Jobs and hiring . . .

• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
• Next message: Read, Dwight ANTHRO: "It'll never happen to ME!"
• Previous message: Bonnie Blackwell,: "translation on lieber"

Comments on comments . . . In the late 1960's when I first discovered
anthropology at the University of the Americas in Mexico, faculty were
supportive of study in the field and encouraging interested students to
both major in the field and train for teaching and research at the
university level.

In the early 1970's, when in an MA program, the expectation for graduate
students was that they were training for teaching and research positions
. . . and faculty and departments encouraged graduate students to enter
Ph. D. programs in anthropology and sociology on that basis . . . to obtain
that training.

In the mid 1970's while engaged in doctoral studies . . . the expectation was
still that training was for university faculty teaching and research . . . and
departments admitted on that basis and still encouraged people on that basis.

In the mid 1980's, up to 1991 . . . in the field of sociology, the graduate
school from which I obtained my doctorate and the department was telling
everyone that the 1990's would be boom times in sociology because nearly
fifty percent of existing faculty would retire and be replaced . . . thus,
obtaining a Ph.D. to focus on teaching and research as faculty in an
institution of higher learning was encouraged, not only on admission but
also throughout the program until completion of the degree . . .

Now, in fact, those reports of retirement replacements have proven to be
false . . . thus, my personal response is that I feel defrauded of
nearly a decade of my life, nearly 60,000 dollars in capital, and of
other opportunities that I could have taken had not I elected to pursue
the path that my life circumstances and career choice had brought me too.

At this point, I am endowed with a deep resentment of being intentionally
or unintentionally `conned' in the profession as a result of policy changes
at the financial and administrative level which effect the profession.

I also believe that it is the responsibility of sitting faculty in every
institution, and administrators, to keep the social contract which they
make. Thus, I believe that it is the responsibility of faculty to
honestly inform candidates for admission, degrees and so forth of the
true employment situation that they are facing . . . and then to make
a long term commitment to that candidate (if accepted) to assure that
the contract that is entered into in kept by all parties.

John O'Brien
Indiana University

• Next message: Read, Dwight ANTHRO: "It'll never happen to ME!"
• Previous message: Bonnie Blackwell,: "translation on lieber"