About your research
- What are the chief methodological influences on your research?
- Can you tell us about your most recent research project (whether just completed or just begun)? How do your research interests inform your teaching?
- What is the most important contribution of your research?
- How would I turn my dissertation into a book?
- How does your first major project revise or extend current scholarship in this research area?
- Tell us about your research trajectory, starting with your writing sample, how that connects to your dissertation, and beyond.
- What’s hot right now in your field? How does your work fit into it?
- What do you want to do for your next project and why?
- What are your plans for the next 5 years?
About interdisciplinarity & collaboration
- What possibilities do you see for collaborations with colleagues in our department and in other departments at the university?
About teaching
- (Look at the core courses for the major in the department and think about how you might teach one of those courses)
- What would be your “blockbuster” first year civ course to ramp up enrolments (100-400 students)? Follow up: What textbook would you use?
- Describe your dream course?
- What can you teach outside of your main sub-area of research?
About diversity
- Social justice, equity, and inclusion are core values at (X). Please tell us about your experience in teaching underrepresented groups and engaging with a diverse campus community.
- Diversity and inclusive teaching [we have 50% PoC population]: your strategies for teaching and engaging a diverse student population? What kind of courses?
About a departmental fit
- Building an academic career in a Liberal Arts institution requires balancing engagement with national/global scholarly communities with a commitment to a reliable and consistent campus presence. How do you see yourself managing, and thriving in, this balance? What about this position and/or the College encouraged you to apply?
- A question asking you to think about something that relates to expertise of a committee member and which is outside your comfort zone (e.g. as a cultural historian being asked about the economy in your period or the environmental factors affecting the issues you study etc.)
- How would you collaborate on conferences and co-teach courses with other faculty? Which faculty?
- What interests you particularly about teaching at our college/university?
Always…
- Do you have any questions for us? (Evan Jewell advises: Have at least 3 questions ready to ask the committee, specific to that school. Show them that you have done your research, but also allow them to boast about their institution. Avoid any questions that might leave a negative impression, even indirectly, such as “how are you increasing your majors?”. I did that once (George Mason) and regretted it!
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