tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post1171249668686155016..comments2024-03-22T02:57:20.853-07:00Comments on Center of Gravitas: Advice for the Newly HiredGayProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11289510184782252498noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-78357092101116547452009-05-16T16:41:00.000-07:002009-05-16T16:41:00.000-07:00Never start blogging before you are tenured :)Never start blogging before you are tenured :)Successful Researcher: How to Become Onehttp://aclinks.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-67094816935966688192009-03-27T08:41:00.000-07:002009-03-27T08:41:00.000-07:00When I started reading this post, the first thing ...When I started reading this post, the first thing that came to mind is NEPOD, the Never-Ending Project of Doom. :-)<BR/><BR/>I recall hearing too many professors complain that they had to publish way too much just to get tenure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-2836897583528689142009-03-13T13:44:00.000-07:002009-03-13T13:44:00.000-07:00That's like one of Elaine Stritch's famous quotes....That's like one of Elaine Stritch's famous quotes. <BR/><BR/>Some young actress came up to her all a-quiver and said "Ms. Stritch, I want to follow in your footsteps!"<BR/><BR/>"Wear comfortable shoes" was the reply.<BR/><BR/>I'll drink to that.dpastehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10813652943621759603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-28414391281060934102009-03-13T06:29:00.000-07:002009-03-13T06:29:00.000-07:00At both of the journals I review for, we always sa...At both of the journals I review for, we always say "we hope this essay finds a better [or more suited] home" to remind people that just b/c something is outside the bounds of what we want it doesn't mean it is outside the bounds of what everyone wants. And while it can tend toward overhelping,or worse feelings of being set up, I have even on occasion suggested publications or CFPs I know of that seem more suited to their work with the caveat that I have no say on the editorial decisions there and that it still might not end up fitting. Editors really aren't the evil that goes "I don't think so" in the night. (That said, publishing is not "easy" and rejection is not something every grad school teaches, some don't even teach grad students how to be gracious or at least silent when they are turned down and some carry that into their junior years to their own detriment)<BR/><BR/>I was thinking of doing a post on the process (and how not to respond to a rejection if you want to be published in the future) but it looks like historiann has already done it! :DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-57595857156429305572009-03-10T19:05:00.000-07:002009-03-10T19:05:00.000-07:00And P.S. - I still say it's a great post and so is...And P.S. - I still say it's a great post and so is Dr. Crazy's.Professor Zerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909063513731044826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-74982226437885971252009-03-10T19:03:00.000-07:002009-03-10T19:03:00.000-07:00HMMMM, sorry I keep harping. Someone IRL just poin...HMMMM, sorry I keep harping. Someone IRL just pointed out that most people including most grad students and many faculty think becoming a professor is about going into teaching, as in a secondary school. I did not realize that.Professor Zerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909063513731044826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-49195176641050043062009-03-10T17:59:00.000-07:002009-03-10T17:59:00.000-07:00"Stick-to-it-ness, however, pays off in terms of p..."Stick-to-it-ness, however, pays off in terms of publishing.<BR/><BR/>"My sister, who is in an article driven field, prefers to think about finding the right 'home' for your various pieces of research. Rejection is inevitable, but she contends that rejection from one journal should not be a dead stop for scholars. Instead, they need to think about the critique, weigh how it will change the article, and send it out again as soon as possible. Repeat until published."<BR/><BR/>This is of course true but don't we learn that in graduate school if not before ... ? ... Why is it that in professordom men start acting as though people haven't learned that already?Professor Zerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909063513731044826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-68104852550143401012009-03-10T11:14:00.000-07:002009-03-10T11:14:00.000-07:00General Clarification: My original wording here wa...<B>General Clarification:</B> My original wording here was a bit sloppy. I didn't intend to state that teaching was "easy." Teaching is difficult, requires a great deal of work and thought, and is often emotionally exhausting. Rather, I wanted to merely warn against a tendency (one that I often have myself) to use teaching as a means to procrastinate from doing our other duties. My caution was more about time management. Even the most stellar teachers won't get tenure if the publications aren't there.<BR/><BR/><B>Professor Zero:</B> I agree that the discussion around publishing is often demoralizing and defeatist (though I am not sure I would say that it is "easy" either). Stick-to-it-ness, however, pays off in terms of publishing.<BR/><BR/>My sister, who is in an article driven field, prefers to think about finding the right "home" for your various pieces of research. Rejection is inevitable, but she contends that rejection from one journal should not be a dead stop for scholars. Instead, they need to think about the critique, weigh how it will change the article, and send it out again as soon as possible. Repeat until published.GayProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11289510184782252498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-26657222973185462912009-03-10T10:43:00.000-07:002009-03-10T10:43:00.000-07:00Or to put it differently - I went into this whole ...Or to put it differently - I went into this whole thing because of research and writing and what I most despise about the profession is the way in which there are so many threats made around these areas - and so much suspicion that one wouldn't be there for research.<BR/><BR/>Also, and on the other hand, in my first job I was directly told that research and writing were unfeminine and I should get with the program. This was from a saboteur, of course, but it was the senior person in a small department.<BR/><BR/>I have Issues, obviously. What I have least enjoyed in the whole profession is having had what I came for used on me as an instrument of torture. It has been disturbing.Professor Zerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909063513731044826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-86155932559958466412009-03-10T10:35:00.000-07:002009-03-10T10:35:00.000-07:00Although I'd add:* I haven't seen people who actua...Although I'd add:<BR/><BR/>* I haven't seen people who actually teach well get "too much" into teaching. I've seen people with poor preparation do it, imagining they can and should teach anything and everything, but this is dying out in the worlds I am familiar with as the faculty gets more cosmopolitan, more professional, better educated, more research oriented, etc.<BR/><BR/>* Teaching freshman and sophomore courses is REALLY difficult, especially in states where a high school diploma is more like an elementary school one. If you are doing that (and learning how to do that) and you are also covering multiple out of field surveys at the junior and beginning grad levels, then teaching is hard, hard, hard. It's the grad seminars in your field, the surveys in your field, the intros to your field, and the juicy senior specialized courses in your field which are easy.<BR/><BR/>* I was always a practical person and always put the right amount of effort into everything. But I was exhorted many times not to put too much into teaching because people assumed I would, that I thought they were telling me I was putting too much into it. So I cut down, and I still catch h*** for not putting enough into it. Moral: if you're a competent person, do as you see fit, not as some blowhard exhorts.<BR/><BR/>* Although I personally hate the exhortations to publish because it was what my parent screamed at us during dinner in elementary school, we had to publish, publish (ze was on the tenure track and drinking), it really is true. It's the most creative thing you can do, and of all the things you can do it is the one you have the most control over, and research and writing is why you got into this in the first place (unless you were deluded about the nature of the profession and not disabused of your delusions soon enough).<BR/><BR/>* I have received so much academic advice during my life that one more drop feels like torture. However there is one piece of advice I never got: PUBLISHING IS EASY. There are lots of journals and presses out there trolling for submissions! And look at all the imperfect articles you read daily ... and they are published in decent places! I think one of the most - actually THE most - destructive piece of advice I've gotten is that YOU HAVE TO PUBLISH and that IT IS IMPOSSIBLE ... and that WHAT YOU PUBLISH MUST NOT OFFEND and that YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT WILL OFFEND. And on and on ... but mostly that publishing is both necessary for physical survival and also so difficult as to be nearly impossible.<BR/><BR/>* In sum: I think the worst feature of academic advice - and I have been receiving it since I was about 3 - is the DOOM associated with writing. You MUST do this and publish it, but nobody WILL publish it, and because of that you will be KILLED. Alternatively, someone WILL publish it but reviewers will not LIKE it enough and you will be KILLED.Professor Zerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909063513731044826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-44090034658767019922009-03-09T14:18:00.000-07:002009-03-09T14:18:00.000-07:00GREAT post. And I learned these things in graduate...GREAT post. And I learned these things in graduate school and they were true.<BR/><BR/>And I wish I had not been talked out of them by my official mentors at my tenure track jobs, who told me repeatedly that this advice did not apply.<BR/><BR/>I knew they were lying and events confirmed this.Professor Zerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909063513731044826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-5804694312809255612009-03-09T10:07:00.000-07:002009-03-09T10:07:00.000-07:00Belle: Being a prof is definitely the best job th...<B>Belle:</B> Being a prof is definitely the best job that I can imagine (except maybe talk show host). Still, because so few professors did any other job, I feel like academia can be less professional than other work environments.<BR/><BR/><B>Jason:</B> Would you prefer "s/he"? I was looking to be ambiguous.<BR/><BR/><B>theFrogPrincess:</B> Given that most history departments (and larger universities) are still white-men majorities, it is interesting to me that these sorts of discussions occur at all.<BR/><BR/><B>Susurro3:</B> Yeah, I once heard of a tenure case where one of the outside letters went something along the lines of, "She's a woman of color in a small field. Of course you should grant here tenure." Way to marginalize!<BR/><BR/><B>StinkyLuLu:</B> You point to a serious oversight on my part. It's also worth mentioning how much of your week will be consumed by simply sitting in meetings. These are meetings that most often lack a clear purpose.GayProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11289510184782252498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-87801792158405307492009-03-09T09:46:00.000-07:002009-03-09T09:46:00.000-07:00The only thing I would add in the wake of the unfe...The only thing I would add in the wake of the unfettered brilliance of GayProf:<BR/><BR/><B>Get Ready for Piles of Admin Stuff that You Never Asked For and you certainly don't want...</B><BR/>Yeah, yeah, everybody parrots the line about "your senior faculty should be keeping your admin load light"...including those very same senior folks who will pile it on at your next meeting. Sure the piles aren't that big but they are piles. And if you happen to be a joint-hire or in an especially overtaxed (ie. underfunded) or small (ie. underfunded) department even at an R1, just saying no isn't always an option. Moreover, with the ongoing fetishization of "assessment" at all levels of the uni, new hires are seen to be "starting from scratch" anyway so "you should really put this in your syllabus" and "while you're at it, can you do this one for the dept/program/major too". Some places might be kind/er to their new hires than others but, with the shrinking full-time ranks, there are fewer and fewer t-t types to shoulder an ever-expanding admin load. Be warned.StinkyLuluhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11765533714740641857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-12594233765760096982009-03-08T23:10:00.000-07:002009-03-08T23:10:00.000-07:00gp - definitely. I'll never forget when a friend a...gp - definitely. I'll never forget when a friend at a prestigious grant agency told me one of my recs could be boiled down to "well she's afra-latina and she speaks spanish so of course you'll give her the money to study latinos from a completely different area of the world." this is a much larger and meatier convo then I bet you intended when you wrote this. <BR/><BR/>belle - I too worked before joining academe (started with menial labor at age 13) and honestly, hanging from the side of trails being chased by burrow bees occasionally seems less treacherous than staff meetings here, especially in this economy; but there are definitely more perks than most of us write about in the blogosphere.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-86995055379650601992009-03-08T19:41:00.000-07:002009-03-08T19:41:00.000-07:00On the issue of people of color writing their own ...On the issue of people of color writing their own ticket, it's not just that history departments want to believe this. I've been told by fellow students of color that I'll be a shoe-in for a job because I'm a minority whose official field of study is not minority history, even though people of color certainly feature in my work. I've refused to believe this b/c I've seen no evidence to suggest that departments are racing to hire historians of color, regardless of field. Plus, given the current job market, I'm sure it'll be even easier to find "justifications" for why minority scholars can't be hired.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-37081316743096928332009-03-08T16:57:00.000-07:002009-03-08T16:57:00.000-07:00Enjoyed the post. Any reason though that you've ad...Enjoyed the post. Any reason though that you've adopted the incredibly difficult and inelegant "ze" in your blog post? Was the person your describing someone who actually used this construction?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-76868668354320053762009-03-08T13:43:00.000-07:002009-03-08T13:43:00.000-07:00Like you, I had a series of pre-academic 'lives' t...Like you, I had a series of pre-academic 'lives' that involved 40+ hour work weeks. Prof'ing is definitely the best gig I've had.<BR/><BR/>At a distance, the horrors getting here seem worthwhile. But then, I was never, ever supposed to Get Here.Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10849272391043604637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-34424843955239804952009-03-08T10:18:00.000-07:002009-03-08T10:18:00.000-07:00aRLY: It's a conversation we need as an entire dis...<B>aRLY:</B> It's a conversation we need as an entire discipline. Until we aren't afraid to confront some unpleasant elements in the profession, some mighty smart people will continue to make some mighty dubious decisions.<BR/><BR/><B>Susurro2:</B> It seems to me that part of this problem is also the assumption that minorities who work on minority scholarship somehow intuit their research. There is a notion that, while other scholarship is rigorous and must be held to certain standards, minority scholarship flows "naturally" and without the same amount of serious effort. <BR/><BR/><B>Rebecca Hickman</B>: I know, right? Then again, I am not sure I'm keen on a 34 year old know-it-all. Or a 44 year old know-it-all. Or. . .<BR/><BR/><B>Torn:</B> Being a professor is as close to being an independent contractor as I think one could get while still having a regular employer. We have a surprising amount of freedom, even if our employment options are restricted.<BR/><BR/><B>Dr. No:</B> Note to self: Never mention how long I've been working on NERPoD to Dr. No.GayProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11289510184782252498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-9900041650125706062009-03-08T08:43:00.000-07:002009-03-08T08:43:00.000-07:00Brilliant. I would only add: You have 2 years to ...Brilliant. I would only add: <BR/><BR/>You have 2 years to publush your dissertation as a book or series of articles. After two years, any mention of your dissertation is tiresome and annoying.Dr. Nohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18424071536413273557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-59905969414005300252009-03-08T04:56:00.000-07:002009-03-08T04:56:00.000-07:00As a true independent contractor, I can say that e...As a true independent contractor, I can say that even though it keeps one on the poor side, the liberty counts for at least 50k.tornwordohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-49401558075624241932009-03-07T20:05:00.000-08:002009-03-07T20:05:00.000-08:00A must-read for newbies in almost any field. Noth...A must-read for newbies in almost any field. Nothing is more annoying than a 24 year old know-it-all.Rebecca Hickmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04564610692580203203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-74481164064947931642009-03-07T15:45:00.000-08:002009-03-07T15:45:00.000-08:00I've written about the process of intellectual ghe...I've written about the process of intellectual ghettoization in the disciplines on my blog before. You hit it on the nose gp, and it isn't just history, most disciplines in the humanities channel poc to poc topics and then only hire poc when hiring about poc topics. I think the latter is what gives people the perception that poc can "write their own ticket" b/c, as I have also written about before, perception matters more than numbers and the perception is that there is a "diversity hire" every year so we poc are good to go . . . I get a lot of emails from disappointed grads of color thru the blog on this issue b/c they too were promised the pot of gold. <BR/><BR/>no more o/t from me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-72878192036537233572009-03-07T13:46:00.000-08:002009-03-07T13:46:00.000-08:00Gayprof,You did a pretty good job Explaining That....Gayprof,<BR/><BR/>You did a pretty good job Explaining That. I am having a number of conversations attempting to Explain That in several arenas of life, and have yet to find a satisfactory way of doing so. Out of one ghetto, into the next... Sigh.<BR/><BR/>aRLYAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-62551313187130057272009-03-07T11:22:00.000-08:002009-03-07T11:22:00.000-08:00HistoriAnn1: Thanks, HistoriAnn. It would be a re...<B>HistoriAnn1:</B> Thanks, HistoriAnn. It would be a real blast to have you as a daily colleague, too. At least, though, I can consider you a "virtual" colleague.<BR/><BR/><B>Ink:</B> Thanks, Ink!<BR/><BR/><B>HistoriAnn2:</B> This does veer a bit off topic, but (as you know) it's something that I think about quite often (if I don't actually consider it my hobbyhorse). In the social sciences and humanities, only economics is less diverse than history departments on average. <BR/><BR/>I think that you are absolutely right about many departments looking for "safe" minority candidates who won't rock the boat in terms of racism, sexism, or homophobia. Also, one of the major problems with history departments is that their only outlet for "diversity" hires are minority scholars who work on minority topics. So, the chances of even training, much less hiring, an African American historian who works on ancient Greece is almost zero. African Americans are most often hired to teach African American history. Since most departments only have one or two slots for African American history, then the department remains almost all white because other fields of scholarship are not diverse.<BR/><BR/>But I also think that scholarship on minorities is sometimes imagined to be an undifferentiated mass. The notion that there are internal divisions (or even that a minority scholar might have retrograde notions of their own minority group) doesn't quite register. It's all imagined to be interchangeable (and seemingly something that one can avoid reading if you aren't in that subfield).<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure that I did a good job explaining that.GayProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11289510184782252498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-8159808168207150112009-03-07T09:55:00.000-08:002009-03-07T09:55:00.000-08:00Slightly O/T, but may I respond to Roger Owens Gre...Slightly O/T, but may I respond to Roger Owens Green's comment in which he reported being told that if he earned a Ph.D. he could write his own ticket?<BR/><BR/>I'm amazed to see this particular urban legend still circulating. At least History remains overwhelmingly white, and apparently happy to remain that way. Anyone who thinks that all POCs or all women have some kind of "Affirmative Action" free ride is clearly delusional. From what I've observed, the historical profession wants the appearance of diversity without the reality of it. They may say they want to hire more XX people or more brown people, but since many of "those people" tend to really be committed to things like antiracism and feminism, they're frequently judged un-hireable because their work is "too political," or they present themselves in ways that are "too radical for our students." Because apparently, history profs should just tell the same reassuring tales over and over again, rather than introduce new ideas or real research findings to our students...<BR/><BR/>/end of rant. I'm glad ROG is happy with his career choice! I'll call him Dr. ROG if he would like it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com