This is a good time of year for such a thread, I think, in that the annual convention of the Modern Language Association just concluded (yesterday in Philadelphia), so if anyone is looking to join the profession and was just interviewed at MLA, or is considering going to graduate school, or wants an inside look on being hired, working in an academic department, getting tenure, current standards for promotion to various academic ranks and titles, or anything else related to working as a professor or department administrator, ask away. I’ve worked as an adjunct and as a tenure-track professor, at public and private institutions, at secular and church-based institutions, in urban and rural settings, and am in touch with colleagues in various situations, so I hope I’ll be able to answer most of your questions.
Most of what I do is probably self-evident to people who’ve been through college, though I’m often amazed at what my students don’t quite grasp–last month, a student in my office complained about another professor and was surprised that, rather than just lending a sympathetic ear, I started taking notes as to his complaint. He was surprised to learn that I had been responsible for hiring his professor (an adjunct instructor) and could easily cause that professor not to be re-hired again. He thought, I guess, that he was simply venting, and withdrew some of his comments when I made it clear that I’d be interested in following up some specific complaints (specific dates of his professor’s absenteeism, for example.)
I’ll be travelling w/o computer this weekend, so I won’t be able to answer fully until Monday afternoon. Spelling and grammar count (just kidding.)
I currently am working on my Ph.D. in a very interdisciplinary field. I have my M.S. in another very interdisciplinary field. In many ads for adjunct or even community college professors, they ask for someone with at least 18 graduate credit hours in a field. Unless I make a real point of it, I don’t think I will have 18 graduate credits in any single discipline. If I want to be able to teach, is it worthwhile/ necessary to get those 18 credits in a single discipline? Or is that mostly aimed at people who don’t have a Ph.D. in something? I’d be looking to teach in the social sciences, preferably something multi-disciplinary but also bearing in mind that there is more demand for things like intro level economics and American government.
What do you feel is appropriate/ inappropriate in academic interview dress? How high are your standards? Are eccentric socks a warning sign, for example, or earrings on men, or slacks on women? How expensive/formal/stylish do you expect a recent grad student’s suit should be?
When you’re on a hiring committee, to what degree does the question of “will this person be happy here (professionally and personally/ geographically) or will this person split after 3 years?” factor in to the decision?
When I first got out of grad school, there were certain long texts I knew inside and out (Don Juan, Catch-22, Moby Dick). I would walk into the classroom cold and give a pretty kickass lecture, cross referencing passages that I knew by heart, and I just loved improvising and thinking on my feet. To my dismay, a few yers back, I found, to my embarrasment, that I couldn’t summon up those long quotes consistently any more, or even improvise conncections between related themes in (and out of) the text so well any more, so I’ve taken to writing out some lecture notes. I like explaining how certain trends we all assume have somehow always existed come into being, and when–the development of love poetry, my current kick, for which I use as my basic text Stoppard’s THE INVENTION OF LOVE, or the history of the American Short Story. Right now, I’m developing a course in Film Noir, about which I’m still fairly ignorant, and I hope to develop some good lectures on how and why this sub-genre grew (and is still growing, I suppose).
I also lecture more rarely than I used to, by quite a bit. Most of my colleagues agree that students won’t sit through the most brilliant lectures, and much prefer a dull discussion to a lively lecture, so my impression is that lecturing, at least in my field, is a dying art.
My impression is that jobs are scarce in highly specific inter-disciplinary subjects, especially if geography is an issue. If you’re willing to relocate on short notice, you might find an ad looking for something in your area, but you’re right–most places hiring on the adjunct level are looking for basic courses to be covered. I’ve never heard anyone on a hiring committee say “She’s 2 credits shy of the 18 we require in our ad” but if you can’t plausibly present yourself as having the training required, you’re not getting a call, I’d say. If you have a Ph. D. and a plausible argument that you’re qualified for a position, I’d say go for it, but almost any ad for any position in English is going to get 200+ applications, most with Ph. Ds and course background in the appropriate discipline, so it’s a waste of time applying for jobs that you’re way off the description on. Good luck–you’ll need some.
You’re at the halfway point of the semester. A student who’s just failed the midterm and has a grade significantly below what’s necessary to pass comes into your office. They explain that they really, really, really want to pass the class and they’ll do anything to pass. You crunch the numbers a find that they will need to average twenty points higher than what they currently have for the rest of the semester in order to pass. Do you advise them to drop out or stay in?
How much do you resent the way college profs are portrayed in places like Bruce Tinsley’s Mallard Fillmore strip? Right wing pundits seem to believe faculties are full of bubble headed socialists.
Do you think this is a new phenomenon, student’s not willing to sit through long lectures? I wondered about this myself when I returned to school and it seemed like almost all classes do this now, even math classes. Do you think it’s more effective? Personally, I preferred lectures but I think that’s because that’s what I was used to.
What is your opinion of the practice of using student evaluations in tenure decisions? (I’ve seen people refer to this on the CHE fora.) On the face, it seems like this spurs grade inflation–would things be better if peer reviews of teaching (the blind leading the blind? ;)) were used in place of the student evaluations?
but also bearing in mind that there is more demand for things like intro level economics and American government.