Sunday, April 10, 2005

Two Questions

Two Questions ... and Other Stuff


Ok, first question: among the other medievalist types out there, are Cranky Professor, Tiruncula (I think), and I the only Ancient/Medieval types? I mean, not that anyone is really a "type" -- most of us have to be generalists anyway, unless we teach at R1s. But sometimes I feel like there aren't so many bloggers who come at things from the early side. Just wondering.

Second question -- a favor: Will you all please send many vibes towards a job offer at small midwest LA college? Oh my goodness. Grueling interview/demo day -- about 10 hours, 25 faculty, 8 students. I loved it. Talk about a place where someone who loves teaching could be happy. I could happily move the 2000 or whatever miles without reservations and no connections and love every minute of it. I'm working on the thank you note now. I realized when I got back to the hotel room that I had perhaps not articulated things as well as I could have (duh) and need to reassert some things. At this point, I realize it's mostly about how well the candidate will fit in, so I'm just hoping they think they could work with me better than the others. Just an awesome place. Fantastic people. And the students -- if the ones I met were representative ... smart, articulate, mostly non-traditional, and just so clearly comfortable with ideas of gender and power and questioning things. Can you tell I am in love? I just have to keep reminding myself I have a 25% chance of getting this job (numerically) and must not get my hopes up too much. And still write a kick-ass letter.

Of course, I have campus interview number 3 this week. Also all day. I actually know two of the other people being interviewed by reputation. It looks like they're only interviewing local types, and the grapevine's pretty good. But it also shows that they are casting an amazingly wide net. One's an Americanist, and the other has been adjuncting not very successfully for several years. So I'm very blase about what comes out of the interviews. I'll do my best and hope for an offer, but Ireally have no idea what they want. If I don't get an offer for the job I just interviewed for, I'll be a sad ADM.

Otherwise, the new prep is still kicking my butt, I've got meetings coming out of my ears this week, and a realtor coming to look at the house today. And some rat bastards stole our lawnmower sometime last week. SO not happy about that. Must check the sheds and see if anything else has been stolen and file a police report. Taxes are ready to go -- need to call the accountant and pick them up. Hoping we owe nothing. Really hoping for a refund.

Then, it's on to the further chronicles of ADM: revival of a career. The story of how an academic who let the integral part of herself that is being an academic take second place dragged herself back, kicking and screaming, into a respectable niche. Fame and fortune surely to follow. Although I'll settle for tenure, a good crop of well-educated students, and a little respect.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hugo Schwyzer is a medievalist by training, though he doesn't post on it much, either at Cliopatria or his own blog. Can't think of any others off the top of my head, but you might check the "Epochs" section of the Cliopatria blogroll

Anonymous said...

Oh, and New Kid just mentioned being a medievalist on her blog....

Tiruncula said...

Sounds like things are really rolling on the job front! Vibes are coming your way. I'm all in favor of the small midwest LA college thing and so am especially proficient with those vibes.

As for early bloggers - I'm assuming you're asking about early medievalists, as opposed to medievalists in general - the list of medievalist weblogs looks like it has quite a few early people on it, at least of the OE/ON/Celtic variety, but not many are in my frequent-reading list, mainly just because I've got caught up in a particular circle of blogs and haven't had time to explore many others. And yes, you can count me as very early MA. Most of my work is in the late 7th/early 8th century, although I occasionally trend both earlier and later for various reasons.

Another Damned Medievalist said...

Hi Jonathan -- I think I knew about Hugo, and definitely NK and I know wabout each other, but as she pointed out here, she avoids ancient! I was more talking about the early types -- not that there's anything wrong with the later side -- after all, I thought I was going to be a Tudor-Stuart person!

Tiruncula, one of these days we must talk, if only because we seem to overlap a bit, with me starting really early 8th and going till 10th. And there's really no way to do someof the things I want to do without going earlier, I fear. Long-haired types and all.

Another Damned Medievalist said...

Oh -- and thanks for the vibes! I really need them!

timna said...

good luck. sounds like it went very well.

Kelly in Kansas said...

Sending vibes your way. :-) Enjoy this rediscovery of your career and the rest will fall into place!

New Kid on the Hallway said...

I think Hugo's training would count as late by your standards, or at least perhaps high medieval - at least, if I remember correctly what he's said on his blog about his Ph.D. training. (I think it's English legal stuff which unless you really are doing A-S usually means 12th c or later).

I'm late, too, although I think you knew that - medieval/early modern rather than ancient/medieval (the ancient historians in my grad program were crap, although the classics department was very nice. So even the early medievalists, of which I am not one, tended to do early modern as an outside field). I have a friend who does 10th c stuff but that's about as early as even the early folk in my department went (our early guy was a diehard Angevinist. He once gave 2 lectures in a western civ survey detailing ALL the Angevin counts in their rise to glory. It was incredibly learned, of course, but I had to sum it up to the discussion section as: "An example of a family who managed to consolidate land/power in the aftermath of the Viking etc. invasions - that's all you need to know." This was the same 10 week class that was supposed to be the medieval portion of WCiv that took 5 weeks to get to Charlemagne...oh well, I'm sure my own approach would be equally dissatisfactory to this guy! He was [still is] a good guy, basically.) (Sorry, for some reason I always end up blathering about my grad training on your blog...)

Anyway, sending good vibes your way about the job! How great that the interview went so well - it sounds like a great fit for you! When are you supposed to hear from them?

Another Damned Medievalist said...

I should hear at the end of the coming week -- ulp! And I like the grad training stuff!

It's so funny, though ... I used to think of Angevin adn A/N as the epitome of MA, and now it's, well, SO LATE!

kp said...

I'm a Tudor/Stuart person, but I very nearly became a medievalist. & I still get to teach some medieval stuff in an early brit lit course I teach. All sorts of good wishes for you.
z.

meg said...

Am sending vibes for that midwestern liberal arts college. Or rather *to* them, since your part seems to be done. In the meantime, good luck on Door Number Three too.

I'm a medievalist -- as early as you wanna go, I do it. Jerome, check; Bede, check; Alfred, check; Henry II, check. I don't do much of the later stuff in terms of research, but I still teach it. Not blog about it much, though -- I reckon I'll just bore everyone.

Another Damned Medievalist said...

I dunno, you wouldn't bore me! I'm getting ready for Door No Three right now. And am just exhausted. Thanks for the vibes, and wish me luck!