Sounds like a fascinating thesis! A lot of my work is on 18th/19th c. novel reading as an intersection of aesthetic and ethical conflict in British literary culture. Did some archival work at Edinburgh and the National Library of Scotland. Looking forward to updates on your work!

You could toss me into the mix if you like. I write about David Mason, 19th c. novel history/criticism, and Scottish literary culture.

Been here for a while, but I guess posting a pic of your pet is proper introduction etiquette, so here's Penny looking disheveled. Anyway, I study Scottish lit and culture, the history of the novel, and 18th/19th c. British literature.

Welp, @blueark.app finished my X migration today. I deactivated my account, deleted the app, and it felt pretty damn good.

You ever had a Rainier beer? It's the best/worst of everything about American lagers.

Fall on the way to and from work.

One of the best things Pearl Jam does is offer high quality live recordings of every show they do. The recording of the 2024 Missoula show arrived yesterday.

Just burned my morning responding to a faculty member who is SURE that a student used AI to write a paper that is so obviously student work that I have no idea why the faculty member suspected that it was AI. Jfc.

At the Gorge for Hozier. Best outdoor venue ever.

I'm an external reviewer for a tenure and promotion portfolio, and is it OK to say in the review that I'm "agog" at this person's community engagement? Because that's the only word I can think of. I'm exhausted (and impressed!) just looking at everything this person has done.

Morning walk to campus.

Going to see Pearl Jam in Missoula tomorrow. I hope they play:
Do the Evolution
Not for You
Given to Fly
Glorified G
Wishlist
Sirens
Dance of the Clairvoyants
Lightning Bolt
Why Go
Brain of J.
Future Days

TMobile customer service rep just ended our call by telling me to be sure to have dinner on time and, thanks, I guess?

Spent a few days in Banff and Yoho, and it was pretty great.

I finally found a part-time faculty job that pays well and of course it's not in any of my specialties.

Lake day.

Most recent antiquarian book acquisition: a 1790 edition of Milton from a Spokane vintage shop. The boards are in rough shape on the corners, but the binding is solid and there's very little foxing. An excellent find!

Anybody know anything about non-profit governance, particularly around finances? I have some questions...

Went to Banff, hiked around, saw some glorious lakes and mountains. 10/10 would recommend to everyone.

304. Almost there, but I cut a phrase that I was unreasonably pleased with. Sacrifices must be made, though.

Down to 318. But will it still make any sense at all once I cut those last 18 words?

Writing a proposal for a chapter in an edited collection. Proposal should be 300 words. Started this morning with 332 words; after an hour of editing and revising, I'm happy to say that I cut it down to 328.

10/ Anyway, that's my experience of the TT job market.

9/ But I tried for YEARS to get back into a faculty position. Across a full decade of applying for TT and "permanent" non-TT jobs, I landed 3 phone interviews and 3 campus visits, producing 1 offer, in 2018, to teach at a small, private school in the midwest for $42k.

8/ I left that meeting and headed straight for the JIL and other job boards. I managed to jump ship for a visiting assistant professor gig, and now, 13 years later, I'm the director of a learning commons at a state R1 working with health sciences students. And it's fine.

7/ The last straw was at the end of my second year when the senior admin, at a full faculty senate meeting, told us the enrollment projections were dire and asked please would we all take a voluntary 6.5% pay cut, just to get them out of the red in the next year?

6/ I said that the suggestion was cynical, unethical, and antithetical to the school's stated Christian values, but the VP just laughed and said everyone did it, and that it was an "unstated" benefit of teaching at a denominationally affiliated institution.

5/ As a solution, the uni's VP for Finance suggested that I simply get ordained as a minister in the university's denomination so that I could take a tax deduction on my rent (clergy can deduct their housing on their taxes, did you know?). Friends, I was an English Professor.

4/ I lived in a townhouse owned by the university. Rent was $1600/month (in 2009!) and that was easily $1k under market for the area. My wife was a full-time 4th grade teacher, and our combined income was $70k below the median cost of living for the area at the time.