next »

[teeveemuntz]

Hi all!  I have a job talk in a week and I'm curious if it is appropriate to do a job talk on the same material as my writing sample.  During the MLA interview, the SC asked me tons of questions about my writing sample (and about the author of the novel I discussed in the writing sample) and they all seemed positive about it.  The writing sample was an article based on my new research (my first post-dissertation big project) and I think that it definitely presented what I wanted to present: my interests, my field, my take on literature, etc. 

For the job talk I've been asked to "give an overview" of my scholarship and to, show how I handle literary texts by perhaps, doing a "short reading" of something I "enjoy working on."  I can't read a paper or anything like that.  It seems more like they want me to present my research in a teaching style.

I'm really comfortable with my writing sample and feel as if I could field questions about it reasonably well.  But is it appropriate to present it now that the whole committee has read it (and will most likely ask me more questions about it as part of my campus visit day will be given to meeting with committee people who weren't at the MLA interview)?  Am I expected to do something new?  I have a conference paper that is also part of this new research that I could package as the job talk but I'm not as comfortable with it (but could be with some work this week).

Help!

[tuxedo_cat]

Writing sample and job talk are usually different in content, but of course if they're from the same project, they may cover some of the same material in broad terms.  But you need to show your breadth as a scholar.  I would strongly recommend working up the conference paper into something presentable. 

Especially for an institution that will require significant publishing output for tenure (book or several peer-reviewed articles), you really can't "repeat" the writing sample.  You can spend time demonstrating the connections between the sample and what SC members seemed most interested in with that sample, but it should be different.

What's the story with the diss?  Is that already published as a book or articles?

[teeveemuntz]

Thanks for the advice!  I had a feeling that I might need to face facts and focus on something new for this job talk.

The diss is actually being cannibalized for this new project.  I'm taking a smaller aspect of the diss and widening it out to be the focus which allows me to include more texts (my diss was on a narrow topic based largely on writing from one area of the country from one specific time period) and to better position my scholarship  to new trends in the field.

[brixton]

It should be something new.  You could maybe talk about the morphing of your diss, as you hint at here for your first part. Then if you have a short, contained interesting piece -- emphasis on short-- poem, short sketch, interesting passage. It sounds like they're looking for how you approach a text, so less cutting edge research, and more how your research style plays a part in your teaching.

[tuxedo_cat]

It sounds like this is not a presentation for an R1 or high-profile research dept (sorry, I'm not trying to be nosy -- but the context of the school has an important impact on the advice people will offer you here).

Sometimes it's an advantage to present work that is still pretty active, and where you are still sorting out what you're doing with the material -- it sounds like the SC members enjoy that kind of dynamic conversation with you.  And it sounds like it would probably be fine to spend some time talking about the original dissertation -- you have an interesting "story" to tell about how your research has developed.  That foundational research may also offer some useful information to the SC about specific courses you could teach for the department (if it is more teaching oriented, say 3/3 or higher courseload).

Congrats on the getting the campus visit, and good luck!

[teeveemuntz]

It should be something new.  You could maybe talk about the morphing of your diss, as you hint at here for your first part. Then if you have a short, contained interesting piece -- emphasis on short-- poem, short sketch, interesting passage. It sounds like they're looking for how you approach a text, so less cutting edge research, and more how your research style plays a part in your teaching.

Yes, you're right -- this is definitely about how research plays into my teaching.  And so "teaching" my research seems to be what they want.  I like the idea of briefly talking about the morphing of my diss as a lead-in to the "meat" of the research talk.  Thanks!

It sounds like this is not a presentation for an R1 or high-profile research dept (sorry, I'm not trying to be nosy -- but the context of the school has an important impact on the advice people will offer you here).

Sometimes it's an advantage to present work that is still pretty active, and where you are still sorting out what you're doing with the material -- it sounds like the SC members enjoy that kind of dynamic conversation with you.  And it sounds like it would probably be fine to spend some time talking about the original dissertation -- you have an interesting "story" to tell about how your research has developed.  That foundational research may also offer some useful information to the SC about specific courses you could teach for the department (if it is more teaching oriented, say 3/3 or higher courseload).

Congrats on the getting the campus visit, and good luck!

Thank you so much!  I'm happy to have gotten to this stage of the process!

It does seem as if the SC members like to have a dynamic conversation and including how my research has developed in the talk can help keep that dynamic going.  And you're right, this is not a R1 school so teaching is the emphasis.  I thought that I could transition between the research portion of the talk and the teaching portion of the talk by pointing out the texts I teach that I've also worked on which can lead me to a discussion of how I teach and what I could teach for them, etc.

[tuxedo_cat]

Ah, so this is a teaching-research combo talk?  Because that is a different animal.  If you're not entirely clear about what they expect and exactly how long it should be, do not be shy about asking the SC for a bit of clarification.  I have made that mistake for a campus talk! (I'm in English lit, I've taught in a couple 3/3 depts, and have been on SCs several times, to put this in context).

For the teaching portion, I would suggest using some PowerPoint slides if that is already a comfortable skill for you as a teacher.  The fact that they want to see how you would do a "close reading/explication" exercise (is that right) indicates that they want some material that will be accessible to a general audience.  You can ask if there will be students in the audience -- quite possible. 

I did a presentation for a SLAC once on sonnets with a combined class of students and professors -- it was fun!  They sound like a very pleasant dept. on the basis of your interview experience.

[teeveemuntz]

Ah yes -- sorry!  This is a combo talk.  I've been told to prep about 20 mins. of research talk and 10 mins. of talk about my teaching.  There will not be students there but the whole dept. has been invited to come.

I don't use Power Point in my teaching, although I have used it on occasion.  I have thought about using it for this job talk although it makes me a pinch nervous only because it's not second nature to me to refer to or show slides, etc.  But I do know the value of at least having something interactive and visual so I'm definitely going to give this some more thought.

I should also say that I'm a VAP at the school so I'm familiar with the classrooms and with the faculty which leads to a more comfortable job talk experience.  However, because I'm familiar with everything, I also don't want to be too relaxed!  It's been emphasized that the dept. is looking to refresh their course offerings with an eye to including courses in what I research in so I have to make this job talk a real KILLER!

[lackademia]

I am in a similar situation, except I was asked for an example of my research after having been invited to campus.  I will be giving a 30 minute research talk followed by a 20 minute teaching talk (in a different language).  This is for a job in an MLA field at a SLAC with fairly strong research expectations.  My sense was that the writing sample I sent to the SC (post-MLA) was intended as a kind of preview of the research part of my job talk.  I was planning on using parts from this paper in combination with other material.  What do the forumites think?

[snowbound]

Wow.  I really disagree with some of the advice you're getting here, OP.  I'm in English, I'm at a teaching-oriented, non-R1 school, and we too ask candidates to spend about 20 on their research and about 10 on their teaching. Most candidates do just that, but we have also had a couple in recent years that decide that (seeing as we're not an R1) we can't REALLY want to know about their (hopefully cutting-edge) research, and must REALLY be only interested in how they teach.  So we get 5 minutes on research and 25 mins on teaching, or we get an explication of a text at the level one would deliver to undergraduates.  Needless to say (or maybe not needless, given the advice on this thread), these candidates were dead in the water.  Colleagues who gave up their lunch hour to attend the talks were often quite offended: "What, does she think that we're not intellectual enough to understand her research?"  "Who does he think he is, talking down to us like we're a bunch of sophomores?"  "Doesn't she know that, despite our 3/3 load, many of us are productive scholars here?" (Those very inactive in research don't bother coming to job talks). Now, this miffed reaction may be unreasonable, but the honest mistake these candidates were making was assuming (perhaps due to advice from their R1 professors?) that they knew better than the SC what the department wanted to hear. 

Different schools, different departments, will want different kinds of talks, so the absolutely key thing is to listen to what the SC Chair tells you, ask if it's not clear, and then DO IT.  From what you've said, it sounds like they are asking for 20 minutes on your research.  Unless you hear otherwise from the chair, address the department as fellow scholars, as you would in a conference talk.  Spend a few minutes locating the talk in the context of your research as a whole, then give the best damn conference-type talk you can manage.  The more cutting edge the better (can't understand why you would hide your light under a bushel!). One poor candidate who presented what I thought were very interesting and unusual ideas on an author distant from my area was called by a couple of my colleagues (far more knowledgable in that area): "But that's what so-and-so and such-and-such have have been saying about this author for ten years!  What are you saying that is different and new?"  The candidate had no answer, yet I'm sure her PhD must have had some fresh, original ideas in it that she could have mined for a job talk.

I wouldn't use Powerpoint, unless you feel extremely comfortable using it and it really adds a to your presentation.  Handouts can be useful if you're planning on looking closely at a paragraph, or want to provide a few bits of info that would help folks who may not have read the specific text you're talking about. 

Good luck!

[snowbound]

Wow.  I really disagree with some of the advice you're getting here, OP.  I'm in English, I'm at a teaching-oriented, non-R1 school, and we too ask candidates to spend about 20 on their research and about 10 on their teaching. Most candidates do just that, but we have also had a couple in recent years that decide that (seeing as we're not an R1) we can't REALLY want to know about their (hopefully cutting-edge) research, and must REALLY be only interested in how they teach.  So we get 5 minutes on research and 25 mins on teaching, or we get an explication of a text at the level one would deliver to undergraduates.  Needless to say (or maybe not needless, given the advice on this thread), these candidates were dead in the water.  Colleagues who gave up their lunch hour to attend the talks were often quite offended: "What, does she think that we're not intellectual enough to understand her research?"  "Who does he think he is, talking down to us like we're a bunch of sophomores?"  "Doesn't she know that, despite our 3/3 load, many of us are productive scholars here?" (Those very inactive in research don't bother coming to job talks). Now, this miffed reaction may be unreasonable, but the honest mistake these candidates were making was assuming (perhaps due to advice from their R1 professors?) that they knew better than the SC what the department wanted to hear. 

Different schools, different departments, will want different kinds of talks, so the absolutely key thing is to listen to what the SC Chair tells you, ask if it's not clear, and then DO IT.  From what you've said, it sounds like they are asking for 20 minutes on your research.  Unless you hear otherwise from the chair, address the department as fellow scholars, as you would in a conference talk.  Spend a few minutes locating the talk in the context of your research as a whole, then give the best damn conference-type talk you can manage.  The more cutting edge the better (can't understand why you would hide your light under a bushel!). One poor candidate who presented what I thought were very interesting and unusual ideas on an author distant from my area was called by a couple of my colleagues (far more knowledgable in that area): "But that's what so-and-so and such-and-such have have been saying about this author for ten years!  What are you saying that is different and new?"  The candidate had no answer, yet I'm sure her PhD must have had some fresh, original ideas in it that she could have mined for a job talk.

I wouldn't use Powerpoint, unless you feel extremely comfortable using it and it really adds a to your presentation.  Handouts can be useful if you're planning on looking closely at a paragraph, or want to provide a few bits of info that would help folks who may not have read the specific text you're talking about. 

Good luck!

[snowbound]

Sorry, I accidentally managed to post my comments twice!  And by the way, I too recommend that you do not use your writing sample as the basis for your job talk.  The SC (likely the only ones to have read your writing sample) will think you are a one-trick pony.  Think instead of shrinking down a diss chapter--hopefully one that you have already shortened into a conference presentation.

[teeveemuntz]

Thank you so much!  I do have a conference paper based on my new research (but on a different text from the writing sample) that I am enthusiastic about and can be morphed into something that transmits who I am and what I do (my research has moved forward a bit since I originally presented this paper).

I appreciate the advice about what level I should pitch the research talk.  I was definitely planning on going in with a conference sort of mindset particularly because it was emphasized to me during the MLA interview that the department is looking to change up its offerings to include new classes and different approaches to the old ones.  I took that to mean that I should be vigorous in my research talk to transmit to them that I could handle not just teaching classes but in creating classes that fit these new objectives.

Handouts might be the way to go for me.  I've used them before in conference presentations and I'm comfortable with them.  Since I don't teach with Power Point, I might be introducing more stress to the process to use it during a job talk.  I do want to have something to show/to hand out/to refer to while I'm talking as I know this should be a research presentation that is done in the style of my teaching.  And in my teaching I would, of course, refer to a passage in the book in front of the students.  Keeping this dynamic should keep me on track.  I hope!

[snowbound]

Same approach, different text, would be fine. 

If they want to create some new classes, they will appreciate someone who is really up-to-the-minute on what's happening in lit crit. And brand new PhDs, for all their inexperience, can be a great source for this.  For the last few years, you guys have been absolutely immersed in reading and researching with an intensity that few of us (now living a more normal life) can match. (Not that the new classes have to reflect this week's theory, but they should be classes broadly relevant to what's happening in the discipline now).  You want to get your cutting-edge-ness across, without sounding arrogant.  It's hard to fake this; throwing some fancy terms about in an empty way won't usually work, as you are talking to a highly educated audience.  But you DO have some great, original ideas, relevant to current lit crit discourse--otherwise you probably wouldn't be receiving a PhD and getting an interview. In a few brief sentences, show how this is the case.  Mention how it relates to discourse on this or that discourse, but how it brings something new to them.  What gap does it fill?  What hitherto neglected area does it explore?  THis is necessary because (as with me and the candidate who repeated other's theories), people unfamiliar with your specific area won't know unless you tell them.  So you are both locating your presentation in the context of your overall work, and presenting your work in the context of the overall discipline.  This shouldn't take you more than a few minutes to cover.  Then you can get into the body of your talk, based on the conference paper.

I know this should be a research presentation that is done in the style of my teaching. 

How do you "know" this?  I do think you can tell quite a lot about teaching from a job talk.  Does the candidate mumble, speak in a monotone, seem intensely shy, not engage with people asking questions, not have any sense of their audience?  None of these would bode well for teaching.  However . . .  that's quite different from doing a research presentation "in the style of my teaching."  Why would you do that?? When I teach, I never talk for 30 minutes straight!  I have a very back-and-forth atmosphere, use the board, try to get the main points to come from the floor rather than from me, move about the room a lot, and I NEVER read from a prepared talk (the norm in job talks in English, though not in all disciplines).  A job talk is a different animal. If they really want to know the specifics of your teaching style (more than what they can glean from your application materials, your ten minutes on teaching, and the job-talk behaviors mentioned above), they will schedule a teaching demonstration where you actually teach one of their classes, with a bunch of faculty sitting at the back of the room watching you (an unnerving experience!). 

[snowbound]

P.S.   Unless this is a community college, they are looking for a scholar/teacher, not just a teacher who happens to have some scholarly credentials.  If the only really important thing they wanted was someone to teach classes (and I keep getting the sense that this is your assumption), then they would be hiring an adjunct.  The job talk is your best shot at showing your scholarly chops.