Post CRDM posts: Dr. Dickerson

As we’ve mentioned before, we are incredibly proud of the excellent students–now representing the program all over the world–who have come before us in the CRDM program. For the next few weeks,  we’ll be interviewing a handful of recent graduates for thoughts about life, the universe, and everything. We’ve talked with Dr. Kati Fargo Ahern and Dr. Dawn Shepherd, and now we’re interviewing Dr. Jacob Dickerson, a 2012 CRDM graduate.

Can you tell us a bit about where you are now and what you’re doing?

I am an assistant professor at Georgetown College near Lexington, KY. The position is tenure-track. I teach classes mostly in media studies, including one on media history and one on media theory. I have also taught a course in social media and am currently teaching on media and American Identity.

What is the biggest difference between the last year of CRDM and the first year with a job?

For me, the biggest difference has been the opportunity for research. As a student, research was what I spent almost all of my time on. I was writing a dissertation, after all. But at Georgetown I am teaching 4 classes and advising student organizations. This means that I just don’t have the time to conduct research. I don’t really love research, so that’s alright, but it’s been kind of a culture shock to have it become so difficult.

What is one thing you wish you’d known when you were a CRDM student preparing for the job market?

I wish I had known how much work being on the job market would be. I know everyone tells you it’s a lot of work…but that didn’t do justice to the amount of work that I put in. It was only for 2 or 3 months, though, so that was good.

What is one piece of advice you’d give CRDM students in preparation for their first year out?

 Don’t be afraid to embrace the culture of your institution. You may not get a job at your top choice or you may not plan on spending your entire career there. And it’s likely to be a very different environment than CRDM. But that doesn’t mean that isn’t worthwhile. There are challenges at all institutions, but there are always redeeming qualities as well. Maybe your students or your colleagues are particularly good for you. Find those redeeming qualities and you might find a place you want to stay. Be open to the quirks and enjoy the experience for what it is. Don’t go into it already thinking about what’s next.

Post CRDM posts: Dr. Pepper

Can you tell us a bit about where you are now and what you’re doing?

I am now in my second year on the tenure-track as an assistant professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Theatre at Northeastern Illinois University. I teach graduate and undergraduate courses such as Media and Cultural Studies, Seminar in New Media, Gender and Media, Mass Media and Society, and The Art of Film and Video. I am on the graduate committee in our department, and I served on two university committees: one was a hiring committee and the other was to review our transition from one Learning Management System to another.

What is the biggest difference between the last year of CRDM and the first year with a job?

In my first two years, I helped with curricular development, new course designs, and searches for new hires. It was sometimes such a strange feeling to think that only months before, I was a graduate student. Sometimes you are given very little time to transition from being a student to being faculty, so you have to just jump right in and not feel like an impostor.

What is one thing you wish you’d known when you were a CRDM student preparing for the job market?

The amount of time and effort that a nation-wide job search takes. Cast your net very wide and don’t skip the job postings that only “sort of” relate to your work. There is sometimes a huge difference between what the posting asks for and what the department is really looking for. You might be a great fit for a department even if you don’t think you fit the job posting. One more application can’t hurt!

What is one piece of advice you’d give CRDM students in preparation for their first year out?

Prepare to spend a lot more time on campus. In my case, I spent a lot of time in department meetings, committee meetings, and advising meetings with students in addition to my classes and office hours.

Post CRDM posts: Dr. Ahern

Dr. Ahern in her office.

As we’ve mentioned before, we are incredibly proud of the excellent students–now representing the program all over the world–who have come before us in the CRDM program. For the next few weeks,  we’ll be interviewing a handful of recent graduates for thoughts about life, the universe, and everything. This week we’re talking with Dr. Kati Fargo Ahern, a 2012 CRDM graduate.

Can you tell us a bit about where you are now and what you’re doing?

I’m an assistant professor at Long Island University– Post campus. I’m working in a tenure track position where my emphasis is on teaching creative writing, digital writing/digital rhetoric, and writing theory courses in addition to our intro courses in First Year Writing. One of my administrative roles is to organize faculty development in digital writing. I’m also working with a program that articulates between high school and college writing, and I’m serving on our First Year Writing committee, and as the faculty adviser for a “colony” (as opposed to a chapter) affiliated with Phi Beta Kappa.

What is the biggest difference between the last year of CRDM and the first year with a job?

Believe it or not, I have even more autonomy this year than in my last year of CRDM. It seems strange at times because you spend so much energy during a campus visit convincing a department that you will be a confident, competent colleague, but once you are in the position, what you have worked so hard to convince people is now their automatic assumption. There is very little oversight, which can be great and motivating.

What is one thing you wish you’d known when you were a CRDM student preparing for the job market?

It is really challenging to read a job posting. Even though we practice that in colloquium, there are so many other factors at play that despite all your research about a school, simply are not available knowledge to the candidates. For instance, I was hired for a job that advertized a concentration in digital media. I thought that I was a good fit, and certainly our program gives us that sort of foundation. However, little did I know, the department REALLY wanted someone who could step in and teach a writing theory course that they had “on the books” but had not been offered at any time recently. This wasn’t in the job posting, but I am *convinced* that I was offered this position, because not only had I taught this course (twice) before through CRDM, but I came to both the MLA interview and the campus visit with copies of my syllabus (bring copies of a variety of syllabi or at least course sketches to your interviews). Also, I created something I titled a “Candidate Summary” that was really just a table with research projects in process/publications accepted, courses taught, “dream courses,” and service. I know a CV covers all this information, but making a 1-page, visual layout for this information was also very helpful for anyone who I was just casually meeting on the campus visit. I had oodles of copies of this “Candidate Summary” with me that I could hand out to anyone who wasn’t on the search committee or didn’t read search materials, or didn’t remember me from two other candidates. It was an effective strategy.

 What is one piece of advice you’d give CRDM students in preparation for their first year out?

Try to be happy. I love my job and I LOVE my department, but I think it is really important to remember something Christian Casper said in my first year– “this [program] is like a gas, and it will expand to fill any space you give it.” I’m terrible at work/life balance. I work every day of every week. But, I’m trying to plan in a few excluded spaces where I don’t feel guilty just because I’m not doing something work-related. Of course, you can’t go the other direction either, but for me it is still a process of letting go the idea that I could somehow “just catch up” or work every usable hour of every 24-hour period. I know there was a HigherEd article (?) recently about people who are teaching perfectionists to the detriment of research time. I’m not finding that it is hard to research. (I actually think I’m doing far more research this year than last!) But, I am finding it very difficult to ever stop working. So, my really circuitous advice would be that once you have your dream job, you can still sometimes not work. You don’t have to feel this overwhelming guilt about having something so great. You can have that great job and allow yourself to be happy too.

A CRDMpressive showing on the job market

clearly didn’t get his PhD from CRDM

These redoubtable CRDMers have accepted tenure track positions all across the world. We applaud them and expect to get university keychains from each of them for the CRDM keychain collection.*

Dawn Shepherd, Boise State University

Kati Ahern, Long Island University

David Gruber, City University of Hong Kong

Jason Kalin, DePaul University, Chicago

Jacob Dickerson, Georgetown College

Nicholas Temple, Florida International University

Jordan Frith, University of North Texas

For a Google Map of CRDM alumni and a detailed description of where they’re working, click here.**

*”This doesn’t exist,” you say? “Doesn’t exist YET,” we reply.

**See an error/omission on the map? Please fix it–the map is open for edits!

Jacob Dickerson, PhD

note: this post is written by Blogger Emeritus Matt Morain.

Spectacle? From a Michael Bay project? THE HELL YOU SAY!

Hearty congratulations are in order for Dr. Jacob Dickerson, our latest CRDMer to successfully defend the dissertation. Writing about collective memory in framing the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jacob’s project was expertly co-guided by chairs Carolyn Miller and Steve Wiley, with Ken Zagacki and Carole Blair (from UNC) rounding out the committee.

To an audience of a dozen, Dr. Dickerson Tora Tora Tore it up in a 35-minute overview of his dissertation (a Dickertation?), titled “Framing Infamy: Media and Collective Memory of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.” Using Burke’s frames of acceptance to analyze popular texts depicting the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jacob artfully argued that the repeated use of the epic frame throughout the 20th century was instrumental in shaping and reshaping American identity and understanding the country’s role in world events. He utilized multiple examples in film, miniseries, and video games to introduce the concept of “memory ecology,” a collection of representations that influence our collective interpretations of a given event.

Movie posters like this one were part of Jacob's popular media analysis.

Jacob then went on to draw comparisons to frames used in popular texts of the attacks on 9/11. For generations of Americans, Pearl Harbor had become a lens through which to view other attacks; yet, for younger citizens, 9/11 became the dominant frame to view Pearl Harbor in turn. In doing so, Jacob demonstrated that an ecological frame analysis of popular texts can help us understand collective memory in a more nuanced way.

Steve Wiley, Jacob’s co-chair, remarked that “Jacob’s is one of the first dissertations I’ve seen that really takes the interdisciplinary bull by the horns, ” combining rhetorical analysis with media studies into a single, ambitious project. Whether this dissertation turns into one book or two, we wish him the best as he moves on to the details phase. Join us in congratulating Dr. Dickerson on Twitter, @jacob1480.

Jacob has accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY, where I am sure no one at all will notice the uncanny resemblance he bears to Justified actor Timothy Olyphant.

Live Blog: Online Identity Workshop

Meagan Kittle Autry here: I’m live-blogging the second professional development workshop of the fall semester for CRDM, “Maintaining Your Online Identity.” Special thanks to CRDM faculty member David Rieder and CRDM-affiliated faculty member Brad Mehlenbacher for sharing their insights and websites with us today.

David starts by indicating he has a static website for a reason: that maintaining a dynamic site requiring constant updating can be quite time consuming. Message: use your time wisely.

Brad features a new page he created his website about online identity management for academics. He offers that the website has come to serve as his vita and/or portfolio. It’s a fairly comprehensive record of his work as an academic.

Dave shows his website and offers several ideas: 1) He maintains a simple, static site to keep it manageable; 2) He used an open-source template; 3) He codes by hand (hey, another old schooler like me!). He emphasizes that for those in the humanities, “flashy” isn’t a standard, and that sites should be usable on a variety of platforms and possibly printable. He also recommends using a hit tracker to identify your audience (he has used Reinvigorate; Brad, ClustrMap) and to better tailor your materials based on where your hits are and the heat map information that is generated.

Brad emphasizes not having a personal section on a website when you’re on the job market – and Dave heartily agrees – to avoid inviting unwanted biases about you as a candidate. Post-job market, Dave offers that the amount of personal information you include on a website depends on how comfortable you are with doing so, but that it’s certainly not necessary.

Brad also uses his site as a resource for teaching, giving talks, etc. He aggregates information as he comes across it and can easily use for his own preparation or to give to students.

Dave remarks that our websites should be a key marketing tool for us on the job market, and we should see it as an opportunity to self-market and become more visible. Search committee members may not all be on Twitter or Academia.edu, but they will certainly Google you – so control the material that appears when they find your site.

Wendi asks a question: “To what extent should your website replicate your CV?” Dave warns: the more information you put out there, the more you offer yourself to be critiqued on, so select the information you put online carefully. Put out enough to support the ethos you present for yourself in your job applications.

Dave and Brad both recommend including brief descriptions of the teaching experience you’ve had: titles of courses, semester taught, and a brief blurb (potentially the catalog description, if it’s not too clunky).

We end with a discussion of really putting yourself out there vs. displaying limited information about yourself, such as only your most recent work. Some academics have earned great recognition based on their open web presence (Cheryl Ball, for instance) and that this is something that each of us will have to negotiate individually as we decide what kinds of jobs we’ll be applying for.

Of course, the workshop was further reaching and with more of the nitty-gritty details than I’ve offered here. We had a great time with lively discussion – come to the next workshops in the spring to be a part of the conversation!

~ Meagan

A Jobs Update (Careers, not Steve)

From CRDM Program Director Steve Wiley comes this update on our 4th-year job seekers:

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Jon Burr has accepted an offer to teach at Elon University this semester and, if all goes as planned, he hopes to accept a permanent position and move to the Burlington area this summer.

Kelly Martin has accepted a tenure-track position as an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology.  She’ll be teaching courses such as visual communication, digital design, mass communication, copywriting and visualization and visual communication in new media, in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.

Shayne Pepper recently accepted a position as assistant professor at Northeastern Illinois University. He will be joining the Department of Communication, Media, & Theater and will be teaching undergraduate courses such as Intro to Film, American Cinema 1 & 2, Television History, World Cinema, Gender and Media, Mass Media & Society, and New Media Technologies. He will also contribute to the department’s graduate program by teaching communication and media courses and advising M.A. students in the media concentration.

Christin Phelps accepted an offer from Peace College to become their Director of Online Programs. The position utilizes Christin’s talents in computer science and will also give her the opportunity to teach courses at Peace in her areas of expertise.

Dawn Shepherd will be joining the faculty in the English department at Boise State University as an assistant professor of rhetoric and composition. She will teach courses in first-year and upper-division writing, as well as graduate and undergraduate courses in rhetoric and composition theory, methods in rhetoric and composition, and digital rhetoric.

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Wiley went on to remark:

The job market was very, very tight this year, and in this context I think CRDM students have done quite well so far, competing with other candidates who had degrees in hand and several years of teaching and publications.  Please join me in congratulating those students who have accepted jobs, and please join me in continuing to support and advise those who have not yet found a position.  As we (faculty) all know, one’s first year on the job market is not always definitive; it can take some time to match one’s interests and skills with the right institution and position. I have confidence that those who have not yet been placed will be discovered, in due time, as the talented and promising young scholars that they are.

I’d personally like to add that we all look forward to seeing where our alumni networks branch out. It’s only our third year of producing graduates (since Christian Casper kicked things off in December 2009), so each newly hired CRDMer is an opportunity to show the rest of us what kinds of possibilities there are, once we find ourselves in a similar position.

Congrats to all the newly hired and good luck to those on the cusp!

Live Blogging the First CRDMSA PDW!

4:07 Introduction to the Academic Job Search with Dr. Jessica Moore, Department of Communication and Dr. Rebecca Walsh, Department of English.

4:10 After the application is in… Be sure to have materials at the ready–writing sample, sample syllabi–so that you can turn them around quickly.

Insider tip: A spreadsheet with all postings, deadlines, what they requested, what you’ve submitted. Keeping track is difficult, but having all the information in one place allows you to have some control. Also helps with preparing for interviews and campus visits. BONUS: The job search is expensive, and this also helps you track expenses (for taxes or reimbursement).

4:15 Also have an understanding of which jobs you want–follow your internal compass. Focus your energies on pursuing the jobs you are really interested in.

4:18 Question from Lauren: Why apply for jobs you don’t want? JM answers that you must understand your purpose. Do you have to start a job this year? Do you want to wait for the “perfect” job? There’s nothing wrong with casting a wide net. You never know where you’ll be a fit.

RW: Constructing the narrative of who you are/are going to be. Finding unexpected fits can teach you new things about yourself.

4:21 Lauren: Is there a stigma associated with leaving a tenure-track job before you get tenure?

RW: Advantages and disadvantages of moving at the junior level. You can be more portable at that level. The perception, however, could be that you are a job hopper, especially for places that are nervous about retention. It might be appropriate to touch on it briefly and vaguely in your application letter.

JM: Just be mindful of your pattern of moving. Be sure to address why you are applying for a job once you have a job.

Nick: Is there an ideal time for considering a move as a junior faculty member?

JM: The main thing is how well you fit the job. It’s not uncommon to go on the market when you are up for tenure, just articulate why you are considering the move and keep your pattern in mind.

(I’m paraphrasing here, not transcribing!)

RW: One thing to keep in mind when weighing whether to take a job that’s not ideal is the financial commitments and time constraints being on the market requires.

Nick: How many jobs should we be applying for?

JM: It depends on what’s available, what you think you’re a fit for. If you’re not sure you’re a fit, it might be appropriate to call and ask. Don’t apply to jobs you won’t take under any circumstances. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.

RW: It also depends on your field. If you are in a competitive field, you may need to apply for more jobs. Remember, too, that every interview is practice for the next.

4:39 The campus visit.

RW: Create a mock job talk! Even if the department or program doesn’t do that for you, schedule your own. Reserve a room, advertise it, and put together a talk. Hold the Q and A and the whole nine. It’ll make things sooo much easier!

It’s another way to control the uncontrollable.

JM: Make sure that people you don’t know personally are also in the room. People you know should be available to give your personal feedback, but you don’t want a room full of familiar faces. It’s important to have people from other subfields and disciplines that may ask differently framed questions because that is what will happen on the campus visit.

4:43 Negotiating campus visits.

Know where you’re going. Know about the faculty, get to know their profiles, think about what they do aligns with what you do (and it’ll help you frame your questions). If you can, get people talking about what THEY do–not just what you do.

(As an aside, I love this idea. People always think you’re more interesting when you are asking them about themselves!)

Know what classes they offer, institutes on the campus, programs in the department.

RW: There are also don’ts. Don’t drink too much. Don’t go without a bottle of water and portable snacks. (You may not even have the appetite or opportunity to eat during meals!) Don’t ask about tenure standards. Don’t ask about course release opportunities.

Read The Chronicle and some popular news outlets so that you have something to talk about other than work and research.

Also be aware of what is going on at your own institution so that you sound more professionalized, powering specific questions. Think Faculty Senate issues…

JM: Also make it clear that your thinking about trajectory and making the connections to their campus. Show that you know about their campus, department. Show that you’ve taken initiative to seek out information.

Check out, Questions to ask (and to be prepared to answer) during an academic interview.

4:54

Search committee narrows poll to top 5-10. Full faculty will vote on which they want to be the top 2 or 3 candidates. Once you’re on the visit, it’s all about who’s the best fit for the department. Once you have an offer, don’t say “yes.” Be ready to negotiate. Everything. Ask detailed questions. After negotiations, you’ll receive an offer letter. Make sure that everything you have negotiated is in the letter. You can also get published salary information from HR so that you understand where you are in the range.

RW: One good idea is to send a recap e-mail after phone negotiations. Always have a reason for things that you ask for/about.

JM: If you have a campus interview, make notes about the things you didn’t get to ask. That way, you’ll be sure to ask them when they call with the offer.

Prepare a list of questions for all interviews. Office/lab space? Computer of my selection? Software (e.g., SPSS)? Research or teaching assistants? Teaching load and course preps?

Most schools have placement services for spousal (or partner!) hiring assistance, even non-academic positions.

5:22 Voting on the hire.

Vote on whether candidates are hirable. Once candidate is chosen, department or search committee chair will call to make offer.

Be sure to take your reasonable time. Get to know the area where you would live. Find out before the campus interview whether you should be prepared to prepay or can expect for someone to pay for meals, etc. while you are there. Be prepared to pay and be reimbursed.

5:28. Kathy: Conference interviews. What’s that all about?

JM: Conference interviews are preliminary interviews used to choose top 3 or so candidates to bring to campus. Communicate that you really want to work with them. Send a note immediately after. Let them know in your note that you’ve done more research. If you’re tied to the area, let them know that you want to put down roots there.

5:31 If you’re comfortable, let faculty in the department/program know where you are applying. That way they’ll be able to talk about you if they get a call and may make a call for you! The grapevine is active!

5: 38 Thanks to Drs. Moore and Walsh for talking with us today. If you missed it, you missed out. This has been fun and informative. InFUNative, if you will!

Shaun Cashman, PhD

A nonsurgical tot. Wait. Congratulations. Now they’re in order for Dr. Shaun Cashman, who successfully defended his dissertation last week for his chair, Dr. Vicki Gallagher, and committee members Drs. Adriana de Souza e Silva, Jason Swarts, and Steve Wiley.

Shaun (not pictured) investigated the phenomenon of immersion in games like Halo, Final Fantasy VII and Wii Sports.

Roll, abstract, roll!

The Rhetoric of Immersion in Video Game Technologies:

Immersion is a crucial concept for understanding how people engage, interact, and understand mediated messages. This work examines the concept of immersion within video game technologies. It argues that immersion is a rhetorical function and that we can understand how a media text immerses using rhetorical theory. Immersion itself is defined as a unique, multifaceted relationship that forms between a person and a media message that acts on the body, mind, and emotions of a person and is intrinsically tied to the unique experience of a medium. To that end, video games are distinct in that they are comprised of a game, screen, computer, and interface. These four components allow us to understand the medium as a communicative act that can be studied through rhetoric. Justified in existing game and media theory, this work constructs a rhetorical model of immersion that highlights seven rhetorical means through which video game technologies can immerse. The rhetorical model of immersion is then compared to two existing immersion models through and analysis of five distinct video. Through this analysis the rhetorical model shows its viability by comparison and its contributions to our understanding of immersion in video game technologies.

The countless hours Shaun spent on his dissertation paid off as he will be joining the communication faculty at Pfeiffer University in the fall. Pfeiffer is a private liberal arts college located in Misenheimer, North Carolina. Shaun was hired as an associate professor to bolster their new media studies, and he will teach Communication Theory, Fundamentals of Oral Communication, and Game Studies next year.

Well done, Shaun, and remember that the tenure cheat code is up up down down left right left right B A start.

Anna Turnage, PhD

Today marks another proud cause for celebration in our program as Anna Turnage became our third colleague to successfully defend her dissertation. Anna’s research has focused on computer-mediated communication in the workplace, and her dissertation topic is a thorough culmination of the work she’s done in the course of her graduate career.

Anna deftly answers questions after her presentation while being stalked by an important man trapped in a portrait behind her.

Titled “Identification and Disidentification in Organizational Discourse: A Metaphor Analysis of Email Communication at Enron,” Anna describes her dissertation project as “providing a rhetorical analysis of language use at Enron and how metaphor helped employes there bridge dialectical tensions related to identification/disidentification and power/resistance.” Her data came from an exhaustive analysis of the Enron email database, which was made publicly available by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during its investigation in the mid-2000′s.

Anna’s committee consisted of chair Dr. Vicki Gallagher and members Drs. Deanna Dannels, Joann Keyton, Carolyn Miller, and Dennis Mumby (from UNC-Chapel Hill). Dr. Gallagher praised the unique contributions Anna’s work represents, saying:

Anna’s dissertation project positions her to make a significant contribution to both organizational communication studies and critical and rhetorical approaches to new technologies.  The metaphor analysis of emails from the Enron database represents the first sustained examination, by a communication scholar, of how the language in those emails and the use of email itself functioned in both the development and maintenance of Enron’s culture and in the rise and fall of Enron in the context of turn of the century new economy discourses.  As part of her dissertation research, Anna was able to conduct a one on one interview with Sherron Watkins, the former Vice-President at Enron who “blew the whistle” on Enron’s questionable accounting practices which provides additional context and secondary evidence for her work. In addition, she presented, along with Joann Keyton, one of her committee members, a qualitative empirical analysis of a subset of the emails at the Southern Communication Association conference in April 2009.  I look forward to seeing Anna’s work in print in the near future and, more importantly, to having her as a colleague in the years to come.

Fellow cohort members Shaun Cashman and Freddi Hamilton listen attentively to Anna's responses during the Q&A, while 3rd-year Nick Temple blurs the lines of time and space behind them.

Held in Caldwell M-8, the defense was well attended by other CRDM faculty, who offered some critical questions for Anna to consider, and by her fellow CRDM students, who turned out in support and to observe the process we’ll be going through in just a few semesters.

With her defense behind her, Anna now looks forward to the fall and her new position as Assistant Professor in the Communication Studies department at Bloomsburg University of Bloomsburg, PA. Good luck in Pennsylvania, Anna, and congrats again!

Check out Anna’s profiles on Academia.edu and LinkedIn to learn more about her research activities over the last few years.