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July 31, 2009, 09:00 AM ET
Finding a Place in Academe
I'm in the process of composing a letter of recommendation for a former master's student with whom I worked closely several years ago, both in courses and as a member of her thesis committee. She was -- and I'm sure will continue to be -- a splendid student, bright, a wonderful writer, a fine and clear thinker, and a pure pleasure to be around.
Although I am exceedingly wary of recommending students to Ph.D. programs in English due to the brutality of the job market, in this instance I know that my former student has a true calling that can sustain her throughout the challenges of completing a Ph.D., and then of facing a market that may or may not yield the outcome she desires. She tells me that this is what she needs to do, and I believe her and am therefore glad to support her pursuit.
Moreover, if she were coming to my current institution as an applicant with her Ph.D. in hand, I would gladly recommend her to the search committee. I know that she would have an immediate positive effect not just on our English program, but on life at our university in general.
So, what's the problem? She is, in some respects, an "old-fashioned" student, and the draft of her statement of purpose indicates that her aim in pursuing a doctorate is to enhance her love of literature and to expand and sharpen her knowledge of it. In other words, her goals are at odds with what many Ph.D. programs in English have become -- cradles of "scholarly productivity" and homes for theoretical approaches to "texts." As anyone who's paid attention to the field in the last 30 years knows (I earned my B.A. in 1985 and my Ph.D. in 1994), "serious" graduate programs look askance at "love of literature" as a motive for pursuing doctoral education.
While I'm not wholly in accord with Mark Bauerlein's recent discussion of the "Diminishing Returns in Humanities Research," his thoughts strike home as I consider how to help my student find her place in academe. How much genuine value is in the proliferating mass of literary scholarship, criticism, and theory, and how much of it is the byproduct of a market that can demand such productivity simply because it can?
This young woman has exactly the skills, enthusiasms, and temperament that would make her a truly successful faculty member at a university like mine. She is plenty savvy theoretically, but what she really has is an infectious, thoroughgoing love of reading, thinking, and teaching that would enable her to reach, and make a genuine difference to, the kind of students we work with every day.
The trick will be to find her a spot in graduate school that will take her desires and inclinations seriously as a motive for her pursuit of a Ph.D., so that when she's done she can have a fair shot at the kind of job I'd love to offer her.
Comments
1. jruiz - August 03, 2009 at 07:19 pm
Tell her to find another profession. My institution, which is hardly prestigious, garners 500 apps for every tt position in English announced. A quick glance at the various CHE blogs will reveal numerous posts bemoaning the plight of PhDs in the subject who will always be low paid adjuncts. She may well have the potential to be a great teacher. And she may love lit. But that is not enough given the realities of the job market. Save her while you can
2. _perplexed_ - August 04, 2009 at 11:55 am
Assuming that she is well aware of the difficulties she will encounter, I would counsel her to portray herself and her interests with complete honesty: If there is no room for the real her as a grad student, there certainly won't be room later on in the pipeline.
3. msuasn - August 06, 2009 at 03:25 pm
I agree with jruiz - she will not find a happy place in the academy, certainly with current hiring trends in the humanities. It sounds like she would make an excellent teacher at a lower level, such as middle or high school, and could use her enthusiasm of reading to light up the lives of her students. I'd recommend a secondary education teaching certification and an AP English class.
4. enderuncolleges - August 06, 2009 at 08:28 pm
There actually are job openings galore. However, she might not be particularly interested in teaching in India or China, where the biggest opportunities are found. Never-the-less, there are literally thousands of career opportunities at hundreds of colleges and universities, many of which would be thrilled to have such a passionate and well-qualifed American join their faculty. Clearly, there are differences in lifestyles of academics abroad, especially in Asia, but the reality is that we have become a global society. If she has to follow her heart into a crowded academic market, she would be well-advised to be open to a foreign career.
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