Restoration 2009

= Restoration/18th c. British =

LAST UPDATED: 1/2 4:58 AM EST
 * Don't forget to update the time stamp if you make an addition.
 * Use the wiki ethically (no deleting others' comments)

I am currently...
 * ABD (and finishing this year if I get a job): 10
 * In a temporary/VAP/postdoc position: 9
 * In a tenure-track position: 2
 * On a Restoration/C18 search committee: 1
 * Just lurking:

[Discussion moved below.]

Campus Visits
American U (unofficial, rumored)

Mississippi State

MLA Interviews Scheduled/Contacted
American U (12/10 - by phone) x5

Angelo State U (12/5 - by email) x2

Auburn U (12/09 - by phone) x4

Bard (12/11 - by email) x2

The Citadel (12/4, by phone; 12/5, by phone) x4

Colorado College (12/13, MLA interview scheduled by phone, reported on Romanticism page)

Connecticut College (12/10, by phone)x2 (12/15, by phone)

Macalester (12/8, by phone) x5

McMaster U (11/28 - by phone)

Mississippi State U (12/3 - by email) x2

Nanyang Technological U (12/1 - by email for phone interview)

Northwest Missouri State University (11/30 - by phone)

Pacific Lutheran (12/8 -- just got a message from them on my phone re: scheduling MLA interview) x4

Roanoke College (12/8 - by phone) (x2), (12/11 - by phone)(x2), (12/12 - by phone)

Saint Anselm (11/19 - requested by email, 12/2 - scheduled (x3))

Shepherd U (12/3; 12/4; 12/7; 12/8- by phone) X4

U of Southern California (12/9 - by phone) x3

Virginia Commonwealth University (11/26 - by email) x2, (12/2 - by email)

Yale (12/17 - by phone) x3

Jobs
American U
 * just thought I'd note that this is the 2nd year of this search.
 * Q: Has ANYONE been asked for a WS? And/or can anyone verify that this search is still on?
 * A: They'll likely ask interviewees to bring a WS to the interview.  (See last year's wiki.)
 * A: Yes, that's exactly what happened.
 * 12/10 phone request for MLA interview. x4

Angelo State U (Long 18th)
 * 12/5 MLA interview requested by email (x2)

Auburn
 * Additional materials requested November 3 (x6)
 * Acknowledgment letter 11/12
 * A: I got additional material request via email, then snail mail confirmation of application & demographic card came over a week later.
 * 12/09 phone request for MLA interview. (x2)

Bard College (17th/18th-c not including Romanticism)
 * got email acknowledgement
 * did you send your application very early? I haven't received any acknowlgt email yet
 * correction (to initial post): turns out I did not get an email ack. I thought I had, but upon searching my inbox, I see that I was wrong. Sorry for the confusion.
 * I got an e-mail auto-reply from "Bard Hrdept" when I sent my materials. It went into the spam folder and I had to dig around for it.
 * Oh, yes, I think that's what I was thinking of. And I think I deleted it. So, correction to my above correction is that I got that auto-reply.

Word of warning. This search has been going on for years and candidates (there have been many) have been smiled at during the interview, then not contacted--at all, ever, despite inquiries to the search chair about the application status. Just simply ignored after the MLA interview.
 * Note: in this respect they are, sadly, hardly unique. I've had quite amiable interviews with at least five SCs that did exactly the same thing. Unprofessional, but all too common.
 * 12/11 e-mail request for MLA interview (x2)

 Calvin College  (Eighteenth-century and/or Romantic Literature of the British Isles)
 * (12/12) Snail mail saying the search has been called off

 College of St. Scholastica (MN)  (women's, 18th or 19th)
 * Review begins Oct. 15
 * (11/26) Snail mail saying the search has been called off (x2).

Colorado College (ability to teach core poetry classes-18thc and Romanticism)
 * 11/7: Application acknowledged by snail mail.
 * got email acknowledgment (x2)
 * 12/13: MLA interview scheduled by phone (see Romanticism page)

So depressing! I am a near-perfect fit for this job (at least according to the announcement). How many years do people go through these searches before they go stark raving mad from the disappointment and frustration? This is my second, and I'm ready to give up.
 * Hang in there.
 * A friend of mine just interviewed for this position at MLA, and the committee asked nothing about poetry and all about the novel. So if you felt like you were a good fit for the ad (as I did), don't worry.  They don't seem to want what they advertised.  *laugh*

Connecticut College (Concentration in Race and Ethnicity)
 * got email acknowledgment


 * Scheduled MLA interview 12/15

Evergreen State College (British/Anglophone Lit)
 * email that they will conduct phone interviews in January; not going to MLA

Macalester
 * 11/10: Application acknowledged via snail mail, letter dated 10/31 (x4)
 * 11/19: Request for teaching philosophy, evaluations, syllabi, writing sample, and letters of rec (x10)
 * 12/1: Note that they canceled the search in 20thc American.  (See 20thc American wiki and the JIL.)  But the 18th-c. search is (for now!) still on.
 * 12/2: I received an e-mail from them that they'd received all of my supplemental materials, will be in touch, etc. Looks like it's still on for now. (x9)
 * 12/2: Rejection (letter, dated 11/18)
 * 12/5: With trepidation, I ask: IS THE C18 SEARCH STILL ON? A: See above, this has already been answered by the dept via email on 12/2.
 * 12/8 MLA interview set up by phone. <--not getting this broke my heart; I LOVED this school's approaches, location, etc. *sigh*
 * 12/13 rejection letter (dated 12/9): very kind, acknowledged that I'd sent extra materials in response to their request (x2)
 * Anyone else not hear anything either way? (12/16)

McMaster U
 * Where is the blacklist link for this year's search? This school should be entered on it.  The department has hired 3 new junior faculty members with US degrees within the past 5 years.  All 3 hires have gone elsewhere--back to the States for other (and better) tenure track jobs.  There are similar scenarios in other departments.  The word on the street is that this is a miserable and demoralizing place to work, especially if you are a US citizen or US trained Ph.D.


 * I put a comment up here the other day, as a response to the above. I see someone has deleted it. Do NOT delete other people's comments. If you can't abide by the rules of the wiki, don't use it. Engaging in that sort of thing only inspires others to look up your IP address. Here's my comment, ONCE AGAIN: the blacklist is ongoing, not yearly. The wiki is called "Universities to Fear." Find it and enter McMaster English if you want to. That said, I myself am a US citizen and US-trained Ph.D. who would be thrilled to teach at McMaster and be involved with ECF. (x3!!!)


 * November 24: call for campus visit

Mississippi State
 * Application acknowledged via snail mail
 * 11/14 email request for more materials
 * 11/21 email request for more materials (x2)
 * 12/2 rejection email (x5)
 * 12/3 MLA interview request via email
 * email indicates that they are interviewing ten candidates

Nanyang Technological U (Singapore) (18th century)
 * Start looking at apps 11/20.
 * 12/1 email request for phone interview.
 * Decisions about campus visits will be made end of the first week in Jan.

Northwest Missouri State (18th or 19th)
 * Screening begins Nov. 1
 * Application acknowledged via snail mail
 * 11/30 MLA interview scheduled via phone

Pacific Lutheran (18th)
 * Application acknowledged via snail mail
 * Additional materials requested 11/12 (and 11/14)
 * Called to schedule MLA interview 12/8

Roanoke College (Generalist with a specialty in 18th century British literature, TransAtlantic desireable)
 * 10/28 Received postcard saying app was rec'd. (x2)
 * Q: Has ANYONE been asked for a WS? And/or can anyone verify that this search is still on?
 * 12/8 MLA interview scheduled via phone

Saint Anselm (18th)
 * got email acknowledgement (2)
 * MLA interview request by email, 11/19 (x5)
 * Interviews have now officially been scheduled (12/2)

St. Francis Xavier (British literature and culture between 1603 and 1860)
 * Consideration of applications will begin on 15 December

Shepherd U (18th)
 * Application acknowledged via email 10/30.
 * MLA interviews to be arranged "in early December"
 * 12/3 MLA interview request by phone (Also 12/4)

South Dakota State University (18th)
 * Deadline: Nov. 30

Texas A&M U, Kingsville (Restoration/18th Century British, with Linguistics and/or "Writing" preferred)
 * Review begins immediately until filled.

The Citadel (18th)
 * Review begins Nov. 7
 * Letters requested Oct 27 (and Nov 3 (x2), Nov 10)
 * MLA Interview Scheduled (by phone) Dec 4 (with letters requested prior); Dec 5 (with no letters requested prior)x2

University of California-Los Angeles (transatlantic studies before 1900) Deadline: Nov. 3
 * 12/2: 19thc wiki shows that they scheduled an interview
 * 12/16: Rejection letter by email. (x1)
 * Campus visit scheduled by phone

U of Colorado-Boulder Open rank, from Advanced Asst on up.
 * I imagine (although I do not know) that people may have been individually invited to apply (their initial search failed, 2 years ago). They said they wanted to do interviews in November...anyone have any news about this search?
 * A: My advisor, who is a distinguished professor and good friends/previous colleagues with one of the search committee members, indicated that they're looking for someone at the Assoc/Full Prof rank. I also know that she's provided letters of rec for at least two senior people for this position.
 * Maybe the senior-ish people won't work out, and then they'll dig into the untapped goldmine of more junior apps. Or so I am hoping!

It is indeed very likely that senior-ish people won't work out. As a lurking senior faculty member (from elsewhere), let me say that senior hiring is a mine field while junior hiring is relatively easy. UC has been turned down already, so it's entirely possible they will go junior, as Indiana did last year.
 * hope hope hope hope hope


 * Rejection email (11/20) (x4)
 * sad sad sad sad sad

U Maryland--Baltimore County
 * Additional information requested October 28, October 30, November 5, and November 7th (x4)
 * Search cancelled (e-mail 11/25).
 * $&@!!!!! (X5!!!)

U of Michigan (1660-1900)
 * Is this job still open? It says "pending approval" on the jil listing and I couldn't find it on the UM HR website today (11/4)
 * A: yes, received a nice acknowledgement of application via email 11/6 with timeline of hiring process.
 * A: more info on timeline: MLA interviews to be arranged "second week of December (December 8-12)" Campus interviews to be conducted  "January and February"
 * A: I got this letter too -- it did say "pending final approval of the search at the College level, we will interview these candidates at the MLA (Modern Language Association) Convention." Hopefully that's just butt-covering language and it will all work out.
 * E-mail acknowledgment rec'd 11/13. Here's hoping!
 * Ditto!
 * Did anyone else not get this email??
 * On the 19th century page, two people have had requests for dossiers as of 11/24.
 * This is strange. I thought UM asked for everything up front. I know I sent them writing samples, syllabi, etc.
 * A: They asked for everything imaginable (samples, teaching, etc) EXCEPT for dossiers.
 * A: Don't give up hope; it seems likely that they would hire in 18thc (instead of or in addition to 19thc) because two of their 18th-c. people have left for other schools in recent years.
 * Dossier request by email 11/24, 11/26 (x2)
 * Q: I see on the 19th century page that a couple of interviews were requested. Does anyone know what is happening on our end?
 * Received kind rejection email on 12/19. *sniff* (x3)

U of Ottawa (Rest/18th)
 * Email acknowledgment, query of citizenship 11/21 (x8)
 * Are there any Canadians on here who are applying? Yes!

--> Some Canadian schools interview at MLA (UofT, for instance), but most go straight to the short-list. What this means in practice is that a candidate has to look good enough on paper to make the top 3 to 5--there's no chance to win a committee over with your charming personality until the campus visit. --> MLA or no MLA, the timeline for Canadian jobs varies. Generally, schools bring candidates in for campus visits in January or February. But as McMaster's early search this year suggests (they completed campus visits last week), Canadian schools are beginning to realize that they're missing out on good candidates by waiting too long. A: Er, I'm not sure that's the reason McMcaster brought candidates early. I know for a fact that at least 2 of the 3 candidates McMaster brought were Canadian. I'm not sure about the 3rd, but looks like they were interested in seeing what native Canadian talent had to offer. A. Certainly, Mac was interested in seeing what "native Canadian talent" had to offer (though I should add that 2 of the *5* short-listed candidates were Canadian and only one of those two candidates did their Ph.D. in Canada). But when I wrote that Canadian schools were missing out on good candidates, I meant good candidates in general. Because American schools generally run their searches earlier, many talented Canadians and Americans are snapped up (or offered jobs) before Canadian schools get around to making their short-lists.
 * What is the time line for Canadian Jobs? I know they don't usually do MLA?

U of Southern California (Early Modern, 1600 - 1800)
 * Q: Has anybody heard anything about this job? I hear only silence.
 * A: Haven't heard anything either, though I know someone at USC and heard that this is one of those crazy searches that involves three departments, English, Art History, and History, so they're not even sure what they're looking for and have to organize a committee of committees. Each dept. is running its own search, and then they will compare top candidates from each.  It will probably take some time for them to sort through the whole mess.
 * MLA interview scheduled by phone 12/9 (x2)

Villanova
 * Search canceled? Applicants in some disciplines have been told that the College of A&S is postponing ALL hiring this year.
 * Response to above...I was told by a reliable source that the C18 search has been canceled.
 * The ad is still listed on their website.
 * Still listed? That's good to know. I'm feeling pessimistic, though.
 * Officially canceled; see JIL status update
 * FYI: Villanova is nevertheless mailing out letters with AA surveys attached (received 11/18)
 * Their letter said they were suspending their search and did not expect to make a hire for 2009. Is that the same as canceled?
 * Yes.

Virginia Commonwealth University (British Enlightenment, etc)
 * Q: I can't find a reference to this job on the JIL or on VCU's web site...can you tell me where to find some info? Thanks!
 * A: it was on the JIL, with a postmark deadline of 11/13. If it isn't there, it probably expired after the deadline (?). It was something like "Early English Colonialism with expertise in texts of the British Enlightenment."
 * A: Ah, that rings a bell. I probably by-passed it because it's not quite my area of focus.  Thanks so much for the clarification...I got nervous there for a second.
 * A: Also, "expertise in the slave-trade debate."
 * Interview scheduled(11/26) (x2); (12/2)

Yale
 * Received 2 postcards stapled together (1 AA survey) as acknowledgement of application (11/7).
 * Received the same 2 postcards (11/12) (ditto 11/17, 11/20)
 * Am I the only one who never got these postcards? A: I got mine, but wouldn't be surprised if others didn't. It was 2 postcards united with one staple, so it could very easily have stuck on another piece of mail and never been heard from again. A: I haven't got one and I mailed my app 10/28. Scratch that, mine showed up this afternoon 11/20. Me too, finally, on 11/24.


 * Is this search still active?
 * A: Yes -- the two people who got calls yesterday did not update this section, just the MLA section above:
 * 12/17 - MLA interview scheduled by phone (x2)


 * Lame postcard rejection (12/18; 12/19; 12/21)--don't tell me I'm "no longer under active consideration"--just tell me no! (x2)
 * What's with Yale and the postcards?
 * A: How else to break the Holiday news? "Yale: I bet you wish you were here!"

Discussion
Observation: I will let somebody list the jobs if they feel like it, but I will propose that, having tracked the eighteenth-century possibilities for four years, this is the second-best year. Only the preternatural selection of good positions two years ago (2007) was better. So enter the market with optimism!

A: I don't get it. (Sorry!) YOu're being sarcastic, right? There don't seem to be many openings this year to me!

A: This is my 3rd year on the market in one capacity or another, and I have to agree with the answer above. A good many of the "18th-century" jobs out there this year are being marketed as some version of "the long 19th century."

A: It seems inevitable that after having coopted other centuries for so long, we c18s would experience the same thing. I'm just focusing on the fact that I'm prepared to teach a wide array of materials, from a couple of centuries.

A: The part of the initial observation that I find to be most bizarre is the first clause. There aren't even 20 solidly 18th-century jobs here. Optimism is good, but realism is also acceptable...

A: I'm not sure about how the overall number of jobs compares with previous years. There are always less eighteenth-century jobs than early-modern jobs or Victorian jobs, just as there are less of us applying for them. This is a good year for good jobs. There are seven good research schools hiring (including USC's open-discipline 1600-1800 position and Northwestern's "around 1800" position). There are four really good liberal-arts colleges hiring.

A: Are there really fewer people in our field? It's certainly true at my university, but are there numbers or findings on that? Not that I don't enjoy the fact that we're a spectacular, unique, and very clubbable bunch! This is my 3rd year, too, for what it's worth, and I thought it was a pretty decent year given the economic slump that's caused lots of places, especially state schools, to enact hiring freezes.

A: I think there are definitely fewer of us, at least where I am. All the people in my dept who say "your century is so boring" are now saying "how come there are so many eighteenth century jobs? waah!" I think it's a pretty good year in terms of what's posted, but I'm trying to be realistic and assume that at least a few will get canceled. Good luck to all!

A: But note how restrictive most of these jobs are! USC's search is open discipline; there's not even a guarantee that they'll hire someone in English, let alone in 18th-c. Similarly, Northwestern's is a Romanticist job. And Bard excludes Romanticism and Conn College has a particular focus, etc. And note how many small, religiously-affiliated jobs and/or jobs with 4-4 or 4-3 teaching loads there are. This really isn't a great year for 18thc. Let's hope it gets better next year and that all of those schools with hiring freezes life them! :)

A: I agree that this isn't a great job list this year for 18th-C people. It's not awful, but there are fewer jobs, and fewer really desirable ones, than there were the last two years. And this is the third year in a row that Bard's running their search, which signals to me that there's something screwy at the institution (which, given Bard's reputation, isn't hard to believe).

A: 27 of the jobs advertised in the JIL still appear to be a go. That's actually pretty good,  considering that there were as few as 9 listed in 2003 and 11 in 2005. The real difference this year seems to be the appallingly long waits and large number of cancelled jobs.

Re: the organization of this wiki:
 * I really think it's easier if we just post all interview info under each school below. That way you can look up a particular school and see any pertinent info without having to comb through multiple sections.
 * I didn't post this section, but was hoping someone would -- I like having the "quick glance" sections for these sorts of things (MLA interviews, campus interviews, etc.) -- in addition to the by-school info below, especially since the by-school info is thick with lengthy (though helpful) discussion. [feel free to delete/move this statement as needed]
 * I don't care either way, BUT in previous years (ha) I have found the quick-glance section at the top to be helpful.
 * I think the quick list at the top is really helpful, too; if you see the school listed, you can then look below for more info. And it prevents you from having to scroll through the whole list to find out about interviews...
 * At this point I'm beginning to think we should create a special section for canceled searches!
 * This is definitely getting scary. It seemed like things couldn't get much worse for humanists.... What is going to happen to academia with the huge oversurplus of jobseekers that the economic situation is sure to create over the next few years?
 * Let's all hope that this downturn follows previous patterns and enrollment surges over the next few years, making it impossible for these institutions to put off hiring any longer. I have to believe that at some point there will be a demand for the eighteenth century...

The best that new PhDs can hope for is that budget squeezes lead to an overall emphasis on junior rather than senior hiring. Some hiring will have to be done over the next five years as the generation hired during the glut years of the 60s start to retire en masse. Junior faculty are considerably cheaper than senior faculty. QED ...

Comment: As the Thanksgiving holiday ends, I can only assume that more committees will be meeting, and that we'll all start hearing news of interviews. I just wanted to wish everyone well -- there's always a lot of anxiety, but one comfort about the wiki is knowing that others are in the same spot, so thanks to all for information sharing. Good luck, compatriots!

Comment: Good luck to all from here as well! And good luck to the person with the flyback at McMaster!

Comment: I think this will be a big week. Good luck to everyone!