Restoration and 18th Century British

Page Updated Tues Dec. 11, 4:40 p.m. PST

U of Alabama (18th or 19th-c. novel) Writing sample & doss request: 11/6 (2) MLA Interview Request 12/3 (3)

American University (Washington, DC) Deadline/review begins: Nov. 15th Q: Anyone hear anything yet re: w.s.? A: When I applied to American, not in this field, a few years back, they went straight for MLA interviews and asked for w.s. at interview. Thanks very much for this information. I interviewed with them a few years back and they did not ask for a writing sample before the interview. Instead, they chose to ask off-the-mark and uncharitable questions without having bothered to read anything first. If you get an interview with them, make sure you keep hold of the reins. Q: did they ask for a w.s. after the interview? A: I think they wanted it at the interview. MLA interview request by phone 12/11 x3 And yes, they asked candidate to bring writing sample to interview, which they said would be read AT MLA. Does this mean candidate has to make a copy for each member of the committee? A: Just one copy.

Bard College (17th/18th-c; exclusive of Romanticism) Deadline: November 15 Search for this position last year failed? A: beware. candidate hired, but department decision was reversed by crazy president and candidate was unhired. A: Last year, they were looking for someone who worked in 18th-c. and either the history of science or globalism. The subspecialties were pretty narrow. Maybe they ended up offering the position to someone who didn't fit either of those subfields and the Pres. overturned for that reason? I don't know how closely hires have to match the ad. A: Yes, such things can now go here: link http://wikihost.org/wikis/academe/wiki/black_listed_universities_and_colleges A: Rest of discussion has been moved to above wiki. W.S. and doss request, 12/5 x3

Berea College 11/2 statement requested via email 11/16- Last 2 weeks of November: phone interviews taking place. Q: 12/10 Any one get a phone interview? I got a request for a statement but have not hear an anything since. A: I had a telephone interview in late November. Haven't heard since.

Boston U (lit before 1700 or 1800; ability to teach classics in translation) Dossier & writing sample requested by letter (rec'd 11/6). Formal rejection by letter received 11/6, 11/26 Snail mail letter received 11/21, written 11/5, stating application was received and will be in touch again "as soon as [they] have completed [their] first stage of review." I assume this means I was put on some sort of reserve list if others have gotten requests for writing samples already, and others rejection letters. A week later: snail mail letter received yesterday 11/27 stating the committee is no longer considering me. i.e., no longer on that "reserve" list.

California Lutheran U

California SU, Los Angeles

University of Chicago (Assistant or Associate Prof.) Deadline: November 1 E-mail acknowldgement of applic., 11/14 Q: I am not trying to start up a gossip mill, but has anyone else heard there is an inside candidate for this job? A: What would an inside candidate be? Chapter-length writing sample req. by e-mail 11/21 (x2). Request for "substantial writing sample (35-50 pages)," 11/28 Request received yesterday 11/27 via email asking for a writing sample to be emailed to them. 11/28 BTW, 11/27 email request stated that interviews would be scheduled only right before MLA Q: Does anyone know whether they interviewed candidates or made an offer for the British lit, 1750-1900 job last year? A: 11/25 I applied last year and only got up to the WS stage. The rejection letter was sent a week before MLA. My hunch was that they didn't look at any 18th-century people because the appointment was based on whether or not their resident 18th-century person got approved for tenure (the answer is "yes," but that person has since left). Based on last year's Wiki, though, it looks like they did interview people working in the 19th century. I don't know if they made an offer in that area, though. I hope this helps answers your question. A: No offer was made in that search last year. A: Thanks for the info. A: I checked: requests for writing samples are still being made, and calls for interviews will be made on 12/11 at the earliest. A: Thanks for the update; that is helpful to know. Scary about the continued w.s. requests, though; are they not liking the ones that they've already requested? A: They're a very picky bunch at Chicago, so it's not surprising that they would have to see loads of writing samples before deciding whom to interview. And from what I know there isn't an inside candidate. A: to above Q asking what an inside candidate would be, in this case I heard there is a preferred candidate, although I certainly hope that isn't the case! MLA interview scheduled by phone (12/11)

CUNY, Hunter College (Renaissance/Early Modern: 1500-1800)

CUNY, John Jay (17th/18th-c.) 12/4 Dossier Request (me too, on 12/2)

CUNY, Lehman (Assistant or Assoc.) MLA Interview request by phone (12/6) x2

DePaul U 10/31 Dossier, transcripts, writing sample requested via email 11/1 Dossier, transcripts, writing sample requested 11/15 Dossier, transcript, writing sample requested (e-mail) 11/19 Request for doss, trans, w.s. (email) 11/28 Dossier, transcripts, writing sample requested via email 12/1 Formal rejection received via snail mail

Florida International U Specializing in the novel, 18th and early 19th c Postmark: 11/15 Acknowledgement letter received 11/16; says interviewees will be contacted early Dec. Just received acknowledgment letter from them 12/7, dated 12/4, even tho' my application was sent in October; does this seem odd to anyone else?

Fordham U Anyone hear anything from Fordham? Dossier and writing sample requested 11/16 (by email) (2)

George Mason U Q- (12/10)anyone hear anything? A: Nope. Nothing yet... MLA interview scheduled (details unknown) Q: What do you mean "details unknown"? did you hear that someone got an interview with them? MLA interview scheduled by phone 12/10

Gettysburg College Dossier and w.s. requested by email (11/28) (4) Formal rejection received via snail mail (12/6) (2) MLA interview requested by phone (12/11)

Holy Cross (preferred focus: drama or poetry) Add'l materials requested via e-mail (11/8) Add'l materials requested by email (11/18) (same 11/19 (2)) Scheduled MLA interview (12/11) by phone

Indiana U, Kokomo According to the listing, one may only apply for this job if one has a PhD in hand at time of application.

Indiana University-Bloomington Writing sample and dossier requested via e-mail (November 8 or Nov 9) sample and dossier requested (email) Nov 16 (x2) Rejection letter in the mail 11/30 (x3 - mine said they would keep my app on file for the rest of the yr) So did my letter. I'm assuming everyone's did. MLA interview scheduled (details unknown). Q: What do you mean "details unknown"? did you hear that someone got an interview with them? Did anyone else hear from them? MLA Interview scheduled (12/10) Q: email/phone? Has anyone else heard anything from Indiana? Is there any reason to keep on hoping?

Jacksonville SU

James Madison U MLA interview requested (11/30)(3)

Long Island U (18th/19th-c. novel) Writing sample and dossier requested 11/9, 11/14 MLA interview request 12/9

Loyola U, New Orleans

Maryville College

Oberlin College deadline: 12/18 Q: why is the deadline so late? since they don't ask for a writing sample up-front, how can they possibly process everything in time for MLA interviews? A: They must have just gotten approval to go ahead with the search. I guess they'll be reading very quickly! A: Given their timeframe, I'd be rather surprised if they interview at MLA. Phone interviews (the norm in some disciplines) seem more likely. I doubt they'll look at writing samples before MLA in any case. A: I would not be surprised if there were an insider hire for this job. Department was probably forced to put ad. in MLA list by administration to make the hire seem "fair" and "legit." Clearly coming up with an appropriate hire from outside within the time frame they've given themselves is compromised in this search. A: They didn't do a search for the VAP last year after their 18th-Cist left, but just brought someone in. Whether or not that means they're committed to keeping this person I can't say. At any rate, unless you've got an Ivy or "elite" pedigree there's really no sense in applying, since they'll just chuck the applications from candidates without such pedigrees after perusing the tops of their cvs. That'll certainly help them cut down on the time it takes to vet applications, so this might be a legit search after all. COMMENT: Please note that from 2000 to the present less than half of Oberlin's English hires have beem Ivy League, not that there's anything wrong with that. A: clearly, inside hire...the Oberlin HR webpage lists this job as posted in early Nov.; internally that is...if this weren't a set-up, it wouldn't have taken them over a month to post the job nationally A: They do have an inside candidate, but I think it's a mistake to make so many assumptions about a search. There are lots of reasons (including administrative error, departmental discussion about the content of the job ad, deadlines, etc.) that would delay the advertisement of a job. Having been an inside candidate at a SLAC, I can assure you that it is not an enviable position and most definitely does not mean you're getting the job.

U of Miami (transatlantic literary/cultural studies, 1600-1850) Writing sample request via e-mail (11/9) Rejection email rec'd 11/27 (4) Dissertation requested via email 11/29 Q: was the diss request a follow-up to an earlier WS request? A: yes, WS was requested in mid-November MLA interview scheduled by e-mail 12/10 x2 Received rejection e-letter 12/10

U of Mississippi Writing sample requested via e-mail (11/20)(11/27)

U of New England (pre 1800)

Stanford U(1660-1914) (I can't gauge the accuracy of this report, but I was told there is an inside candidate/spousal hire situation.) I've heard that too, from a very reliable source. Just remember that "power couples" often have offers from more than one institution. "Inside" candidates often end up going elsewhere even if they get the first offer. A: And lord knows, more than one insider search has gotten derailed, once they start looking at all the other people that apply

SUNY, Fredonia 11/7 letters, writing sample, teaching dossier requested Formal rejection received by mail, 11/17 (2)

SUNY Geneseo (TT 3/3) Deadline: November 5 (online) Dossier requested via email 11/8 (3), also 11/15

SUNY Oneonta

SUNY Oswego (Early Mod excluding Shakespeare, 17th-c. or 18th-c.) MLA interview scheduled 12/1 (w/ request to email w.s. beforehand) (2) Q: Those who received interview requests, what's your field/period? A: long C18 is my main field

Swarthmore History of Novel in English Postmark Deadline: Nov 1

Texas Tech U Dossier requested via email 11/9 Doss requested via email 11/12 12/8 MLA interview request (email) The s.c. granted interviews to 8 candidates Thanks so much for this information!

U of Tulsa (1500-1800; history of the book or history of drama) Add't materials requested via email 11/11 See also posting at Renaissance

Vassar (focus: fiction) MLA interview request 12/4 x4 Q: did the request come by phone or by email? Thanks. A: by phone

U of Virginia (Medieval or Renaiss. or 18th-c. or Early American) MLA interview request by phone and email (12/6) x 2 Q: For those who got interviews, what is your field? A: It looks like they decided to go with Medieval and 18thc since interviews have been listed as scheduled under these two fields. Unfortunately, I was not one of the lucky ones, so I don't know for sure. A: interviews were requested in all the areas. Q: Is UVA all done requesting interviews (12/10)? Q: I want to know this too! 12/10 5:00PM EST A: I'm pretty certain (95%) that all interviewees have been contacted. A: I'm pretty certain there are 14 interviews for the 2 jobs. A: Is this about 7 for Medieval and 7 for 18thC, or 14 for each? A: thanks for this info. It's always interesting/helpful to know how many slots there are.

U of Washington Deadline: Nov 9 Writing sample requested on November 8 (via email). Sample and doss requested on Novemeber 16 via email. Sample and dossier requested November 28 via email. MLA interview request via e-mail (12/5)x2 Q: Aargh-if there's some kind UW s.c. member lurking, could said member reveal if all MLA interviewees have already been contacted? (request from highly desirous, uncontacted jobseeker) Ah, yes, I second that-for the other recently posted interview requests on this page as well!! In commiseration....

Washington SU-Pullman MLA interview requested by phone and email (12/8) x 2 All MLA interviews have been scheduled (12/10)

Wayne State University Very professional and cordial email rejection on 11/20 Q: Was this for the feminist/queer theory/sexuality studies position? I got a rejection, too. A: Yes, I think so. I saw two different job ads for what looked like the same job, one seemed to focus more on early modern cultural studies (defined broadly), and the other (if I'm remembering right) emphasized feminist studies/queery theory.

Wesleyan U (focus: novel) Q: has anyone heard anything? A: MLA Interview requested 12/7, with request to see a great deal more of my writing beforehand. x2 Q: how did you hear-by phone or by email? [please do not delete this question-whoever deleted it before! Thanks.] A: Email Thanks very much for this response. Q: Anyone have any idea how many interview slots there are at Wesleyan? A: No, I don't. But maybe someone can call the secretary who arranged the interviews and ask?

U of West Georgia Q: Anyone heard anything yet? A: MLA interview requested 11/27 (4) Q: Dossier requested? A: With my interview request, I was asked to send dossier and graduate transcripts.

Questions, Discussion, etc.: Q: Does anyone know if Harvard ended up hiring anyone for the 18th-c. job last year? The 06-07 wiki says that an offer was accepted but it doesn't look like they did hire anyone; it looks like they've recast the ad/position into an Early Modernist one this year.

Q: Does anyone know what happened last year with University of Colorado at Boulder's search for an associate in 18th century? A: they didn't make a hire and plan to run the search again in future. Not sure when/what level.

Q: Speaking of Colorado, does anyone know what happened with the Colorado College 18th-C/Romanticism search last year? It doesn't appear that they hired anyone, yet apparently they aren't running a new search this year. A: I heard they had campus visits but didn't make an offer - that the search failed. (And of course it would, since they didn't hire either of us!)