After a long absence, a new interactive website devoted to the Classics, Ancient History, & Archaeology job market. "Because there is no "hire" in "Higher Education"
...Be kind and maintain professional decorum.
After a long absence, a new interactive website devoted to the Classics, Ancient History, & Archaeology job market. "Because there is no "hire" in "Higher Education"
...Be kind and maintain professional decorum.
Great to see that this is back !! Now, if only some decent jobs can come back..
ReplyDeleteSame here!
DeleteDoes anyone know if many schools are planning on holding first-round interviews at the SCS this year ?
ReplyDeletePretty much every ad specifies that interviews will be remote; there are pretty obvious fairness concerns that ought to preclude interviewing some candidates remotely and others in person, so it seems unlikely that there will be interviewing at the meeting itself (although during it, but remotely, is another story of course).
DeleteOn the institutional side, the SCS is not offering space or scheduling this year, so there will be no official interviewing on site. I suppose an university could rent a suite and do in-persons, but that seems both expensive and thoughtless.
DeleteHappy to see the site revived! Despite the crowing of naysayers, I believe that FV in its various iterations has provided a much-needed space to discuss not only the job market but everything else to do with the state of the field. There will always be trolls, but I think the benefits ultimately outweigh the negatives.
ReplyDeleteWord is that several finalists for top jobs this year (Harvard, Cornell) so far, already have tenured or tenure-track positions elsewhere. Of course, this is par for the course when such elite places are involved. But what do we think about this now that the job market has had the already shallow bottom fall out from underneath it? Surely committees can find stellar people from the glut of candidates without permanent jobs to fill these shiny jobs? Are committees not reinforcing the inequities of the system by simply choosing those who already have the resources to succeed?
ReplyDeleteMy take: committees (at places like those above) have rarely cared about those in contingent positions, and will just hire whoever they see as meeting their needs, prestige and "hot right now" status. They aren't going to start now.
On a related note, what do we think of the push in diversity criteria for jobs this year, more than previous years? Are there enough BIPOC candidates out there to fill these jobs? Will committees also seriously consider white cis male identifying candidates for these positions if they have demonstrated commitment to diversity in the field/teaching/scholarship?
My take: there aren't enough diverse candidates (on the market, yet--maybe in 3-5 years) and committees this year (and next) will be forced into considering other less "visible" forms of diversity. Already, 9/10 of the finalists for the two jobs listed above are women. But the UCLA finalists suggest other forms of diversity.
Hiring committees aren't charity committees trying to maximize employment for our entire field. They're doing what they see as the best interest of their department and its future, and are usually accountable to people higher up than them to whom they are constantly trying to prove their department's relevance.
Deleteout of curiosity where did you see the shortlisted candidates for those jobs? I didn't see anything on the department webpages, but likely not looking in the right place
Delete"charity committees." seriously you people can go to hell
DeleteI want to know more about the finalists too. how do you know they're tenured/in tenure track positions?
DeleteIf you look at most of the job ads, the diversity language is clearly boilerplate imposed by the respective Dean's offices at these colleges and universities, and I am sure it appears in job postings across disciplines. The only job ad that doesn't come across that way is the Wake Forest job, which echoes initiatives that they've had going for a few years now.
DeleteAs for the already-tenured or tenure-track people jumping ship for new jobs, it is to be expected but is particularly egregious at present. Several already well-situated individuals got new plum jobs last year, including one that wasn't even advertised, and it looks like the same will be happening again this year. Also, it doesn't help when a job is advertised as open to people at both the assistant and associate level, it just encourages ship-jumping. *cough Berkeley cough*
It's called inside information. Also, something should be corrected: 7/8 of the Harvard/Cornell finalists are (ostensibly) female-identifying.
DeleteCornell: 1 ABD, 1 postdoc, 1 TT, 1 tenured.
Harvard: 2 ABD, 1 postdoc, 1 TT.
Wait, so that's actually a pretty good spread of various career stages.
DeleteActually, no: none of them are VAPs, for instance, or god forbid, adjuncts. For the postdocs, I should note that it is their *first* postdoc each--both very prestigious ones, too.
DeleteOh, I see your point. Well, the rich are getting richer. The poor needs to feed on gossip ;)
DeleteThank you for setting this up!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I'll troll you all and/or provide useful thoughts at some point, but for now I just want to say how glad I am to see this latest incarnation of Famae Volent. Thanks for starting it, whoever you are.
ReplyDeleteAny chances that there will be more TT job openings this season?
ReplyDeleteMaybe one or two. UGA just brought out one. Public universities sometimes get their approvals late, especially with budgets being approved later in the academic year due to pandemic measures. But it's probably unlikely, except in the case of places who face an immediate need. Bard advertised a TT job in late December a few years ago after one of its faculty died suddenly.
DeleteChances are that most of this years jobs have posted, although again a few late announcements are likely. BUT, with the untethering of the job cycle from SCS interviews-a necessary and salutary reform-it is likely that the job season will overall be more strung out, with more early announcements (like Harvard), and probably a few more on the tail end than usual.
DeleteAny word about Emory? Please, please, update wiki if you hear anything!
ReplyDeleteDid anybody *not* get the mistaken request from Berkeley to upload their diss? I'd like to briefly delude myself I'm longlisted.
ReplyDeleteDo we think that it was a complete mistake and everyone was emailed and nothing is going on yet or do we think that non-long-listed people were mistakenly emailed along with the long-listed?
DeleteI think it's way too early to be longlisted. It must have been an error, since the deadline to send the additional document was November 12.
DeleteI'm sorry, I had an hour of happiness of my own and then the gloom hit twice as bad.
4:04 pm here. I was wrong, I just received a renewed request for materials. They are moving fast!
DeleteI wonder how many people are on the long list...
Re. Dickinson College: Wiki says by word of mouth that LoR have been solicited. Did anyone else have their writers receive requests immediately after submitting the application? Two of my three referees received prompts
ReplyDeleteYes, my LoR writers received a prompt as soon as I submitted my application
DeleteYeah I'm unsure what the statement on the wiki is about. I submitted the application a few days before the deadline and my letter-writers also received automatic prompts immediately.
DeleteAnyone have inside information with what's going on with the Harvard AH position?
ReplyDeleteIt's been almost three weeks since I had a campus visit and not a peep from the SC (I was the first candidate to visit). Trying to make peace with the fact that I most likely didn't get the job but still want some clarity about what's going on. Could I email the SC chair and ask for an update?
ReplyDeleteIt's a holiday break, so perhaps don't email right now.
DeleteTheir last visit was on November 30. If they hadn't made an offer by the following week, I would be very surprised. They are likely in negotiations and probably gave their top candidate the holidays as a buffer period to respond to the offer / accept / decline (and yes, someone might decline, if they're already at a peer institution and want the leverage of a Harvard offer).
DeleteOP here. I think you meant to respond to an earlier question about Harvard. My question was unrelated to that — just looking for advice about a search at a SLAC in the midwest.
DeleteOh ok. In that case, then it's probably too early to tell. If you were the first candidate, and it was only three weeks ago, assuming they have at least 3 finalists, then an offer probably hasn't been made yet (it might have, but I'd still hold out a little hope).
DeleteDon't email them unless you are a finalist somewhere else and receive an offer from that other place. In some cases, the SC will contact you to tell you were unsuccessful (I was called on the phone once to be told that I was their no.2 choice, but no.1 had accepted --and even given details about the vote, which seemed unconventional; most others I didn't hear anything until an email after the job was accepted by someone else). Good SCs try to give you a timeline. It helps to ask about the timeline just before your visit finishes.
Thank you for this advice! Very helpful. I didn't ask about a timeline during the visit and am really regretting it right now — ugh!
DeleteHarvard offer was made weeks ago: sorry to tell you here. It takes time to finalize the contract etc.
DeleteWhy can't there be more transparency for candidates? I just don't understand. Just a simple email explaining where the search is at (and yes, I know, HR guidelines, etcetc). BUT, there must be a way to make this process less agonizing for the candidates. Wikis are somewhat good solutions, but they don't seem updated enough, and I don't think enough people use them.
DeleteI have no skin in the game, but I am morbidly curious: what happened to the fourth UCLA finalist who had their talk removed from the roster? Does anyone know?
ReplyDeleteNo idea and wasn't paying attention to that search, but presumably they withdrew. Happens all the time with senior searches because applicants often don't actually want the job, they just want a raise wherever they already work.
DeleteI thought it works only when you actually have an offer in hand.
DeleteIt can work-sometimes they'll give you a raise to pull out of the campus visit. But not always and rarely at a public university.
DeleteWhat happened to the wiki? I can't log in. Did the password change?
ReplyDeleteIt appears to be working fine for me -- hope you are able to resolve things. If you're urgently after an update and can't check it, let us know and someone will surely tell you what the wiki says.
DeleteWell it turns out I can log in on Chrome but not in Firefox, so it's moved from "crisis" to "annoyance" in the grand scheme of things. Tried clearing the cache, but the problem persists.
DeleteIt appears the issue is some sort of cookie or redirect issue, and related to Wikidot no longer being supported by its owner and soldiering on as some sort of internet zombie.
DeleteAnyone have an update on the Cincinnati archaeology position?
ReplyDeleteThey are still doing first-round interviews as of today (1/19).
DeleteAnyone know anything about the Stanford search?
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about this as well!
DeleteOP here. I emailed the contact listed in the job description, who replied that they plan to contact applicants for first-round interviews "in early-mid February, with Zoom interviews taking place later in February."
DeleteThanks, OP. I wonder if they have reached out to people yet, seeing as it is now mid-February...
DeleteStill nothing from Stanford. If anyone has insider information, please speak now...
DeleteOP here: I emailed again and they're running late with the search but "hope to notify applicants no later than March 11."
DeleteAnybody heard from Emory after first-round interviews?
ReplyDeleteI was told they'd send their list to the dean last Monday (1/17) and that it'd take a few days to get it approved. I think they'll notify everyone right away when they hear back.
DeleteStill waiting on this one, wonder if there's anything interesting going on behind the scenes.
DeleteI likewise understood that invites would be made this last week. Based on that, I was assuming that the chosen candidates simply weren't wiki-updaters (and that the committee hadn't gotten around to sending rejections yet). Anyone have info to the contrary?
DeleteI don't have any inside information beyond what I was told during my interview on 1/10, so take what I say with as many grains of salt as you'd like. I was told that they hoped (with emphasis on hope) that the dean's office would approve their list by the end of this week so that they could send out invites. Unrelatedly, they also told me that everything is remote at Emory until 1/31. So it's not impossible that the bureaucracy is just running even less efficiently than normal. It's also not unlikely that the invitees just are not wiki users.
DeleteI asked; they didn't hear back from the Dean before the weekend. Should hear this week!
DeletePlease Emory Deans, release me from my misery.
DeleteLol, same.
DeleteIt's so strange, I've never heard of a Dean's office taking so much time to approve a short list. Looks like there was some sort of pushback.
DeleteSomething is definitely up. One way I could spin it positively would be to interpret this level of delay as indicating that they're in negotiations to turn it into a double (or cluster) hire.
Deletewouldn't that come later after campus visits? I suspect this is just how it works there - they took two months after the deadline to invite for interviews, then a month to get to the interviews.
DeleteI think their timeline was otherwise perfectly ordinary: the submission deadline on Nov. 15 was latish but maybe the hire wasn't approved until the start of the academic year, taking a month to review the files is reasonable at the end of the term (and at some places SCs are only allowed to see the files after the submission deadline), some interviews apparently took place in late December, so they moved quickly then. It is now that the delay is suspicious. I am with 3:42 pm in spirit but a negative way of spinning this is to worry that the search has been canceled or something of that sort.
DeleteI asked for an update and the list is now with the DEI committee waiting for approval.
DeleteCan someone frankly explain how a DEI committee is involved in a hiring process and what control they have over the process?
DeleteWell, if a short list is made of four white male candidates, it will probably be sent back to the department for revision or at least for a detailed justification of each choice.
DeleteEmory was attempting to hire three people a few years ago. Something happened to that search and they only ended up hiring one person. My guess is that they want to hire two people, probably by including a URM/TOO (diversity) hire candidate among their finalists. They can then argue for one regular hire and then one diversity hire. It makes sense. Happens more and more often. The DEI committee would have to sign off on the diversity candidate as actually being a real diversity candidate.
DeleteHow does a DEI committee determine who is white and who isn't? It's not like we send in a picture. Do they look at that box which they assure is only for federal data reporting and will not be used to make any employment decisions?
Deletewell, there it is, I finally got rejected.
Delete@9:56pm Given than Emory ad wanted a candidate who could contribute to "Emory’s new general education requirement in race and ethnicity, dedicated to the consideration of racial, ethnic and cultural dynamics; structural inequalities among individuals and communities..." and asked for a teaching statement specifically addressing students with diverse backgrounds, I think that applicants' commitment to DEI would come through in their materials. It's not only about who's white and who isn't.
Delete@10:57
DeleteI replied to 4:58, who said that a list of four white male finalists would invite further scrutiny. This suggested the DEI committee would respond in this way based purely on the identity of the finalists, rather than their degree of stated commitment to DEI in application materials.
People used to move from Harvard/Yale to Michigan, not the other way around. I wonder what the successful Harvard candidate knows that we don't. I guess... Harvard. Best wishes to her.
ReplyDeleteI can't help be but incredibly cynical about these kinds of moves...like I guess if it's a personal thing and you need to be closer to family or a significant other, for example. Because otherwise is a position at a place like Michigan so awful that you're already chomping at the bit for a shiny Ivy just a couple years in?
DeleteI don't understand why you'd need to be cynical - seems like a better position in a nicer city. Why not make the move, if you think you can get tenure there.
DeleteI think it's a no brainer. It seems like the days of Harvard not granting tenure are gone (?), so why not move to an Ivy (better conditions, more money etc)? Also, winters aren't great in Boston, but better than Ann Arbor ...
DeleteYou never know what is motivating someone to look for a change and the grass is always greener. That doesn't change just because someone has a job.
DeleteReally can't blame then, can you? We'd all answer the siren call of Harvard if we had the chance. And the previous position was the sort of joint appointment (Classics/Kelsey Museum) that can prove tricky for junior scholars to navigate when it comes time for T&P.
DeleteI hope Michigan is able to backfill the position.
Anyone have any inside information on the Georgetown VAP job ?
ReplyDelete...though the last two times that this exact position has come out it went to different Columbia ABDs both times, so, if I can be a little cynical here, the odds are fairly good that they have a very narrow view of 'candidates' anyway, so actually having a Ph.D and being from another school probably eliminates the rest of us from the running
This complaint is tired.
Deletealso their current Greek VAP was an ABD from UVA... so ummm... yeah.
DeleteNot OP, but I *think* they're referencing the Roman History gigs. Curious, I looked back at the Wiki and they are right that the two previous iterations of this same 1-yr job has had different Columbia ABDs hired.
DeleteDoes that mean anything? IMO, likely no. Once, means nothing. Twice is an funny coincidence. If it *does* happen a third time this year, it would be a little interesting but probably meaningless. If it ever hit 4 in a row, then it might be reasonable to look closer at things.
...As a broader statement on this, which is at least partially going on here, ABDs often do have better luck at VAPs than PhDs on their 4th, 5th, or 6th year out. I suppose a lot could explain this (are more applications for VAPs from ABDs than very experienced PhD's, thereby skewing the numbers, etc...), but in short all of us are in a bad spot this year and we should try to be supportive (though OP was being far more self-deprecating and Eeyore-like than they were mean). Let's all try to get through this year while maintaining positivity and compassion.
Anyone know what's going on with Cincinnati? Why do they keep losing people? Looking back at past Wikis, it seems like they have a revolving door and are always having to replace people, but I thought they were a really wealthy department! Is it just the culture or the midwest or something?
ReplyDeleteThe starting salaries are pretty low for a department that has a lot of funding and endowments, so I've heard--a major factor. I don't know what their start-up funds for new faculty are like, either.
DeleteThey've also just been unfortunate enough to be ahead of the curve, or to hire candidates who really wanted to live elsewhere: they hire good candidates, who stay for 1-2 years, before more prestigious/richer schools realize this and snap them up. Princeton, NYU, Duke. But also some have actually stayed, as far as I can see. They also had some openings through retirements and... well... Holt Parker.
If everyone who is hired this year, and the two hires who have stayed so far, then I don't think they'll be hiring much in the near future.
I also heard that there are a few (a minority) faculty in that department who are just incredibly toxic and treat their graduate students terribly. Word on the grapevine.
DeleteRe: salaries, like many other public universities, you can look up people's salaries at Cincinnati in an online search (in this instance in the school's newspaper). I did this when they posted the Greek archaeology job, and the info on one of the assistant profs in the department indicated their salary was just over $60k. Based on my occasional perusing of other Classics departments at R1 schools that have online searchable salary info, this is at least $10k less than comparable departments, and often as much as $15k less. Of course, the gulf becomes even larger once you factor in the rich private schools.
DeleteYup. I know at least one Ivy in a not-that-expensive place to live which pays its Asst Profs 100K. Mind boggling when tenure standards at a lot of these public R1s are pretty similar. You can see why the Michigan hire moved to Harvard (though it's arguably an incredibly expensive place to live, so maybe the money wasn't the main factor there).
DeleteWhat does the hive mind make of the Wellesley ad? (https://www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/details.cfm?JobCode=177784324&Title=Assistant%20Professor%20of%20Philosophy). Posted on 1/29, the review of materials begun on 1/28, and "a strong candidate for this position has been identified". Is that even legal?
ReplyDeleteWicked. They clearly tell us that it's not a real search.
DeleteQuite likely this is a fake job announcement that from time to time has to be put out for foreign faculty on work visas, even if they have a TT job (for example a routine renewal for someone on a work visa might require the position to be advertised pro-forma). The add in fact clearly indicates it is fake: "strong candidate for this position has been identified." Even if not as explicit, jobs only advertised on one place (InsideHigherEd, Chronicl), and not on disciplinary sites (AHA. SCS) tend to be bogus. Don't worry about it (and don't waste your time applying ).
DeleteHow often does it happen that you think you did well during the campus visit, you hit it off with everyone at the department, your specialization does not overlap with anyone else's, and you don't get the job?
ReplyDeleteTwice for me, so far.
DeleteI would think almost every single finalist feels this way. I mean, train wrecks aside (this does happen at the campus visit stage), if you did well for the first-round interview all of those things are already in place for you AND the other finalists, so the campus visit tends to make the finalists feel that it went perfect. I've spoken to countless asst/assoc/full professors on this and they all say that of the 6-7 campus visits that they had before being offered a job *all* felt like a perfect Cinderella fit, but it didn't work out. If you made it to the campus visit stage, you already beat out 100-150 others to get to the top 12; you make it to the campus visit you've made it to the top 3. For those 3, nearly all of them all nearly all of the time (yes, we can all share a campus visit horror story) feel that they landed it.
DeleteThe important thing is to not feel bad when you get the shitty phone call or cold email telling you how strong of a candidate you are and how much they all loved you, etc, before they essentially tell you to go fuck yourself. It's a brutal job market that gets worse every year. There are literally dozens and dozens of shiny Ivy Ph.Ds who have years of top-notch VAPs, post-docs, articles, book reviews, conference presentations, and maybe even a nice book contract or completed book with a major academic press who also has glowing letters of rec. yet, they year-in-year-out come up with nothing and have to pretend to be happy with another shitty adjunctship or exploitative position for little pay. All of these folks, when they land the campus visit, will tend to feel that "this is it! It's all been worth it for this; may day is finally here!" because their crushed spirit and shattered soul needs to cling to some thin thread of hope to keep going.
I'm in the same boat as all of them and, though I seriously try my hardest to not be angry seeing an ABD with an empty CV land a TT job (I've always sworn to not become so jaded), those feelings come through as the years pile up. It almost becomes just as hard to stomp down growing feelings of anger and resentment at those who "haven't put in their time in the shit of it" (i.e., ABDs) yet fall ass-backward into a TT job or those who already have a nice TT job take from those of us out here fighting one of the 2-3 jobs for the year to also try to build oneself up and maintain positivity as well as to keep publishing and trying to get your CV shinier and your chances just that little better.
We're all in the same shit job market. We're all hoping and praying that this year will be our year. We're all hoping that the campus visit that seemed to be flawless yields the result that we can't stop day dreaming about as we drive away from the university that we would kill to call home--even if it's in Nome, Alaska. So, to get back to your initial question...it happens all the damn time. I wish you the best, but for your own sanity and mental health, don't presume too much.
Yes, the above post nails it. Strive to avoid solipsism, people.
DeleteI'm not sure I understand your use of 'solipsism' here, 4:15.
Delete4:05 - thank you for your long reply. I hope you'll hear some good news soon!
Damn, yes to 1:54, I feel you. I feel sorry for all the people who applied for Harvard. 1 ABD, and 2 postdocs, they didn't get the job, because Harvard is fucking Harvard and they''re fucking weird. Don't *ever* take them as any measure of the field.
DeleteI feel awful for all of the contingent folk. It's hard not to hold something against the shiny ABD who went to Princeton and Columbia, taught at Eton, and hey presto, yeah they fucking get a job at Cornell. Brilliance. Or so we call it, in our quiet minds, as we try to quiet our angry, restless souls. That person better fucking kill that job, we say-- because I would, after years of starvation wages.
I didn't mean to aim my bitterness towards any particular person. It's just that I had campus visits before that didn't feel like this perfect fit that I felt with the most recent one, but their timeline would suggest it went to someone else.
DeleteBrilliance has little to do with it. It's mostly about whether you had the good fortune to start working on something seven years ago which happens to be "trendy" now.
DeleteI did 13 before landing a job. In most of those I felt I did well and could have seen myself in the department. However, I only twice felt I came in as the preferred candidate. Every other visit I always felt as if I was third choice from the moment I arrived. Because I am old and can see this years on, everyone who beat me should have been the preferred candidate. I was in reality the third choice. Most have books and tenure and excellent teaching reviews. They won because they were simply a better fit with better credentials as judged by one faculty.
DeleteNow I am on the other side and know for a fact that nearly all jobs have a strong front runner. If that person simply performs they win. Nothing a candidate can do.
Fit in my dept is also not nebulous. We have specific teaching needs and having done these courses before matters. We have unusually high publication requirements and an unusually crappy library for an R2. We thus prefer people with books nearly finished or out. It takes about 15 minutes to make the final decision on every job I have been on.
If you hit a depts fit profile most, you win. It is not ideal that they have to bring out three but unis require.
@ 5:12. No. it. isn't. It is only luck, there's no element of personal choice, planning, or agency. There are lots of people who hit on something that's trending now many years ago, and they are still suffering and working as VAPs or adjuncts or some degree of lecturer. Sometimes those people probably feel like they aren't getting their propers, even though they thought of whatever thing "way back when." Even these shiny Ivy people, these perpetual fall-guys, can feel like that. Statistically, some who have PhDs from prestigious institutions are struggling too, and its probably not helpful for them to feel even more imposter syndrome around the fact that they don't have jobs, since many keep saying that there's a golden ticket waiting for many Ivy ABDs or grads. (Note: At no point in my career have I attended an Ivy League school).
ReplyDeleteLove to the ABDs who fall "ass-backwards" into jobs and don't have to suffer through the bullshit
Love to the people who suffer through the bullshit and get jobs they want
Love to the people who realize that they are better than this bullshit and leave, whether they have a job or not.
9:31 here. The above is maybe a bit more intense than I wanted. I just don't think we should encourage the mentality that "oh, I was so close to working on X thing, and if I had done everything would be different." But it wouldn't have, because the market is terrible.
DeleteAs a poster with an Ivy League Phd, no job, and dwindling prospects, I submit that "it's all chaos" is mostly cope. From observing various colleagues I can say that there are definitely patterns to hires. It's pretty predictable as to who will get a job and who won't. The features of your ideal candidate are:
Delete1) High competence in the languages (makes publications go faster).
2) Trendy topic.
3) Outgoing/extroverted, doesn't come off as unapproachable or too nerdy.
Now, the problem is most people can't change any of these factors, since 1) is mostly natural ability, 2) is decided years in advance, long before you know what will be trendy, 3) is also hard for people to change.
9:31/ 9:34 here. Sorry that it's not going well. I am not doing well, either (job-wise, I mean). I am not saying I know better than you, but I am reluctant to believe that you (really, we, and all the jobless) are :
Delete1) not competent enough
2) too boring / not trendy
3) too cold / nerdy.
or some combination of the above. I am more willing to entertain the idea that some committee thought these things or a combination of them at a specific time, under specific circumstances, as a unique and random collection of flawed humans themselves... but that's just me trying to re-entrench the "all is chaos" theory.
9:51 here. Maybe "competent" was too weak a term. We all know there are language whiz kids and then the majority who are competent but not spectacular. And trendiness is also very fickle, as it's based on whatever the political hot topic of the day is (sexism yesterday, race today, something else tomorrow). Trendiness isn't just a matter of swaying the committee, it controls what sorts of positions are advertised and who is going to be a good fit for them. So you already have fewer options for doing a non-trendy topic than a trendy one, before you even get to interviews.
DeleteI don't think it's all cope to suggest that the market is random. It's not all random, sure, of course there are factors that matter, but I hear senior scholars running searches admit all the time, these days, that even their lists of 12-15 interviewees could easily have been completely different, that if the committee met a month later or a year earlier to look at the same pool of candidates they would have chosen different interviewees. That's randomness.
DeleteThere simply aren't enough jobs. A system that may once have had a veneer of rationality to it is now just a lottery. Some people get to buy multiple tickets, but it's still basically a lottery.
@11:55 and yet every year there are 1-2 people who get multiple job offers, and departments which cancel searches when they get turned down by their favorite candidate rather than hire any of the other 12-15 people who they insist could have done equally well at the job.
Delete@12:17 the canceling search situation, and I've seen some up-close, is almost always about weird internal dynamics within the dysfunctional hiring department.
DeleteI'd say that the job market isn't random, but rather incoherent due to a lack of resources and the dwindling relevance of the field. This response also downplays the reality that many jobs have a shortlist of one or two preferred candidates before they even post the announcement.
There are certainly hiring trends in terms of topics/areas and demographics (and 'consensus' on these often emerges through the whisper-network associated with hiring committees themselves), but these trends actually shift suddenly enough that even calling them 'trends' misrepresents how fickle they are.
So, anyone want to name and shame Big Name Professors who are predators but haven't yet been sued? Here seems like as good a place as anywhere.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta go first!
DeleteAnyone heard anything about Northwestern? Flew out a few weeks ago, no word yet.
ReplyDeleteAn offer has recently been extended.
DeleteAnyone heard anything on Brandeis since first round interviews?
ReplyDeleteTheir final interviews were last Monday - so I'd sit tight for at least this week before you start to think invites may have already gone out.
DeleteAnyone know what's going on with the Emory ANE job? Have they moved to campus visits yet?
ReplyDeleteThey've contacted folks for campus visits, not sure if the actual visits have hit yet.
Deletewell, I guess it's my turn now too - has anyone heard anything about the Cincinnati Greek literature offer being made?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know anything about the Illinois Chair in Hellenic Studies? There was a story in the Chronicle of Higher Education (Feb. 24, 2016) showing that this chair -- endowed by the Foundation for Hellenic Studies -- has been fraught with problems of all sorts. They advertised again last year; I applied and have never heard back even after emailing the person in charge of the search.
ReplyDeleteVirtual campus visits are underway...
DeleteSimilarly, has anyone heard from/about UGA? I imagine that position received a lot of applications...
ReplyDeleteI don't have any updates (or any skin in this game), but it seems that they are replacing a Latinist that was running their Rome program and has recently left for Europe. It did seem strange that they were searching so broadly.
DeleteJust out of curiosity, who is the Latinist they're replacing?
DeleteThomas Biggs. He went to St. Andrews.
DeleteI trust no one here has news re Cambridge?
ReplyDeleteI expect this will be a few weeks, four weeks notice for interviews is typical for UK universities and they promised interviews towards the end of March. They did appoint Michael Squire to the chair of Classical Archaeology, advertised in 2021, but not advertised on the Wiki: https://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/news/michael-squire-join-faculty-laurence-professor-classical-archaeology
DeleteJust Say No to one-year VAPs with 4-4 or higher teaching loads.
ReplyDeleteEspecially ones that make you "voluntarily" swear an oath of faith to an abstract concept...
DeleteDoes anyone have any inside knowledge on the Princeton numismatics position? Nearly two weeks since virtual campus visits wrapped up. At least one other person who uses the Wiki had a 2nd round interview... Starting to feel that since two weeks have passed since campus visits ended that I'm dead in the water...
ReplyDeleteAnyone updates on the Greek History job at Union?
ReplyDeleteDoes UVA not know what "Assistant Professor" means? Must we be not only scrambling for jobs in a dystopian shitscape, but suffer from the gaslighting of powerful institutions as we do it?
ReplyDeleteSame with UChicago, which calls their four year postdocs "Collegiate Assistant Professors" which I find misleading.
DeleteDoes the OP mean the .67 FTE?
DeleteProbably because it't not TT but isn't listed as a VAP
DeleteI mean calling a position that is not tenure-track an Assistant Professorship. It sounds like a great job and all, but it's a renewable lectureship or VAP. I understand why contingent fac want a nicer title (VAP rather than Visiting Lecturer, for instance), but what purpose is served by misusing established terminology? If the goal is for it to be a permanent "teaching-track" style position, UVA should enact a system instead of using words incorrectly.
DeleteThis must be an ongoing temporary post to replace John Dobbins. Does anyone know if the incumbent post-holder (currently with the rank of lecturer ) is leaving? I hope they're not being screwed and made re-apply for their job. A 0.67 is a pretty poor offering to live in an expensive place like Charlottesville.
DeleteThe key term here is 'general faculty'; 'assistant professor general faculty' means that it is renewable; it's not TT and does not pay well, but there are protections (such as one year notice in the case of non-renewal).
Delete@ 9:59 AM
DeleteOne hopes whatever this new position pays is better than what the current Roman archaeology lecturer gets (public university=public salary info), which, if accurate, is a sin and a shame for such a wealthy school and a department that has more than one (!) endowment of its own.
$30K. OMFG UVA should be ashamed of itself. The "Cashier" and "Animal Caregiver" get paid more than he does. We need to start a name and shame page.
DeleteI know one Ivy that pays its lecturers (teaching a full load) not much more than this either.
WTF! That is absolutely ridiculous. What is the Ivy you speak of?
DeleteAnyone know anything about the FSU search?
ReplyDeleteThe Greek lit one? The job has been offered over two weeks ago (not to me).
DeleteWait, do you mean the new FSU search for the teaching position? I wonder if it's for a spousal hire of the Greek lit person... but this is a pure speculation, so don't take my word for it.
DeleteThough I'm sure that I already know the answer, is there any hope in being 3+ weeks out from a (virtual) campus visit and complete radio silence ? ...btw, I emailed the search chair at the 2 week mark and was told that I would hear as soon as he was able, which seems also to indicate that things aren't good for me. Any thoughts here would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteAt 1:20. You are not alone. Many of us have been there. As you note, this isn't a good sign, but it is not over yet. More than likely they have offered the position to someone else -- however -- that's no reason to despair. Even in these bleak times, sometimes the first choice will decline, either because of another offer (the most likely) or personal reasons (it can happen). If any of that stuff is potentially happening, even if the chair knows this, they absolutely cannot tell you. It's so hard to wait it out, but, I hope you walk that awful line between making peace with a rejection while recognizing that all hope is not lost.
DeleteThis. 1:58 is absolutely correct. There may be all sorts of reasons for a top choice to turn down a job, and this happens more often than one would think. People often use offers from another institution to negotiate things for themselves at their current institution.
DeleteA lot depends on when the institution finished the campus visits: the visits are usually spread across several weeks, and if your virtual campus visit was the first out of four, this would mean that the institution has just finished the visits and begun the deliberations.
DeleteNot on the Wiki yet and these positions might pass people by, but two new permanent lectureships at Edinburgh (note these are equivalent to assist. professorships in U.S., but not tenure track, once appointed the person is in a permanent post).
ReplyDeleteLectureship in Classical Languages and Literature
https://elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1001/job/3719
Lectureship in Ancient History:
https://elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1001/job/3714:
The closing date for both positions is 5th April, 2022.
Anyone heard back from Emory after the campus visit?
ReplyDeleteAny idea how Maryland ended up having two hires?
ReplyDeleteOsorio doesn't start until 2023, and may be a co-hire with the Philosophy dept. Perhaps they were sufficiently impressed that they pulled some strings to get him a later appointment?
DeleteIs it true that Berkeley also made two hires?
ReplyDeleteMy (not entirely reliable) information is that they want to but have not been given permission yet.
DeleteI'm fairly certain that I know the answer, but I'll ask anyway... How much hope remains for a job when it's been just over six weeks since the last campus visit was held and there has been no word from the SC ? (fwiw, I reached out to the search chair at the 3 week mark and was told: "I will be sure to let you know as soon as possible the outcome of the search."
ReplyDeleteSounds like someone else was offered the job and they're negotiating/finalizing paperwork. Chances aren't high for you six weeks out but it's always possible the other candidate(s) decide not to take the offer...
Deletebarring a small miracle, if you haven't heard within two weeks after the final visit, you did not get the job.
DeleteDo you want to say which position it was for? The wiki has been faithfully updated for almost all T-T jobs in the U.S., but someone here might have good intel they can share. SCs should send an informal/non-binding note once an offer has been extended . I do empathize, it is really hard waiting, possibly putting off other decisions that might otherwise be impacted by a job offer. Campus interviews are a lot of work for candidates and they should be given updates on the provisional outcome as a mark of respect for the effort they've put in.
DeleteAny news on the Joukowsky Institute Postdocs at Brown? It seems like people have usually heard by this point in past years ...
ReplyDeleteI know they sent out requests for rec letters earlier this month, but haven't heard anything else.
DeleteAny news on the Loeb postdoc?
ReplyDeleteOffers were sent out yesterday (April 5).
DeleteDamn. Was very hopeful for the UNH job, but the Wiki says that they have moved on and asked shortlisted candidates for more materials -- can anyone share how they found out? I assume the committee reached out directly, but if whoever posted this on the Wiki only found out from letter writers, perhaps there is still a chance for me. Congrats to those who are advancing, at any rate!
ReplyDeleteAsking a candidates' letter writers to convey to the candidate that they are being interviewed is not a system.
DeleteIt was an email from the committee. I'm sorry, friend -- most of us know what it's like to feel like a great fit and not advance. I hope you get good news from your next applications!
Delete5:55 here. Thanks, 9:34. @9:24 haha yes, I know. The systems aren't always good, though, and it wouldn't shock me if letters were requested from referees without directly notifying candidates. E.g. those candidates could make up a long list, while only shortlisted candidates would be contacted and interviewed. I don't know -- that doesn't seem to wild to me, but maybe it is. Seems like the recent post at UBC was operating similarly, though. At any rate, the committee did reach out to those people, so the point is moot. Good luck to those who are interviewing.
DeleteDoes anyone have insight into Hunter College search? The ad was somewhat confusing (ancient history in original and translation?) and encompassed virtually everything. Any idea what exactly are they looking for?
ReplyDeleteWhat's confusing about it? It's a 3-3 teaching-oriented position that will require teaching widely.
DeleteLOL, I guess that answers that: search canceled so they can hire at the senior level instead. Great.
DeleteThe people at Hunter College should be ashamed of themselves. What clowns. They clearly don't know what they're doing. First they hired a sexual harasser, and then they run this travesty of a search. Anyone senior applying for their job next year: beware!
DeleteWho was the sexual harasser?
DeleteMy initial question was caused by the fact that I wasn't sure what in their opinion was history in original, and the ad all seemed like a mess. I guess I was right, I just had to wait three more hours to have my questions answered.
DeleteNow, onto more pressing issue: what sexual harasser??
Oh, also, I did suspect the department was not a good environment, just judging by the preposterous ratio of full-time faculty to adjuncts (even if considering that some of those adjuncts are graduate students who have to teach).
DeleteGraham Claytor.
DeleteI have zero information about any of this but I genuinely wonder why that hire should reflect on the department. The person named above is no longer listed on the faculty, so presumably they have not been enabled by the department.
DeleteThey enabled him to harass at least one of their students. He was also a know offender while in grad school. Any good committee would do their due diligence and ask around. In any case, the canceled search was to hire his replacement. Make of that what you will.
DeleteAlso: They're kidding themselves if anyone half-decent is going to take a senior job at Hunter on a public salary (even if it's endowed), to teach a 3-3 load. Insanity. Yeah, it's NYC, but only if you want to be a pauper.
I don't know anything about what HC knew or when in this particular case, but the ability of search committees to conduct that kind of "due diligence" is very limited in practice anywhere, and foreclosed altogether in some institutional contexts (can't ask your friends because that doesn't treat all candidates equally; can't make decisions based on material that's not in the formal record; etc.)
DeleteAh, the tyranny of Human Resources departments. Truly the petty bourgeois tyrants of late capitalism.
DeleteThree recent Mediterranean archaeology jobs advertised in UK, not on wiki yet, but might also get missed as new posts
ReplyDelete1 x 5-year position at University of St Andrews:
Lectureship in Archaeology & Ancient History (East Mediterranean)
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/COL713/lecturer-in-archaeology-and-ancient-history-ac1965mr
1 x permanent (TT) at University of Exeter
Lectureship in Archaeology (Bronze and Iron age Mediterranean)
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/COK383/lecturer-in-archaeology-eandr
1 x permanent (TT) at University of York
Lectureship in Roman Archaeology
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/COJ224/lecturer-in-roman-archaeology-art
Anyone have info on the Wake Forest search? Have heard whispers that it is a failed search. If so, LOL, because there's only a handful of people on the market who actually fit their stated criteria and I'm pretty sure most of us got at least an initial interview. Like what are you holding out for?
ReplyDeleteIt could just be a long negotiation?
DeleteThe four finalists listed in their events this semester looked pretty strong to me. I'd be surprised if it failed.
DeleteWhere do you see the list of events?
DeleteSee under the Calendar the first 4 events for Spring 2022: https://classics.wfu.edu/events
DeleteSeveral are grad students. They have to be the finalists.
I know for a fact that one of the finalists turned down a competitive (non-TT) position at another institution...
DeleteHmm, looks like they may have taken the events down from the calendar!
DeleteI'm still able to see the events. There's two grad students (one classics, one religious studies), one postdoc from the UK (classics), and one person (art historian) who appears to already have a T-T. I say "appears" b/c "assistant professor" doesn't always mean T-T these days.
DeleteAny update on OSU hires?
ReplyDeleteInterviews aren't done yet.
Delete@2:18, do you know which position they're still interviewing for? Based on the wiki, it looks like the searches had different timelines.
DeleteNot 2:18, but I understand that interviewing for the Latin position ended about 2 weeks ago...
ReplyDeleteLooking back at my emails, it looks like the Latin finalist I walked by in the department office earlier this week interviewed about a month ago. So presumably final stages for the Latin position.
DeleteThere are still interviews going on this week, though.
Anyone hear anything on the UVA Roman art and archaeology position?
ReplyDeleteThey have already chosen three finalists who will be giving job talks toward the end of April.
Delete*correction*
DeleteThree finalists will be giving job talks toward the end of April, but they haven't yet been chosen.
I've been told the CSU San Bernardino T-T (ancient philosophy) position is once again taking applications if anyone is interested...
ReplyDeleteHey has anyone heard anything about the Dartmouth Lecturer position? It's been almost a month, but I haven't seen anything on the Wiki.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else go to the new Penn lecture today? Not only does the speaker get paid 600K a year (judging by her predecessor's salary), but she had the gall today to basically steal the ideas of countless younger scholars (many PoC)--whom at the same time she admitted she couldn't stomach their critiques of the field--and then repackage these same ideas herself, without even mentioning or citing them (except "Pasts Imperfect"... a very recent phenomenon--indeed, seemed like she wrote the lecture last week!).
ReplyDeleteGod, we knew and taught about Sepulveda before you did, Joy. It made my blood boil.
She constantly went on about her experience in public education, but she actually never taught classes at CUNY... just administered and oversaw an austerity budget. No doubt she's being paid some ungodly sum to give these three lectures, too... given how it's funded by the most notorious philanthropist in Classics ...
Middlesex, Princeton and Penn pedigree... talk about Classics being "co-created" in its own image.
I saw the lecture and had a similar if slightly weaker reaction, although your demographic critique hits home as well. Within a larger institutional context I'm not sure that Classics deserves the right to reform itself as global antiquities. The few people that I know who have expertise in Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit, Arabic, Old Persian, Middle Egyptian, Akkadian, etc. have been met with confusion or worse when going on the job market. Why would these people ever want to help reform a field full of tenured people who have benefited from and enforced the narrower vision of antiquity? If Connolly is right and there's a specific demand for global antiquity, this isn't something that reception can accommodate fully. This doesn't bode well for Classics by whatever name. Also, I know that it's a Penn sponsored event meant to drum up more such philanthropy, but I've rarely seen something as self-congratulatory.
DeleteClearly Cohen inserted some kind of rider into his donation along the lines of: "must be praised at least three times, for at least 5 minutes each in the course of the lectures". Hilariously, Joy got his name wrong. "Jonathan Cohen".
DeleteVery much agree with the two above commenters. It was quite sickening.
As someone who is genuinely interested in promoting young scholars with a more global approach to the ancient world, may I ask for some names of folks who are doing the kind of work that Connolly was talking about?
Delete