I received a call back from Camden County College last week. I was called by the chair of the History / Political Science Department and he said the committee was very impressed and I am on the short list. Sometime this week I will be called to meet with a series of Deans which might then lead to an offer.
It would be great to get a tenure track position in the New York area.
Camden is a big school with a lot of property and a lot of building going on. I liked it much better than the Stalinist design of Mercer Community College (large edifices, sharp angles, small narrow windows with little light). The committee was also very nice and outgoing. they seemed to really enjoy their school and their colleagues, which is a department I'd want to be in.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Good Interview at St. Josephs
I had a really good interview at the Academy of St. Josephs Girls HS. I was given a tour of the Academy, which is on some of the prettiest land, by the Social Science Department chair. I sat in on five classes (3 world history classes, and 2 20th century classes).
It was nice that I could impress the girls in my class with my knowledge of oxygen deprivation on everest or the reasons how court ceremony worked in ancient china. But in two different classe3s the girls reacted in the same way "wow, he's so smart."
that was nice to hear.
Now Diane will call me to schedule a class teaching exercise. How do I do in the classroom. How do the girls respond and how do I do with them. At the moment I am the only person up for the job.
It was nice to be wooed a bit. They were impressed by my resume to the point that they wondered "why would he want to work here." But I think it would really be good. I could work on or start a photography club. I mentioned to the AD about how I would photograph the basketball games at Farmingdale.
His eyes opened and told me that it was a great idea. the girls would love it. he, himself, had photographs still hanging in his home of random photos taken at his sporting events.
the school is small and it doesn't get too much attention in the rough and tumble world of Long Island high school sports. so the girls would probably really like some kind of memento.
Theres a lot of potential there. and its exciting to be desired for the position.
It was nice that I could impress the girls in my class with my knowledge of oxygen deprivation on everest or the reasons how court ceremony worked in ancient china. But in two different classe3s the girls reacted in the same way "wow, he's so smart."
that was nice to hear.
Now Diane will call me to schedule a class teaching exercise. How do I do in the classroom. How do the girls respond and how do I do with them. At the moment I am the only person up for the job.
It was nice to be wooed a bit. They were impressed by my resume to the point that they wondered "why would he want to work here." But I think it would really be good. I could work on or start a photography club. I mentioned to the AD about how I would photograph the basketball games at Farmingdale.
His eyes opened and told me that it was a great idea. the girls would love it. he, himself, had photographs still hanging in his home of random photos taken at his sporting events.
the school is small and it doesn't get too much attention in the rough and tumble world of Long Island high school sports. so the girls would probably really like some kind of memento.
Theres a lot of potential there. and its exciting to be desired for the position.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Buffy and Popular Culture
i don't know if she was present at the PCA conference in Boston but she has published a book on the physics of the Buffyverse. its the interesting combination of popular culture and academic studies. A few years ago I saw a slew of philosophy books on subjects like: Buffy, Lord of the Rings and the Simpsons.
Another NPR story comments on the academic studies of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
A link to the Online Journal of Buffy Studies. Slayageonline.com
Another NPR story comments on the academic studies of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
A link to the Online Journal of Buffy Studies. Slayageonline.com
15 pages
wrote 15 pages on thursday.
friday and saturday were spent at the conference in MD.
today I have hit the gym, cleaned my apartment and updated my blog.
now i will sit down and write 15 more pages or so.
NPR stories on college writing
a story on how the violence at VT has "created a special kind of chill among writing students."
advice on how to start writing from Walter Mosley.
best advice: write an hour and half per day. every day. its advice for fictional novels but I think it applies to us
academics as well. its a way to know plot, character and direction. Writing about Charles X Gustav I have to
keep his personality front and center when describing behavior and actions.
friday and saturday were spent at the conference in MD.
today I have hit the gym, cleaned my apartment and updated my blog.
now i will sit down and write 15 more pages or so.
NPR stories on college writing
a story on how the violence at VT has "created a special kind of chill among writing students."
advice on how to start writing from Walter Mosley.
best advice: write an hour and half per day. every day. its advice for fictional novels but I think it applies to us
academics as well. its a way to know plot, character and direction. Writing about Charles X Gustav I have to
keep his personality front and center when describing behavior and actions.
Society of Military Historians Conference
just got back from the SMH conference at Fredrick, Maryland. I presented a paper on the Decemberrådslagen, the December 1654 Council Meetings which discussed the politics of entering the Polish-Muscovy War.
The presentation went really well and the questions were pretty good. one comment was on seeing this as "kingship in transition" which I think is a really good idea.
this was the third conference I was a part of this semester and I really like the presenting and meeting of others in the profession. I like the bouncing of ideas and come away quite enthused to keep working and writing and editing.
Next time I would like to bring a teleprompter because I don't like the idea of reading and not looking at the audience. and it was hard to read while wearing my glasses which I needed to read.
The presentation went really well and the questions were pretty good. one comment was on seeing this as "kingship in transition" which I think is a really good idea.
this was the third conference I was a part of this semester and I really like the presenting and meeting of others in the profession. I like the bouncing of ideas and come away quite enthused to keep working and writing and editing.
Next time I would like to bring a teleprompter because I don't like the idea of reading and not looking at the audience. and it was hard to read while wearing my glasses which I needed to read.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Paper Submission
I have submitted a paper to the International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism (IJDCET) for their special issue on digital culture and archives. The paper is recounting my experience at the Stockholm Riksarkivet in January 2007. With little time and not much money I was unable to put in six months or a year of continuous archival research. But by
using a digital camera, digital imaging software and an external hard drive I was able to digitalize some 25,000 pages.
Those pages may be a lifetime worth of research but it means I will be able to do it at my convenience without having to ship giant binders of blurry photocopies across continents.
It really is an innovative way of conducting research. Few researchers at the archives brought a digital camera or even a laptop. None were from the US. So I think a paper on my experience, with a proper academic context from previously published journal articles, will be a good addition to the scholarship on the topic.
using a digital camera, digital imaging software and an external hard drive I was able to digitalize some 25,000 pages.
Those pages may be a lifetime worth of research but it means I will be able to do it at my convenience without having to ship giant binders of blurry photocopies across continents.
It really is an innovative way of conducting research. Few researchers at the archives brought a digital camera or even a laptop. None were from the US. So I think a paper on my experience, with a proper academic context from previously published journal articles, will be a good addition to the scholarship on the topic.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Interview at Camden County College
Yesterday I drove from Long Island to Camden NJ to interview at Camden County College. I was on the road from 10am till 2.30 pm because of the Nor'ester. I think the interview went very well. I gave a presentation on the functioning of the Roman legion as I do in my World Civ and Western History classes. Students love the chance to get up and "chop down some Gauls" and I illustrate how the legion operated as a cultural extension of the Roman civilization.
I think i did well on the Q&A which were more historical questions (difference between the Phalanx and the Legion?) than personal questions (what is your biggest fault?). I think I put myself in the best position for a further interview.
The time of the interview was moved back and firth two or three different times. On friday I was asked if I could show up on Monday (moving the meeting up a week) which left little time for preparation of the presentation because of family obligations. But it shows that I am willing to work with my perspective employers even if it makes my presentation rusty.
It is similar to when my Suffolk Community College chair asked me to fill in as a full time substitute even though it meant I ended up teach 8 classes in one semester (6 at SCCC and 2 at SUNY Farmingdale which I could not drop out of respect to Richard Vogel who had recently hired me as an adjunct) and 7 classes in another.
I can't help but think it is a good reputation to have even if it has slowed my dissertation progress.
I think i did well on the Q&A which were more historical questions (difference between the Phalanx and the Legion?) than personal questions (what is your biggest fault?). I think I put myself in the best position for a further interview.
The time of the interview was moved back and firth two or three different times. On friday I was asked if I could show up on Monday (moving the meeting up a week) which left little time for preparation of the presentation because of family obligations. But it shows that I am willing to work with my perspective employers even if it makes my presentation rusty.
It is similar to when my Suffolk Community College chair asked me to fill in as a full time substitute even though it meant I ended up teach 8 classes in one semester (6 at SCCC and 2 at SUNY Farmingdale which I could not drop out of respect to Richard Vogel who had recently hired me as an adjunct) and 7 classes in another.
I can't help but think it is a good reputation to have even if it has slowed my dissertation progress.
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