Part of your assignment for 9/5/2018

1. Job list review.

PDF files of the MLA job list going back to 1965 can be found here: http://www.mla.org/jil_issues. Review the listings in the October/November issue of the job list only for the state in which you were born for the following years: 1972, 1982, 1992, 2002, 2012. Answer following questions:

· How many positions are listed in each year?

· What fields are represented? List them.

· What’s the ratio of tenure-track to non-tenure-track positions? Of permanent to temporary positions?

· Does the average length of the ads change over time?

· Provide an overview of the job requirements (e.g., degree status, teaching experience, publications)

· Generalize about any changes you notice occurring across the five decades.

2. MLA convention survey.

[For those without a volume, look here for the 2012 program: http://www.mlajournals.org/toc/pmla/126/5]

· Review (skim) the list of sessions. Construct a schedule for yourself (use the subject index to help you navigate). What 7-8 sessions would you go to if you were at the convention? In other words, what do you find interesting? NOTE: open bars and receptions don’t count.

· If you were asked to write the “look what those crazy English professors are up to now” editorial for the local newspaper (here’s an example from 2004), what four or five sessions would you cite as examples of professional depravity and screwiness?

· If you were to be asked to defend those crazy English professors in a rebuttal, what sessions would you cite?