AFAIK, there hadn’t been an interview yet; the candidate was responding to the job description. “Course preps” refers to the new to you classes you’re asked to teach – each new course requires fairly prep time (often extensive), as you learn the syllabus and its materials. (Obviously, prep standards vary according to dedication to teaching…but they’re usually higher pre-tenure ; -) As a new hire at a school like Nazareth, she may have been asked to teach 5 or 6 sections per term, and she doesn’t want them to all be “new.” That’s a reasonable wish, but her timing in bringing it up seemed atrocious.
I’m not going down the rabbit hole of checking out all the action at Philosophy Smoker, but the Slate piece has me thinking that the candidate was woefully unprepared for the hiring process. (For more peer-generated context in this vein, check out the links on David Ball’s --the IHE essayist-- followup March 19 blog entry)
(Let’s consider that IHE essay for a moment. It’s only slightly cynical to suggest that the most important takeaway from Dr. Ball’s piece is that he can add it to his CV :-] Also, writing on this topic helps him maintain his chops in the area of Women’s and Gender Studies, a secondary/supporting field to his current main interest of “Comics and Modernism.” And it should p’bly be noted that he earned tenure in 2013, so he perhaps feels a bit of an urge to use his new freedom.) (I’m sure he’s genuinely interested in this topic/incident…just sayin’ that politics is everywhere in academia.)
This candidate…wow. Boggles my mind that anyone could be this far along in the process and not comprehend the basics of hiring. Doctorates are a drug on the market; there are tens to hundreds of candidates for every position. Thus, Rule #1: “Don’t open your mouth until your foot is in the door.” Especially with a small, private lib arts college with aspirations of STEM-ness. The hiring committee wants to get to know you, to judge your “fit” with the campus, department, and personnel. It is assumed that applicants are aiming for a lifetime position at a place like Nazareth, so there’s plenty of time (read: not now!) to talk about upping the perks and rewards.
On a guess, I imagine this woman is either such a genius that she’s never had to be cognizant of academic politics, or else she (or her private network) just sucks at realpolitik. (This is a position in the Philosophy Department at a school that’s growing its hard sciences…you take what you’re offered and be grateful ; -)
