26
• The rejection letter seemed to suggest they had made a hire. Is this true? Are we allowed to ask/say who was hired?

Buffalo State (European Intellectual)

• 1/15: Any news beyond acknowledgment of application, anyone?
• 1/16: None at all...
• 1/28 Position re-announced on AHA list with deadline open (immediate review of applications)
• 2/14: Contacted for phone interview.
• 3/22: Two invited late Februay, early March. Decision was to have been made by mid March.

California State, Sacramento (Britain/world)

• Snail mail rejection, finalists invited for campus visit (letter dated 11/19)

Carleton College (not Britain)

• 11/5: Acknowledged receipt of application.
• Q: By letter or email? I didn't get either and I'm nervous that they didn't get my application.
• A: by e-mail.
• 11/29: Has anyone heard anything new on this search?
• 11/30: At the NACBS, Chair of search said they'd received 200+ apps for position - will probably take a while to vet them all.
• 12/7: AHA interview scheduled (phone).
• 12/11: Rejection e-mail. Said they got 250+ apps.
• 12/11: rejection email. over 250 apps
• Q: Has anyone else received neither a rejection nor an interview? Is there such a thing as an interview wait-list?
• 12/11: rejection email. over 250 apps
• A to Q: Yes, I'm in the same boat-neither rejection nor an interview.
• A. Yeah, some of us aren't getting the rejection email, but maybe they just haven't reached the end of the alphabet yet:)
• that makes sense, I'm in limbo too and my name starts with "S"...
• though mine is considerably earlier in the alphabet. Do you think we've increased reached a new threshold of indignity through this discussion? :)
• I just got the rejection letter about the 250 applicants, and how sorry they are to reject me, and I wrote back that since I have been rejected by 8 departments, I am sorry to say that I cannot accept their rejection and am looking forward to meeting with them at the AHA.
• For those of thinking we were in some intermediate pool, I think the alphabet theory proves correct, because I just got my rejection email. But hey, at least it was polite and they spelled my name correctly. That's more than I can say for previous rejection letters!
• Q: Maybe they are calling their interviewees in alpha order as well, as they work down the list???
• I am way up at the top of the aphabet, and I have received neither interview nor rejection yet!
• With 250 apps., we may have lost our names and become numbered files, with rejections going out by number. Whoever figures it out deserves a "courtesy interview".
• I am holding out for the interview wait list until I hear otherwise.
• Sadly, we probably have to acknowledge that emailing 240+ rejections takes some time... departmental asistants could get carpal tunnel over that kind of thing... that said, what's the theory / practice behind an interview wait list? we're next if they can't stand the ten or so they interview at the AHA? Any thoughts welcome.
• 12/16 - for what it's worth, I still haven't been rejected ... either the rejections are going out very slowly or I was so far down the list that my application is not even worth rejecting...
• My last lingering hope was dashed yesterday12/15with a snail mail rejection letter. So what determined who got email rejections as opposed to snail-mail rejections? Hey, losers gotta have something to talk about...
• 12/17 - Rejected via e-mail.
• Received rejection via email 12/11 after I contacted department to inquire. Was hating being in limbo.

Castleton State College

• 12/4: Acknowledged receipt of application by letter
• 1/17: Request for phone interview
• Does anybody know what happened here?

Catawba College

• 1/18: Anyone hear anything about this search?
• 1/30: Anyone hear anything about this search?

Clark University (Armenian Genocide and modern Armenian history)

Clayton State

• 1/23 Short list contacted
• On campus interviews concluded.
• Any news?

Columbia University (Russia/Soviet/Central Europe since 1500)

• The search criteria are very vague. Does anyone know what/how many positions they are looking to fill?
• I think it's three separate positions, it might take a while to see exactly what happens.
• 11/27 Request for letters and more materials- East Central Europe
• 12/23 3 campus visits scheduled for late Jan & early Feb

College of Charleston (VAP)

• 3/26 Acknowledgement letter.
• 5/4 Anyone hear anything yet?

Concordia University (Assistant Professor, Nineteenth-Century Quebec or Canada)

Clark University (modern Jewish history with specialization in Eastern Europe)

Connecticut College (19th-20th Century Europe excluding Germany)

• Received e-mail stating that they will inform candidates of AHA interviews by December 15th.
• Q: Was this part of a general email acknowledgment or a separate communication?
• 11/29 - A: Can't speak for the first poster, but mine was an e-mail addressed specifically to me by name sent prior to Thanksgiving (not to say that it wasn't still a form letter, only that it wasn't a mass e-mail).
• 11/29: I just received this email (addressed to me specifically) today. I guess they're emailing people in stages.
• 12/15 - AHA interview scheduled (phone). 13 interviews out of 185 apps (which is less than Carleton though same search parameters; any theories why?)
• Q: They called on a Saturday?
• Theories about 185 at CC vs. 240 at Carleton: I dunno, maybe just the fact that, by some (no doubt pretty arbitrary) standards, Carleton is "higher rated"? I.e., some people who already have TT jobs at a CC-type school are trying to move "up" to Carleton, but not vice versa?
• my mistake - they called on the 14th (Friday afternoon) - I got the date wrong. Sorry!
• The job ad says "Preference will be given to candidates with teaching fields in one or more of the following: Russia/Soviet Union, migration/immigration, colonialism/imperialism." There's a visitor who seems to have 2-3 of these covered. Does anyone know if this is an inside candidate?
• good point - seems highly likely given that VAP's own work and qualifications... dammit!
• rejection email 12/17
• 12/20: Has anyone received neither a rejection nor an interview?
• 12/20: I've received neither rejection nor interview... I'll assume at least one other is in the same boat.
• 12/20: Same here. I figure they just haven't gotten through e-mailing all the rejections yet.
• 1/15 received email rejection today -- the letter informed me that I had not been selected to be interviewed at the AHA -- I think I had already figured that out!
• 1/15: same here
• 01/15: On-campus scheduled.
• Congratulations!

Eastern New Mexico University

• 3/20 Application Acknowledgment.
• 5/4 Has anyone been contacted for this one?

European College of the Liberal Arts" (History, Humanities): Two-Year Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship

• 1/13: E-mailed them to confirm receipt of my application; they wrote me back to say yes.

Franklin & Marshall College (One-semester, Spring 2009)

Georgia Gwinnett College

• Acknowledgment (email) 2/15

Georgia Southwestern

Grove City College - Professor, Modern History, specifically European and/or non-Western

Iowa State University - Assistant Professor, Europe, post-1750, history of technology and/or science

• 11/30 telephone interview requested for second and third weeks in December

Koc University (Istanbul, Turkey)

Metropolitan State University

• 11/29 received acknowledgment by post
• Q: Has anyone heard back? The ack. letter I received (dated Nov 20) stated they would "review your application materials no later than Nov. 15".
• Interviews requested (12/17)
• Metro State is also listed under Early Modern.
• 2/18 received snail mail rejection letter, nicely written all things considered

Millersville University

• Q: Isn't this more of an early modern job? They want someone to teach 0-1500, Medieval, and Intellectual to 1789.
• The position (if it is the same one) is listed above in Medieval. It is definitely not a modern emphasis.
• While I concur with everything written above, I would point out, as someone who has taught in a comparable institution, that it is important not to read these ads through the "research university" lens of our graduate programs. The language is deliberately vague, I suspect: yes, the school wants someone who can teach pre-modern, but it is not specifically requesting someone whose entire training is in Medieval or Early Modern. An applicant might well play in the joints between the two.
• But are "the joints between the two" (medieval and early modern) really at all close to modern? The ad also mentions a preference for ancient and Islamic world. I completely agree that institutions like this tend to go for generalists, but I would imagine there will be plenty of medieval- and early modern-focused generalists applying who would beat out any modern Europe specialists. I'm not telling anyone not to apply, but I'm not sure the job should be listed in Modern Europe - if you want to list it outside of medieval, maybe open time period. But while modernists might apply, it really doesn't sound like a modern Europe position.
• Anyone know what is happening here?

Missouri State (modern Continental Europe, including Russia, excluding France)

• 11/29 Received acknowledgement by post
• 11/7: Asked for writing sample
• 11/30: AHA interview scheduled (email)

Mount Holyoke (one-year)

Naval Academy

• AHA interview scheduled
• Any news??
• Maybe they're doing background checks...
• As the risk of being obsessive, can I please ask: has anyone heard anything at all? Please?
• I heard they made an offer, but I do not know to whom or if it was accepted. (2/6)

North Central College (modern Europe)

• AHA interview scheduled via email (12/11)
• Campus interview scheduled via email (1/11)

NYU (Irish Studies, non-TT Assistant Prof and Fellow)

• 4/14: Has anyone heard anything about this position yet?
• 4/15: Nothing here. They said in their ad that they would shortlist by the 10th. That's only 3 business days ago, and of course timetables change...
• 4/22: Rejection email. Explains they used a strict rubric to narrow down a large number of applications.

Oberlin (one year)

Randolph-Macon College (Modern Europe)

• received app acknowledgement (3/6)
• Has anyone heard anything about this position?

Regis College (VAP, Modern Europe plus Africa/Asia) deadline 16 April

• According to their HR department, this search has been canceled b/c the person to be replaced decided not leave after all. (I called HR, around 4/1, after the ad on HigherEdJobs.com disappeared after only a couple of days.)
• HR emailed me this after I applied. They should take their ad off the Chronicle listings!
• 5/06: "Please disregard previous email..." The search is on again.

Saint Martin's University

Salem College

• 1/14: Anyone heard anything on Salem College job for Asst. Prof?European History?
• Reply to above poster: I'm assuming this is the same job as on the "open searches" [2] page. Seems there's some activity going on there.
• Thanks, that was me. Received email rejection today 1/15.

Saint Louis College of Pharmacy

• Acknowledged Application (3/12)
• Any news to share here?

Skidmore (one-year)

• 11/8 regular mail acknowledgment of app recd
• 11/30: AHA interview scheduled
• 12/3: AHA interview scheduled
• 12/4: AHA interview scheduled
• Any updates here???
• No. Total silence. Anyone else?
• Nothing here either.
• Nada (2/07).
• FWIW, I got the impression from my AHA interview that they understand their top candidate might also be in the running for a TT job, and they would be patient. I have no inside info, but I wonder if they have offered it to someone who is waiting for another offer. If so, this could take a while. Probably worth the wait!
• 2/08 Just received a letter (snail-mail) that the search has been cancelled. Turns out it wasn't worth the wait.
• 2/13 Previous poster who received letter that search was canceled: Were you interviewed at AHA?
• Yikes--I am the "2/08" poster and that date was an error on my part (half-asleep and saw 2/07 right above). I received the letter today, 2/13, and yes, I was interviewed at the AHA. Sorry for the confusion. Good luck to all.
• I take it they will be reimbursing everyone whom they interviewed in DC for their troubles...
• Unbelievable. I haven't received my letter yet (also interviewed at AHA) - does it give a reason? Was it budgetary?
• All it said was that the reasons were beyond their control. Given that it was a leave replacement, I doubt budgetary issues were the problem.
• The above thread is wrong. The job has been offered to someone who hasn't accepted yet (as of 2/20). A different search was cancelled.
• I had thought this thread was for the British Empire position. Anyway, for clarification: The British Empire one-year VAP position has been cancelled for "reasons beyond our control" in letter dated 8 February.
• Not to ghettoize you guys, but isn't there a separate Britain section? Anyway, the continental VAP is still technically open.
• Didn't know of a separate Britain section. They're all mixed in (see the next job down as an example). It *is* a part of Europe after all...
• Huh? Part of Europe? Since when? By whose standards? (Sorry, my [continental] European blood boiling over...) ;-)

Sul Ross State Univ, Texas (Europe/US)

Texas A&M University - Kingsville

• Rejection letter via snailmail, 12/7

University of California Riverside (Britain)

• Requested more materials. 11/8
• Requested dissertation and articles (11/30)
• Requested AHA interview (via e-mail) 12/13
• on-campus scheduled

University of Miami

• 1/14: Anything on the University of Miami Job?
• Is this the early modern job discussed on the early modern page?[3]

University of North Dakota (19th and 20th Century Continental European Women's/Gender History)

• phone interviews conducted on 2/15; campus visits scheduled 2/16
• campus interview recently
• the Department decided not to fill this position in the end and will advertise again next year

University of North Texas (France)

• 01/15: What's up with this position?
• 01/30 Did anybody get an AHA interview with them?
• 02/13: Negativo. And this was in my field but perhaps I stink.

University of Northern Iowa (Women's History)

• campus interview recently
• offer made and accepted

University of Rhode Island (lecturer)

• Telephone interview 11/7

University of South Carolina (Eastern Europe)

• 11/1: Ack. letter.
• 12/3: AHA interview scheduled
• Question: is this the European Jewish history job?
• A: There were two separate announcements, one East Europe, the other Europe/Jewish, with different due dates, so probably two different positions. Though you never know what "fits" these depts...
• A: Two separate positions.
• 1/24 Any news on this one?
• 3/8 I heard the offer was made and accepted on the EE position, made but not accepted yet on the Jewish one.

University of Southern California

• Additional materials requested and AHA interviews scheduled (simultaneously), 11/30
• Question: Does anybody know how many candidates are interviewed?
• Word on the street is that this is not a merit based search. The position is going to Lynn Hunt's newest prodigy
• Response: A bit of realism is in order here. The extreme competitiveness of our market, along with the inevitable subjectivity of evaluation standards in the discipline as a whole, means that a discourse of pure "merit" breaks down quite rapidly in practice. Getting any job on this list requires luck and other "non-merit" elements (patronage, "fit," the tastes of the SC) as well. Remembering this is an important way for those of us not among the Elect to retain some shred of dignity and intellectual self confidence. A steady drum-beat of rejection is the standard background noise for all young scholars in our field, no matter how gifted or how prestigiously advised.
• Response #2: Although I'm sure that Hunt's newest prodigy is a fine candidate, this gossip is completely unfounded.
• As someone who typically thinks of him/herself as Lynn Hunt's newest prodigy, I take some offense at the earlier posting (though I am, of course, delighted to hear the news...)
• Search committee's do not dumb down the list of candidates interviewed at the AHA, because they favor one or another candidate. That never happens. If at lower tier teaching colleges candidates with impressive publications are avoided, that has more to do with the low self-esteem of the search committee members, than with actually trying to dumb down the pool
• Oh my God, that is so not true If you are in French History you know Lynn Hunt throws her prestige around. The system is broken, and worse, it is corrupted by the very people we admire most.
• Fair enough; good points have been made all around. Two points: 1/ This position was advertised as a "Europe since 1700" position. Why cast the net so wide when you already know which fish you want? 2/ Most of the searches I have observed have ended up hinging on contingent, arbitrary factors; I know there are often inside candidates, but even in these cases, I am not sure that the result is necessarily given in advance.
• Speaking as someone who has been on both the inside and outside of things like this: 1. There are certainly situations where there are inside candidates and the search is really for show (though this is more common at the senior level). And the kinds of job ads that you get when that is the situation are either hugely broad (like this one, which raises eyebrows. For instance, does anyone really think they are looking for a Modern British Historian given the current faculty makeup?), or a specifically tailored ad. But a broad ad can also mean that a department has a hire to make and doesn't really know what they want (this is more common than one might think). And I have seen the inside candidate crash and burn and a department hire someone else. So anything is possible, which is of course why we apply for jobs in much the same spirit as one might play the lottery.
• Sadly my advisor is too into himself to care about getting me a job.
• That kind of comment is discouraging to me, as it seems to indicate a pervasive double-standard. On the one hand, grad students lament the fact that so many advertised searches appear to be window dressing for the hiring of insiders/preferred candidates. On the other hand, these same students feel cheated or short-changed somehow when nepotism fails to deliver a job to their doorstep. While I don't wish to single out anyone in particular, I would ask the previous poster (and everyone here): How exactly is your advisor supposed to "get" you a job?
• Advisor can't "get" you a job but can mentor by proofing letters, CVs, staging mock interviews and etc. Without that, chances for success tank further.
• 12/21: Snail mail rejection
• Question: does anybody know when USC is going to make a decision regarding on-campus?
• 1/18: Email rejection for AHA interviewees, saying three candidates have been invited for campus interviews
• 1/22: Included in the candidates is a Lynn Hunt protege, just not the most recent one. A certain search committee chair will probably make life miserable for a candidate or two. And funding is not certain on this search.
• Since the issue has been raised, I would be curious to hear the previous poster's theory as to why this position is reserved for a Lynn Hunt student.
• Yes, please do enlighten us. I find this hard to believe... perhaps especially after all the rather scurrilous commentary about this possibility on wiki, which I am 100% sure has been noted not only by those of us, like myself, who are job hunting, but also by senior people in the profession. I am also dubious about the patronage theory because I personally know someone invited for a campus interview who is most definitely NOT a Lynn Hunt disciple. Please do share the basis of your rationale.
• I am the 1/22 poster. I was not very clear in my post. I was doing two different things. First, responding to the Lynn Hunt discussion above by noting that one of the candidates (I know who the three invites are) was a Hunt student. Then, I was just making a general comment about the antagonistic manner of the search chair. The two comments were not really linked; I know nothing of any preference for the Hunt candidate.
• Thanks for clarifying --- sorry to hear about the antagonistic manner of the SC chair.
• I have a feeling the above commentator is just trying to flame the fires of discontent, or there is some deep sense of confusion surrounding how jobs are distributed in our profession. There is a patronage system, and denying it is living in false consciousness. Fortunately there is competition among the great patrons, which makes it more interesting. The anger at Lynn Hunt, I think, has emerged because some of us thought she was better than the system. But she is not. She prides herself on getting everyone of her students a job, which in effect entails bullying search committees to giving her students special treatment, and confounding the hopes and dreams of those candidates whose advisors do not interfere in the search process and do not make that critical phone call, and have that private secret chat between friends (wink, wink). The only way to fix the system is for the AHA to establish some sort of rules of conduct on how much advisors may interfere in searches. But it is hard to envision the Old Boys and Old Girls network accepting such a formula.
• No, the "above poster," i.e. me, had no agenda of "flaming the fires of discontent." Just speaking - I mean writing - my mind. Of course our associations, adviser, and committee members have some sort of bearing on how we're perceived... but I haven't been given any reason to be as cynical as the person whose post immediately precedes what I'm writing here. If my adviser and committee had anything to say about it, I'd already have a job.
• So..? Did a Lynn Hunt disciple land the job?
• 3/24: I know the person who was offered the job--certainly not a Lynn Hunt disciple. But, from what I know, he rejected the offer.
• as far as I know, in the end no one got the job. Whether or not it had to do with the first choice choosing another position, I don't know. FYI, none of the finalists was ever a Lynn Hunt student. (3/25)

University of Southern Mississippi (Eastern or southern Europe)

• 11/16: Ack. letter. E-mail same day, checking on third letter.
• 12/7: AHA interview scheduled (phone)
• 12/7: AHA interview scheduled (phone)
• 12/12: AHA interview scheduled (phone)
• 1/22: post-aha-interview rejection letter (snail mail)

University of Texas, Austin (Modern British)

• E-mail acknowledgment of application received. 11/27.
• asked for dissertation and AHA interview (simultaneously) (12/5)
• Same here.
• Anyone actually had an AHA interview scheduled?
• Yes, via email on 12/17
• 12/23: Email rejection (working hard at X-mas it seems...)
• 12/24 same here (got email today) - my holiday will be much more jolly now. Since I did not get a request for interview, I pretty much caught the drift... but now I truly understand the spirit of this special time of the year.
• Another holiday dimmed by rejection email arriving on Christmas eve. Do these people do this on purpose?
• on campus scheduled.
• Received pleasant, transparent letter from the SC chair explaining that they have made their 3 on-campus invitations, but will keep other AHA interviewee's in mind for the position if their on-campus selections don't work out... i.e., a "nice" rejection.

University of the South: Sewanee (Europe after 1715, 1yr position)

• 12/20 AHA interview request via email
• 12/20 AHA interview request via phone
• 01/29 Any word from these guys?
• 4/25 Received Rejection Letter by mail ... geez, that only took forever.

University of Victoria (continental, 1700-1900)

• Any news on this position? Seems oddly quiet
• 1/12 An offer was made about a month ago. As far as I know, the candidate is still considering it and has not made a decision.
• 1/22 The candidate offered the job turned it down.

University of Virginia (Britain/British empire)

• E-mail notification of application received. 11/14
• Request for writing sample. 12/3
• Question what do you mean by writing sample? in addition to the one we had to submit with the application?
• 12/11 AHA interview scheduled. Asked for dissertation/ articles (in addition to the first writing sample sent in with letter of application).*
• 12/11 same here
• Question By email or phone?
• Pet Peeve: what's the point of writing "same here?"
• By phone. To answer the pet peeve, I think it is useful to know how many people have been contacted, and if the contact is being done all at once or over the course of a few days.
• I don't see how one person writing same here will indicate the number of interviews . We can all assume that they are contacting more than one person, can't we? But it's not a big deal, whatever floats your boat.
• the 'same here' pet peeve sounds like sour grapes to me (and no, i'm not the person who wrote 'same here' and proceeded to explain his/her rationale, which made perfect sense to me. I find it helpful when people add their 'same heres' for precisely the reason she/he stated)
• Syllabi requested via e-mail, 1/7
• Rejection received via e-mail (though they promised paper, too); two have been offered campus visit. This is a classy department; whoever gets the job will have some great colleagues. 1/15
• Question: was the e-mail a mass e-mail? Was it sent to all candidates (those with and those without AHA interviews)? 1/16
• Can't answer for the email rejection, but I had an AHA interview and just got a (really very nice) rejection snail mail letter (without prior email rejection). 1/17
• Just curious - have they hired someone?

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (humanistic studies)(specialization in Western European History 1500-1848 (excluding Germany))

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1-yr lecturer, Euro intellectual)

• 10/15: Acknowledged receipt of application.
• 10/27: Phone interview scheduled
• 11/13: Rejection letter

Wheeling Jesuit University

• Acknowledgement 2/14
• 3/5 Phone interview scheduled (via email)
• 5/2 Received letter indicating they have filled the position.

Jobs, Gone with the Wind

(But congratulations to all you lucky winners...! To all others, to continue the cinematic allusions: We'll always have Paris!)

Amherst College (VAP, modern Europe)

• I heard that this is a replacement for a South Asianist who does human rights/transnational/feminist history who is serving in the administration for two years. I really don't understand why they would advertise for a Modern European historian...won't stop me from applying of course. Does anyone have any other info on this?
• That would suit me just fine! There's no one on the faculty who fits that exact description, though.
• This is a position arising from various leaves, consortium teaching obligations, and partial retirements. Not sure where the above rumor came from.
• Thank you! Any idea of the timetable?
• 4/17: Campus interviews finished, decision should come by the end of the week.
• 4/23: Rec'd rejection stating position has been filled.

Appalachian State (Europe, 1648-1848)

• Advertised last year. What happened?
• Reply - I happen to know that they made an offer that was turned down...
• Q: Why? It would be interesting to know about it since they are looking again..
• Reply - don't want to speak out of turn, but I know the person to whom it was offered, and they just accepted another offer elsewhere. Didn't sound like anything negative.....
• received acknowledgment of application via snail mail
• AHA interviews scheduled 12/06
• 12/7: AHA Interview scheduled.
• AHA interview scheduled 12/8
• on campus interview scheduled 1/17
• Congratulations! If anyone knows, could they confirm for me that this is in fact a different search from the intellectual history search listed below? (1/17)
• reply: thank you! Yes, definitely a different search from the French/intellectual history position listed below (1/17).
• have offers been made and accepted? is it over?
• offer made.
• Congrats! Are you accepting?
• Reply: Thanks! No, I took a different offer. But this bears no negative reflection of any kind on Appalachian State; I had only positive experiences with and impressions of the faculty and their programs. Whoever takes the job will have good colleagues!
• Offer made and accepted 2/28
• Congratulations!

Appalachian State (Modern France, intellectual and/or cultural history)

• Q: This seems like a very specific search. Does anyone know why they are so set on someone with precisely these qualifications? (11/19)
• A: I think they want to replace their Modern French intellectual/cultural historian, who is retiring.
• 12/6: AHA interviews scheduled (phone)
• (12/15) purely speculative response to Q above: inside candidate/spousal hire. See faculty listing: VISITING 19th C French prof Karen Greene-Reid, listed on past schedules as Greene, and asst. prof Michael Reid. Just a thought.
• Purely speculative reply: It's possible. But this person is a revolutionary historian; wouldn't she fit better with the "1648-1848" position above?
• True enough, but that would mean 2 French hires, no?
• 1/18: Campus interviews scheduled (phone)
• If someone other than the poster listed above has been contacted for on-campus, could you please indicate?
• This is the poster listed above. Did you (the previous poster) get one too? (1/22)
• No, the previous poster did not get an interview. But it had occurred to me that with 5 searches ongoing in their department, perhaps they are bringing candidates in on a case-by-case basis, rather than necessarily inviting 3. (Despite what they may have said in interviews).
• Good point. But I don't know the answer...
• 2/15 Offer made
• 2/21 Offer accepted

Auburn (19th or 20th century Britain)

• This job was advertised in 2005-2006. Looks like they're doing it again? (10/24)
• I believe last year it was an early modern Britain job (11/2)
• Those are different positions (11/2)
• Last year the position was "Revolutionary-era Europe" (can't remember the exact date span). I applied but the position just disappeared. No idea why. (11/19)
• If you look at the Auburn history website, you see both early modern Britain and the Revolutionary-era Europe positions are filled. This is a different position.
• So it is; you are right
• 12/19 Anything, anyone?
• 12/19 Rec. ack letter via snail mail dated 12/17 - says SC will start reviewing apps after Dec 15. Guess they're not going to AHA?
• 12/20 Reply: I received the same letter (today!) and agree that skipping the AHA seems a likely scenario. Phone interviews, perhaps? If anybody hears anything new, please holler.
• 1/28 Received phone invite for an on-campus interview
• 2/6 Offer made
• Oops, sorry- Offer made on 3/6

Bloomsburg University (VAP, Western Civilization)

• 3/3 Ack. letter (snail mail)
• Offer made.

California State, Fullerton (continental Europe)

• 11/20: received e-mail notice w/ request to fill out EEO.
• 11/23: snail-mail acknowledgment of receipt of application. short list of candidates to be interviewed at AHA expected in mid-December.
• 12/1: AHA interview scheduled (phone)
• 12/1: AHA interview scheduled (phone)
• 12/08: rejection snail mail.
• 12/8: rejection snail mail
• 12/10: snail mail rejection.
• Don't be too disappointed. I was an adjunct at Fullerton and it was horrible. The chair of the department Professor Haddad is a full professor and does not even have a monograph. And he is not alone. Nancy Fitch has tenure without a book, and so does Cora Granata. When I was there many of the adjunct faculty had more impressive publications than those with tenure. The department can be used as a model of unjust distribution of wealth and power.
• Ranks in the Top Ten Worst History Departments to teach. Tremendous tension between the adjunct and regular faculty. The regular faculty pretend to be on the left, but do nothing to alleviate the near poverty in which the adjunct faculty live.
• This is a tenure-track hire, not adjunct. Also I think that Cal State schools prioritize teaching over publishing.
• Okay, let’s talk about teaching. On ratemyprofessor.com, students write the following of Nancy Fitch’s teaching: "Horrible... i dare you to 1) actually go to the class and 2) count how many times she says umm, pauses or goes off on a tangent. Seriously your better taking an online class." About the chair of the department Professor Haddad they write: "This professor should not be teaching. He is the worst professor I have ever had. He is boring and unclear, not to mention rude." The adjunct are just as good teachers as the tenure track and tenured faculty. The above person is just trying to mislead everyone. The problem is that while the regular faculty lie to their students about being critical of slavery and exploitation, when they are confronted with the dire conditions of their colleagues who are excluded from the members club, they just say with a smirk "let them eat cake."
• I thought about going in a sarcastic direction on this, but changed my mind. Look, obviously you had a bad experience there. And obviously if they had offered you a tenure track position, you would have turned it down. (Okay, just a little sarcasm.) But the vitriol in your posts says far more about you than anyone there, and reeks of sour grapes. Moreover, your use of evidence is terrible. Two anonymous comments from ratemyprofessors.com prove the department doesn't care about teaching? And you cite a person who can't spell in support of your argument? (Ever think the "tangent" might be a complicated idea that the student couldn't follow?) And by comparing work as an adjunct to slavery, you indicate either an elastic definition of slavery, or a gift for hyperbole. For a guess, adjunct salaries are probably set by the university or system. What do you realistically expect the members of the department to do? A final disclaimer: I am not now, nor have I ever been, associated with CSUF or any other school in the California system.
• The above commentator is correct. I am angry. It was hard for me to support my two children on 30 thousand dollars a year. By the way, have you tried feeding a family of four on 30 thousand? And why is my evidence scant? Well, in the first place, I was replying to the snide remark that tenure is determined by teaching, and that comment presumed that the adjunct faculty were inferior teachers (without presenting any evidence by the way). Which is not true!!! The adjunct faculty are often better teachers than the regular faculty. And the only evidence I found was on ratemyprofessor.com. But do you really think the regular faculty are better teachers? Anyway, let me say something constructive. What is to be done? The adjunct faculty should be allowed to form a nationwide independent union. And two, tenure should be abolished. Tenure is a remnant of some feudal past, which makes no sense in places like Cal State Fullerton. After all, tenure is supposed to ensure academic freedom, but why do you need that when you have never published anything significant in your life? Throw out the bad faculty who have tenure, and give the young passionate teachers a chance.
• I'm with you 100%, and apologize for my tone. I'm lucky enough not to have been in this position and damn lucky not to be in it in California. I have friends in this position, and honestly have no idea how they do it. (For years after first reading Robert Darnton's work on Grub Street I thought that it was unemployed academics who would fuel the Revolution. I may still be right.) I know it's cold comfort, but it's not just Fullerton, or even public universities. I went to a top ten SLAC, and there were tenured faculty who had published one (1) article.
• You are completely right. It's not just Fullerton. I am just angry. Angry at the system, and angry at myself. And you know, a lot of the adjuncts feel this way. We have to swallow our feeling continuously, and it just builds up. Just imagine what it is like to live in a state of fear whenever you go to work. Fearing that one of the regular faculty takes a disliking to you and gets you fired. On the surface we pretend to care about the regular faculty, but behind their backs we dissect them, and trash them. The system, not Fullerton, has produced us. But there is no way we can become a revolutionary class. I can only express my ideas because this is an anonymous forum. If my identity were ever known, I would be blacklisted and never get a part-time position. I am too big of a coward to become a revolutionary. I need the money to feed my kids.
• This was my second rejection for CSUF. First was last year for History of Science Position. Second was for this position. After reading these posts I think I am glad I am not there. Although, my parents live in Brea and I was so hoping to be closer to them. Oh well...but as to the other posts, it is ridiculous to see how tenured faculty have no productivity and yet to get a job we have to be uber-productive: teaching, publications, grants, honors! Oh, I have those...yet still no job!
• interesting discussion, but any news on this one? I had an AHA interview, but have not heard anything since. (1/22)
• As a full-time faculty member at Cal State Fullerton, I would like to respond to some of the comments under our modern Europe job listing in this discussion board. In the interest of full disclosure, I am not one of the faculty members mentioned above; however, I do serve on one of our department’s three current search committees. The problems faced by part-time faculty are serious issues confronting historians nation-wide. The tenured and tenure-track faculty in our department share concerns about the effects of this labor practice. Indeed, one of our department’s senior members recently became president of our faculty union’s campus chapter, which is very active in representing the rights of part-timers. Many of our part-time lecturers are contractually protected for three-year periods. Our adjunct faculty are on the whole outstanding teachers, and we are grateful for their pedagogical skill and the contributions they make to the culture of the department. This is a very collegial department. Senior and junior faculty are more than co-workers, they are friends, and often spend time together away from campus. This is simply the best department I have ever been associated with. It is young and intellectually vibrant. Our faculty are also very active scholars. Many have published monographs, and we also have a strong record of receiving national and international fellowships and awards. While some have received tenure without a monograph already in print, they have scholarly achievements in other arenas, such as articles in prestigious journals such as the AHR, edited anthologies, etc. I encourage participants in this discussion board to consult our online faculty bios. In addition to valuing research, our department is committed to excellent teaching. As an M.A-granting department, the CSUF History department ranks in the AHA’s top five nationally in placing students on the Ph.D. track. Our Phi Alpha Theta chapter has won the national prize for best student journal over 25 years running. It is regrettable that the post above expressed such disappointment, but it appears to have more to do with the overall state of the profession rather than a unique CSUF phenomenon. I invite prospective job candidates reading this discussion board to get in touch with anyone associated with our department, whether a full- or part-time faculty member or a student, to learn more about us. We are confident you will be impressed and excited.
• Wow, what a scary post. What is the department trying to do here? It is Orwellian speak. Almost everyone who reads this page has a Ph.D. and we are perfectly capable of deciphering propaganda, half truths, misinformation, and deception. Or is the faculty there living under some ego centric self-deception? Do they believe the rubbish they just posted? And to the adjunct who feels like he got a raw deal, your attack as you yourself have admitted, is misplaced. No one thinks the History Department at Fullerton is a great place. They neither have the good teachers nor the good researchers. But if you get the job, take it, because the job market is so bad. Unfortunately for the good candidates, bad schools do not higher good scholars. I have actually developed a law of the academic job market I would like to share with you here. If your CV is better than those on the search committee, you will not get the job; search committees’ never higher candidates better than themselves. The reason for this is obvious: no one wants to loose prestige and power, and if they bring in someone better than themselves, they will loose both in the department. This way bad departments stay bad, good departments are always able to higher good candidates, and some candidates who are very good never get jobs.
• I must respectfully disagree with the previous poster (I applied and got merely a rejection letter from this SC, but otherwise have no connection to the place). As someone who has wound up on the perilously dead-end route of being a serial visiting assistant professor, I completely understand the frustration that the previous poster expresses. This poster, along with other contributors to this discussion, accurately describes the many injustices of the current academic system. But as satisfying as ad hominem accusations can be, it is important—especially for scholars—to recognize that problems we face are systemic and not (fundamentally) personal (not that I would make this a general rule, but I think it is the truth in this case). It does indeed seem unfair that tenured faculty with little or no publication record are called upon to judge the work of younger scholars who have published (and will publish) much more. But this is not because these older scholars are “bad,” in many instances, but because the standards of our profession have changed since the days when they began their careers. Many of them have devoted a great deal of hard work to building their institutions and to teaching. Consequently, I find it neither fair nor true to assert that many of us on the market who come from prestigious graduate schools are “better” than lowly tenured faculty at “bad” schools whose secret insecurities predispose them to shun their intellectual superiors. We have been held to different standards: the question of who is “better,” to the extent we even want to ask that question, can only be decided on the basis of how well we have each achieved the goals we were expected to accomplish. I know nothing about this school beyond what has been said in this discussion, so it may be that I am simply, empirically wrong in this instance. Even so, saying that the reason why we don’t get jobs is because we are better than those who turn us down seems more like wishful thinking than genuine insight into the problem. Frankly, it also smacks of entitlement and privilege. My sense is that that it is precisely the elitism of our profession that creates a great deal of the job market’s unfairness; I am skeptical that protesting one’s unrecognized superiority will shed much light on our rather dismal plight.
• To the poster of "Wow, what a scary post..." - quick! I strongly urge you to fix the abysmal spelling in your post, or you won't ever get "highered" and you will "loose" big time! Do it before anyone gets really snarky! I beg you!
• So true…by the way, I just have a quick question. The post by the department said we should check out the faculty on their home page, and it said some of the faculty had published in the AHR. I could not find which faculty members had published there. Could you please let me know…I am interested…
• offer made and accepted (not me)

California State, Sacramento (Europe/Central Europe)

• Acknowledgment of application received. 1/8
• Search has been postponed indefinitely, according to their web site (CA budget issues suspected) 2/27
• 2/29 Received an email that the search is canceled.
• 3/3 Received (same?) email stating that the search had been canceled due to budgetary issues, as we expected.

Central Connecticut State (modern Germany)

• 12/6: Acknowledged receipt of application via email
• 12/20: AHA Interview Scheduled (via email)
• 1/9: Campus visit scheduled (phone) for late January/early February. Not sure how many people they're inviting out.
• 2/15: Offer made on 2/11.
• Congratulations! Have you accepted it?

College of the Holy Cross - VAP, European

• 3/19 Application Acknowledgement.
• 4/4 rejection letter (dated 4/2), stating that "we have filled the position [...] as of today."
• On about April 1st, I received an email telling me that the position had been offered to another historian but that the Dept would like me to teach 3 courses for $5000 each. Did anyone else receive such an email (from the Chair of the Dept)?
• Reply to the above: No, I only received the rejection letter mentioned above. But Holy Cross had announced two VAP positions via New England HERC, the full-time one that was announced elsewhere, too, and a part-time position which I only saw on New England HERC but nowhere else. So perhaps the offer you received is their way of filling that odd part-time position?
• Reply above question: perhaps it is their way of trying to fill the part-time position, but can 3 courses at 5K each really amount to a part-time position? I wouldn't think so. Actually, I think it's more their way of exploiting academics and cheating their students. Of course I didn't take the job.

Concordia University (Assistant Professor, Nineteenth-Century Ireland)

• 10/30 - received email acknowledgment and so did my referees!
• 12/12 - campus interview scheduled
• Search cancelled - search committee unable to decide. They say that they will readvertise next year.

Creighton University - Modern Europe, non-tenure track, one-year full-time teaching position

• 11/27 - Ack. receipt of application; letter notes dept. decision date for AHA interviews Dec 3
• 12/3 - These people don't know what they are doing - I just received two e-mails - One inviting me to interview at the AHA, and another, a few minutes later, which stated that "the department did not advance your candidacy to the finalist category."
• 12/3 - Requested an AHA interview (emailed)
• 12/3 - (To first 12/3 poster) That's kind of funny; they did the same thing to me today too
• 1/7 - campus visit scheduled.
• 3/9 - rejection letter, state that offer made and excepted to/by another candidate

DePauw University - European History. One-semester, part-time position

• search canceled, 11/1

Framingham State University (modern western Europe)

• AA card received
• 4/3 Rejection letter received with this information: "I appreciate the time and energy you took to compile your application. Like other academic searches, we had many qualified applicants, and selecting the final candidate was not an easy task. The department offered the job to Bridgett Sheridan, and she has accepted our offer." I did put a lot of time and energy (and money) into this application, so I know that Sheridan already had a temporary position at FSC. I wonder what made this "not an easy task." Was it the long walk down the hall? Or, perhaps Sheridan and the search chair were on different hallways? Do your inside hire, but let's not pretend it was "not an easy task." Although, I had a good laugh at reading so disingenuous a letter.
• @ the above poster, I understand the frustration of being rejected, particularly over an inside candidate, but I'd say, let's give them a break. For all we know, it may indeed not have been an easy decision - after all, perhaps they were quite enamoured of your candidacy, and had a hard time choosing between a very well-qualified person they don't know very well and a perhaps that wee bit less qualified person whom they did happen to know. Be that as it may, I would be glad to receive rejection letters in which the committee tries to be nice and courteous; that seems to be a dying species, though. (For the record: I am not, nor have I ever been, affiliated with Framingham State, and I did not apply for this position. I did, however, apply for the job at SUNY Oswego (see below), for which I thought I was a great fit, which also went to an inside candidate apparently, and where the rejection letter consisted of a one-liner, typewriter-typed, including smudges and a typo in my name. So perhaps it's all a matter of perspective...)
• 4/7 You are entitled to your opinion, but I must politely disagree. For that matter, I also stand by this post, because I know that search committees read these entries. As such, some of them are changing how they do business in light of what they read. Committees are learning that the web is creating transparencies beyond their control, and that if they continue to play by the old rules they wind up endangering the reputations of their department, their college or university, and their individual search committee members. Such changes should foster a more professional and dignified academic culture. Perhaps next time FSC will write a polite letter that doesn't contain what may be a whopping lie. Yet in the end, whether I'm right about FSC is immaterial. What matters is the appearance of impropriety (and that I thought it and posted it). And if I may, you, the poster above, deserve better than white lies or typos.

Furman University (18th-/19th-Century Britain)

• 11/2 Acknowledged receipt; AA form.
• Scheduled AHA interview 12/8
• 12/8: AHA Interview scheduled.
• 12/7: AHA Interview scheduled.
• 1/10: Campus visit scheduled by phone.
• Offer made

Georgia Tech (Ass't or Assoc, Modern Germany, medicine, science, tech, Holocaust)

• anything known here?
• the job (Modern Germany) is offered and, as far as I know, accepted
• job went to Kristie Macrakis.

Green Mountain College (Europe/ Middle East/ Religion)

• rejection letter, stated that position had been filled

Hollins University (European Women's History)

• AHA interview
• I think this is the same job listed over on the US history page - listing was History of Women, area open but preference for non-US. Lat Am, African, Mid East or Asian strongly preferred.
• Anyone know how many people they interviewed at AHA?
• Any word here on campus interviews?
• Is this the same job they advertised last year? Anyone have ANY info on what's going on here?
• 2/2 - still no word here, I was interviewed at AHA
• Since they originally said they were planning on conducting campus interviews in the first half of February, I am guessing the train has moved on here.
• Offer made and accepted

Indiana University Southeast - Tenure-track position of Assistant Professor in Modern European History

• 10/25: acknowledged receipt of application via snail mail
• 11/20: acknowledge receipt; asked for form to be returned "by Dec. 3."
• Any new word here?
• 12/13: received email to schedule interview. Email said that they had tried to reach me by phone first.
• Anyone received a campus invite here?
• 01/25 Campus Interview scheduled
• 3/16 Offer made and accepted

Knox College (modern Europe and the world)

• For reasons unknown, the Knox ad disappeared from the AHA listings. The search continues; the application deadline is October 20. (Penny Gold, Department Chair)
• 11/15: AHA interview scheduled and writing sample requested
• 1/10: On-campus interview scheduled
• 2/7: Received e-mail from chair that they have made an appointment. (It wasn't me, sniff...)

Lock Haven University

• 11/2: Acknowledged receipt of application.
• Does anyone know what happened with this job? I received acknowledgment of application in Nov. but nothing since.
• 1/15: I just looked at the H-Net listings for this job. On 11/6/2006, the department posted a position for a "full-time, temporary European history faculty position at the rank of instructor or assistant professor" to begin August 18, 2007. Does anyone know the status on this position? Did the dept find anyone to fill this position? Does this person have an "inside track" on the application process?

Lehman College (early modern Europe and/or modern Germany)

• 10/25: acknowledged receipt of application via snail mail
• 1/2: The chair informed me (note: I sent him an e-mail on 1/1) that the department will be interviewing candidates (not sure how many) at the AHA
• rejection letter, stated position filled

Longwood University (not France)

• 10/23: Acknowledged receipt of application.
• 12/10: AHA interview arranged via phone
• 12/12: Ditto via phone
• 1/10: On-Campus Interview Scheduled (by phone and email)
• 2/27: Offer made and accepted

Loyola University, Chicago (Eastern Europe)

• 11/29 received acknowledgement by post
• 12/2 received acknowledgement by email
• Does anyone know when they are planning to have interviews?
• 12/18 AHA interview scheduled via email
• 12/20: rejected via email
• 12/20: also rejected via email, alas. Looks like a nice job -- good luck to the interviewees!
• 1/11: On-Campus Interviews scheduled
• 2/7: Job offered and accepted

Mississippi State (modern Germany, focus on Science/Tech/Medicine)

• 12/9: AHA Interview scheduled (phone)
• 1/10: Campus visit scheduled (phone)
• 1/30: How many are invited to campus, anyone know?
• Position Offered.

Northern Arizona University (Britain, 1600-present)

• E-mail acknowledgment of application received. 11/2
• my EEO, acknowledgment, etc came via snailmail...with nothing online. Why can't even these parts of the job search be standard???
• AHA interview scheduled (by e-mail) 12/13
• Campus interview scheduled (1/17)
• Offer made and accepted (early/3)

NYU (European intellectual since 1600)

• NB: "whose work might complement departmental strengths in transnational and comparative history": The elusive search for a hybrid of Fred Cooper and Jerrold Siegel begins...
• Q: I thought they hired someone in intellectual last year? Does anyone know what happened or what they're looking for this year?
• A: I am not sure, and hope someone else clarifies this; but I seem to remember the job last year was for NYU's Center for European Studies, and was for a senior scholar; this one is definitely assistant-level, for the History Department, and, as has already been mentioned, encourages a "transnational" focus. Don't know what happened last year.
• As a modern European intellectual position, it seems closer to Siegel's . Siegel recently retired.
• snail mail ack. (11/20)
• AHA interview scheduled (12/7)
• snail mail rejection (12/28)
• Does anyone know anything about their post-AHA schedule, i.e., when invitations for campus visits might go out (if they haven't already)?
• Candidates invited, first campus visit begins 2/11
• The search committee is meeting late Friday afternoon (Feb. 22)to make a decision.
• Anybody know what happened? Who did they hire?
• Hired a Princeton ABD who works on Bataille and 1930s French thinkers. (4/2)

Oglethorpe (Modern Europe)

• 11/16: Ack. letter.
• ? No interviews scheduled yet? Last year the search was terminated after AHA interviews due to financial reasons; was it scratched again this year?
• A: According to my ack. letter, Oglethorpe isn't interviewing at AHA, but it rather doing phone interviews in January.
• ?: True, true, but the ack. letter notes "...we will notify you shortly after that date [Dec 1]," so I anticipated they would contact the "interview list" by now.
• 1/15: Any movement here?
• phone interviews conducted last week
• 01/31 a rejection letter after phone interview
• 2/22 Campus interviews complete
• Offer made and accepted

Presbyterian College

• 11/8: Acknowledged receipt of application.
• 11/28: AHA interviews scheduled
• 1/11: email rejection received
• 1/4: Had AHA interview; supposed to hear this week if invited to campus.
• 1/17: On-campus interview scheduled by phone
• 1/23: Does anyone know how many have been invited to campus?
• 1/24: Three candidates to my knowledge
• 2/8: Four candidates on campus is what I've heard.
• offer made & accepted.

Purdue University (Jewish history, Modern, post 1500)

• short listed candidates and will interview at AJS in mid-December. 11/18
• 12/24 campus interview scheduled
• 2/5 offer accepted

Simon Fraser University, BC (modern Britain)

• do Canadian jobs count on this site?
• I don't see why not!
• e-mail acknowledgment of application received
• search canceled for fiscal reasons
• 11/17: E-mail ack. claimed budget cuts as the cause but will keep application on file

Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville (Modern German State 1871 or earlier)

• 10/17: acknowledged receipt of application via snail mail
• 12/14: AHA interview requested (email)
• 12/15: AHA interview requested (email)
• 12/15: AHA interview requested (email); phone interview scheduled following AHA
• 01/29: Campus visit scheduled (telephone). Said 3 candidates were selected (x2)
• 01/29: Campus visit scheduled (telephone)
• 03/06: Offer made and accepted
• Well, that's bad news for me, but congratulations! You'll have a nice group of colleagues if you decide to accept.

Southwestern University (VAP)

• received ack notice (3/6)
• 3/24: e-mail notice that they are preparing short list for phone interviews (not an invitation)
• 3/25 Phone Interview Invitation.
• 4/17: Offer made and accepted.

Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas (19th Century)

• Posted on H-Net
• interview scheduled
• Does anybody know anything about campus interviews?
• Position filled

Stonehill College (Europe 1600-1900)

• This was also advertised last year, wasn't it? Anyone know what happened?
• A. I know they interviewed last year at the AHA
• Has anyone heard anything back from Stonehill? I never even received an acknowledgment.
• I didn't apply for this position, but I know from past experience that they are pretty sloppy re. acknowledgments. I applied for a one-year position there once, and never received either an acknowledgment or a rejection letter (but, thanks to delivery confirmation, I know that they did get the application).
• Request for AHA interview (12/12) (email)
• Never heard from them but I know from grapevine that they were looking specifically for French Historian despite advertising for Europe.
• Campus visit scheduled (1/16)
• Any word on an offer?
• Offer made and accepted (3/17)

SUNY - New Paltz (Post-1945; not Germany, Britain, or Russia)

• AHA interview scheduled (phone)
• Any news here?
• Campus visit scheduled
• rejection after on campus; seems this was also an inside candidate hire

SUNY - Oswego (20th-Century European and World History)

• phone interview request (emailed)
• campus visit scheduled by email (1/8)
• campus visit scheduled by email (1/8)
• rejection letter after campus visit; hired inside candidate

Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi

• Search committee meets Dec 18, aims to conduct phone interviews for shortlisted candidates Dec 20-21
• Interviews conducted at AHA and the process continues - all files remain active in the event candidates withdraw for other posts
• Campus visits scheduled
• Has an offer been made?
• Position offered and accepted

University of Kansas (not Britain, E Europe, or Russia)

• 11/14: Acknowledged receipt of application.
• Q: Anyone know if someone at Kansas is retiring?
• A: John Sweets.
• Anyone hear from Kansas yet?
• AHA Interview scheduled (12/11)
• 3/1: received rejection letter informing me that a candidate had been hired

University of Mississippi (Germany)

• will be interviewing at AHA
• 11/16: Asked for writing sample
• 12/11: AHA interview scheduled
• 2/20 Offer Made and accepted

University of New England (for lectureship or tenure-track?)

• 11/5: Acknowledged receipt of application.
• 11/16: Ditto by e-mail
• Anyone hear anything about this search? (12/15)
• This is a tenure-track line.
• Does anyone know what happened to this search? I have not heard anything from them except the initial acknowledgment, and I did not see them listed anywhere at the AHA either.
• 1/14: Have not heard anything from them either...is this job still active?
• 1/14: Just heard from a friend who also applied there and dared to e-mail the dept chair: They are conducting three searches simultaneously, and have received a lot more application than they anticipated. They will be contacting candidates for phone interviews in late January.
• Great...still hope for that one!
• 1/31: E-mail request to schedule phone interview.
• 2/16: Phone request for on-campus interview
• Heard through the grapevine that an offer has been made and accepted.

University of Ottawa (19th-/20th-Century France)

• Q: The ad says: "Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority," as is typical for Canadian ads. My question: does this, for all intents and purposes, mean that only Canadians need apply? I don't mind, I just want to know if it's worth my time and money.
• A: I asked this very question of a friend at a Canadian school, and she said that it's there because it has to be. If they want to hire you, they'll hire you. (This is not to say that there are no Canadian xenophobes, just that the law is not an issue.
• Reply: Thanks for the helpful response!
• A2: Advice from another Canadian I spoke to was it's not as bad as it used to be, but at least at one school they can't offer to a non-Canadian and, if turned down, go back to a Canadian. Nothing preventing them offering to a non-C, but easier for the search to fail that way. YMMV.
• 12/10 Ack. letter
• 12/13: Contacted for on-campus interview in January
• Q: To above poster 12/13 - congrats! Are you Canadian? Phone or email? Thanks!
• Reply: As poster 12/13, thanks! I'm not Canadian (just a Midwestern American, alas). And they contacted me via phone.
• Offer made and accepted

University of San Diego

• 11/14: Acknowledged receipt of application
• 12/3: AHA interview scheduled
• Campus visits scheduled 1/14
• 3/1 Received rejection letter; they hired a Germanist

University of Winnipeg (Eastern Europe/Russia)

• Phone interviews in early October, selected shortlist of 3 people, top 2 to visit campus.
• 11/30 Notification that they have hired someone

Washington & Lee (Modern/Early Modern France)

• Seems like they've been looking for a while....
• 12/11: AHA interview scheduled (phone)
• 01/15: On-campus scheduled.
• Offer made and accepted

Weber State (continental Europe)

• Another one that advertised last year.
• Did anyone get any kind of acknowledgement from this school? I didn't, and I don't believe I did last year, either...
• I've had no acknowledgment either (11/27)
• AHA interview scheduled (11/30)
• 12/1: AHA interview scheduled (phone)
• 12/12: Rejection Letter (snail mail) - fyi, they had 75 apps
• 01/14 Received a rejection letter after AHA interview. The letter was sent on January 8; 3 campus interviews were scheduled.
• 2/14/ They hired their inside candidate
• 2/18 Thank you for the information! I was one of those whom they rejected after AHA; now I know why.

Wellesley (continental, not Russia)

• automatic email confirmation of receipt (11/8)
• AHA interview invitation (emailed) (12/4)
• AHA interview scheduled (e-mail/phone, 12/14 & 12/17)
• On-campus interview scheduled (1/7)
• Offer Made and accepted

Western Illinois (tenure track, German)

• 11/20: email confirmation of receipt Q: How long after you'd sent your application did you receive this? A: I am not the same poster as above, but to answer the question: I recieved a confirmation 1 1/2 weeks after sending in my app.
• 12/12: AHA interview scheduled (via email)
• 1/11: Campus visit scheduled (phone)
• March: Offer made, declined. Offer made, accepted.

Williams College (VAP)

• Acknowledgement 2/19
• On Campus scheduled
• Offer accepted

Worcester State College (Mass.)

• 11/5: Acknowledged receipt of application.
• Has anyone heard anything about this one? (12/4)
• 1/14: Any word on this job? No word here...
• 1/17: Heard fourth hand that they are still sifting through applications.
• 1/30: invitations to phone interviews are going out this week
• 2/15: Contacted for phone interviews (by phone); phone interviews scheduled for late Feb. and early March
• 3/18: Campus visit scheduled
• Position filled (not, unfortunately, by me)

Russia, 2007-2008

Brooklyn College/CUNY

• 12/5 request for AHA interview
• 1/12 email request for campus interview

Columbia

• 11/13 receipt of app acknowledged
• 11/29 E-mail received: " Since this search encompasses 3 different areas/positions the search will take some time. As such, some of you may not hear from us for up to a year. Please don't be discouraged by this."

Dalhousie University

• Has anyone heard anything on this one? (1/10)
• I heard a rumor that the search was suspended. I sent an email to the department today. (1/10)
• This is helpful to know. Thanks and please keep us updated if you hear anything back from the department. (1/10)
• Only hearsay, so take it with a huge grain of salt, but I heard that the position was set to go to a candidate already teaching there (adjunct or post-doc I think)
• They do have a one-year person, who may be likely to get the job. But if they have had an advertised search, don't they at the very least have to interview a few other candidates?
• I also assumed that they would nonetheless interview a few other candidates.
• From the Department Chair: "The interviews are in fact under way this week"
• Feb: offer made to inside candidate and accepted.

Louisiana State U

• 12/5 request for AHA interview (by e-mail)
• 2/2 Snailmail Rejection letter
• 4/2 search cancelled this year. Unclear whether will be reopened.

Portland State

• 11/8 Receipt of app acknowledged
• 12/5 & 12/6 AHA interview requested
• 01/25 Has anyone heard from PSU?
• 1/26 I'm in touch with three other people who also had AHA interviews - no one has heard anything so far.
• 1/28 Rejection letter

Queens College/CUNY

• snailmail rejection letter 11/17
• snailmail rejection letter 1/28
• 2/17 - heard they hired someone

Syracuse

• Writing sample requested, 11/5
• 11/30 request for AHA interview
• 1/17 campus visit scheduled
• 3/12 rejection letter received
• Offer made and accepted

University of Memphis

• AAASS Interview Scheduled
• Has anyone heard anything since New Orleans? (1/11)
• I'm wondering the same thing. I interviewed there and have heard nothing back. If I remember correctly they said something about contacting us "one way or the other" in December.

University of New Mexico

• 12/5 request for AHA interview

University of Northern Colorado

• 11/9 receipt of app acknowledged
• 11/26 request for AHA interview
• on campus interview scheduled
• offer made and accepted

Wright State

• Acknowledged receipt of application (snail mail)
• On campus interviews during last two weeks of January

Debates/Comments

Kudos to the participants on this board. If you want to spend a few hours with the whiniest, most neurotic crowd ever, have a look at the U.S./North American board. No offense, but what a bunch of children.

Yes, they started complaining long before the job season even started. I imagine that many of them have been on the market time and again, and they are venting their frustrations on the wiki. Nevertheless, childish doesn't even begin to describe their behavior. No matter how bad it gets, we must remember to preserve some sense of dignity.

I agree, I hope some dept. chairs are lurking, maybe they'll trade some U.S. Positions for European ones, and hire from our pool of dignified and mature candidates.

Question: Why are there no Russian History jobs posted here? A: If you know of any, add them! I don't think there's any other place for them.

What do you think departments will be looking for this year? What subfields will triumph? Which ones will perish?

This will finally be the year for the history of modern Albanian shoemaking...I can feel it...

Nah, they'll be looking for someone who does modern feminist Albanian shoemaking from a global or transnational perspective...

True - and its "Others"...

Looks like a number of these places advertised last year, but presumably did not hire anyone.

Format note I changed the layout slightly so there wasn't so much bunching (which was bugging me). If this annoys a lot of people, just set it back to the previous edit, and I won't come back and do it again. (10/26) No, I like it non-bunchy. Thanks! (10/27) Okay, I messed around with the format a bit more after someone had a good idea (to me) in one of the early modern/medieval sections. (11/17) Thanks!(11/18) 11/18-added a TOC and an automatic time/date stamp, though honestly I have no idea what time zone/planet the wiki clock is on. Would anyone be interested in a 'talk' page, like the one those philosophy people have? If so, I'll set it up. (11/19) A talk area would be great. BTW, is there anyway for us to collect data on how many applicants have applied for each position? For instance, some type of embedded survey tool or link to a survey tool? I am just curious to know the number of applicants for each institution.

• I think collecting (i.e. self-reporting) data on how many people are applying to a given position is a great idea. It would be a useful yardstick for those of us who will be tackling the job market again next year (perish the thought! but, realistically, some of us will be...) Also, did the person suggesting a talk area set it up and, if so, what's the web address? Thanks (11/28)

• Wrong. the applicant counters are ridiculous and give no accurate reflection of the market. To do that one would need to assume that everyone on the market checks this wiki site, when in fact less than 10% probably do. (12/7)

• (12/8) Response to the person who deleted the AHA interview survey and commenting on the counters. Well of course the applicant counters and survey don't provide any type of statistical significant results. That is what you mean by "ridiculous", right? Everything reported on this site is anecdotal anyway. I am surprised anyone would confuse these counters and survey as more than a reflection of the online community participating in this collaborative reporting system. Thanks for deleting what you didn't seem to understand or appreciate. With all that said, I still wish you the best of luck with your job search. And to good luck to everyone else - I am sure it will all come together for all of us. I am sad to say I am not going to check or participate in this site any longer.

A Note on Courtesy in the Wiki World

I am probably not the only one feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by the job application process at the moment. I come to this site for information, as well as for the elusive sense of community that sometimes comes from being in the same boat with other people. My continued participation (and that of many other silent members) depends on my continued sense that people respect one another on this site. There are not many rules to observe, and they are easy to remember:

1. Don't erase what someone else has written, no matter how much you disagree with it.

2. If you disagree with it, write a short response. Be polite. Ask yourself if this is how you would express yourself if the person were standing right in front of you.

3. Do not write in bold letters. This is the virtual equivalent of yelling, besides which, it is difficult to read.

4. Refrain from personal attacks, such as "the person who wrote / deleted the last posting is obviously a rude idiot."

The job market is a stressful place. Shall we be a supportive community, or do we prefer to bring that stress into this place too? We obviously get something useful out of visiting and contributing to this site. Let's keep this common interest in mind, and preserve a sense of common courtesy.

• I was the person who wrote, in a fit of annoyance, "WHAT'S WITH THE DELETING?!". I have moved it here because the person who wrote the above guidelines is absolutely right: we should all follow a respectful etiquette, and that includes not writing annoyed comments in capital letters, as I did. My annoyance at the "deleters" remains, but I apologize for the way I had expressed it.
• Don't be too hard on yourself. Thanks to everyone who helped to put these pages back together.

The general modern Europe section was becoming a bit unwieldy, so I ventured to break it up into smaller pieces. If anyone objects, please feel free to undo.