>
>From: Jen Gonyer-Donohue <[log in to unmask]>
>
>Subject: CFP: Transatlantic Perspectives of the (Medieval) Job
>Market (9/26/05; Leeds, 7/10/06)
>
>Medieval Academy of America
>Graduate Student Committee
>
>CALL FOR PANELLISTS
>Across the Pond: Transatlantic Perspectives on the Job Market
>
>The increasing presence of international students in North American and
>European doctoral programs has, despite the salutary benefits of diversity,
>highlighted a number of differences between the professional cultures of the
>two continents' academic institutions. Graduate students about to venture
>onto the job market perhaps feel these differences more acutely than any other
>group: terminological confusion, varied and ill-defined expectations, and
>vastly diverse institutional structures are among the potential pitfalls which
>await those courageous enough to send employment applications across the
>Atlantic.
>
>The Medieval Academy of America's Graduate Student Committee proposes to
>organize at the 2006 International Medieval Congress in Leeds a panel
>discussion on transatlantic diversity. We hope to provide the graduate
>students in attendance not only with summary overviews of the administrative
>structures and processes most prevalent in North American and European
>institutions but also with answers to pressing questions:
>
>. Do hiring committees on different continents operate with different
>sets of priorities? Legend has it that U.S. institutions prefer candidates
>with publications and conference experience, whereas U.K. institutions are
>more interested in a solid doctoral dissertation: is this true?
>
>. Do cross-cultural dynamics affect the ways in which letters of
>reference are written and received? Can overly effusive letters from
>the United States hurt applicants seeking posts in a more reserved European
>climate?
>
>. How familiar are scholars on either side of the Atlantic with their
>counterparts abroad? Should potential applicants consider a global audience
>when deciding whether to place publications in domestic as opposed to
>international contexts?
>
>. What sort of unexpected experiences might lie in wait for the
>candidate venturing across the Atlantic for an interview?
>
>We hope that the panel discussion will enable students and scholars to engage
>in a productive dialogue about the ways in which cultural expectations and
>dissimilarities can affect the hiring process. To that end, we seek
>prospective panellists who can speak from their experience of hiring and
>interviewing international candidates or from being hired or interviewed by an
>institution abroad. Contributions from continental European universities are
>especially welcome.
>
>Please contact Patrick Hornbeck ([log in to unmask]) for
>more details or to enquire about making a contribution.
>
>
>____________________________________
>Jen Gonyer-Donohue
>Chair, Medieval Academy Graduate Student Committee
>Department of English
>University of Washington
>Box 354330 Seattle WA 98195-4330
>

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