Derek Johnson

Professor of Media and Cultural Studies. Author of Media Franchising (NYU, 2013) and most recently Transgenerational Media Industries (Michigan, 2019).

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@Memles Coming out of deep twitter hibernation to ask “my”? Feels like an “our” at the least, as with so many collaborative things in teaching. Shout out to @dr_vee_zee

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@geek_worlds Thrilled it went well!

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@melstanfill case in point. :)

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius #FaASJobs #Q6 Have questions. Expect that many meetings will go something like this: “It’s great to meet you. You’re probably tired of being asked questions, so what questions do you have for me?” You might be asking questions more than answering them.

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius Also, beware the temptation to lean on your notes. You might think you can be smooth, but it’s usually obvious when someone is glancing at their notes just off screen. Be confident in your answers and try to make it a conversation (rather than an inquisition). #FAasJobs #Q5

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

#FAasJobs #Q5 The best advice I can give is to keep your answers short, since you can't effectively gauge the mood/response to them, and then offer to add more detail if they are interested. That way it's their choice to have you go on at length.

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius Don’t be me. Full disclosure, I have never landed a campus visit any time that I have had to face a phone or Skype interview by committee first. So I might not be the best expert (but I can try to offer advice anyway...) #FAasJobs #Q5

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius #FaASJobs #Q4 In other words, I want to see a record of accomplishment that suggests that the candidate is going to meet the expectations of the position (whatever those expectations might be). This goes back to Mel's point about evidence, too.

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius #FaASJobs #Q4 Evidence of tenure-ability

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius #FaASJobs #Q3 I recommend caution in listing existing classes you want to teach. If specifically in the ad, great. If not in the ad, and they already have someone teaching it, your enthusiasm could be read as redundancy or even a threat. In which case, pitch what you'd add

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius Teaching materials can sometimes be focused on pedagogical “principles,” but often need more detail in terms of how candidates have actually put those principles into practice in classroom experience. #FaASJobs #Q3

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@melstanfill @scmsFaAS @augustaquarius It’s great if you can frame the diss as only stage one of a larger book project, for example, rather than as the end of the line. The search committee is trying to figure out what kind of work you’d be doing on the tenure track, so explain what lies beyond the diss #FaASJobs #Q3

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius #FaASJobs #Q3 Talking about the status of the dissertation can be tricky too. You never want to misrepresent what you have done. If you say you have 4 chapters done, you should expect that a search committee will promptly ask you to send them for review.

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius #FaASJobs #Q3 For ABDs, I also see a lot of presenting oneself as a potential student or mentee, rather than as the potential colleague they are looking for.

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius #FaASJobs #Q3 Some applicants make clear what their topic is, but not what the research question is, nor what arguments they are offering as answers to those questions and why that matters.

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@melstanfill @scmsFaAS #FaASJobs #Q2 You can get support for interpreting a job ad by reviewing the program website—what kinds of classes do they offer already? Would you be able to complement that?

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius #FaASJobs #Q2 think of the ad as the way a program communicates a gap they are trying to fill—do you think you are someone who could solve that problem? (Though I’d be careful actually saying to a program in your actual application materials that you think they have a problem!)

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@scmsFaAS @melstanfill @augustaquarius #FaASJobs #Q2 Don't sell yourself short because you don’t think you’re “good enough” for a particular job. But there’s also little sense in positioning yourself as someone you’re not. If they are looking for a quant scholar, and you do qual, that’s probably not a good match

[Derek Johnson @derekjohnsonUW]

@melstanfill @lesleyawillard @scmsFaAS #FaASJobs The only sure answer is definitely more than zero.