I had written a long reflection on the job hunt (better an essay some day) as I finished preparing yet another portfolio to send to a state university. I found myself focused on a comment from a search committee member.
"You aren't anything like Christopher in The Curious Incident. Are you sure you're autistic? You clearly got over it."
That's a rough paraphrase, leaving out the various comparisons the professor made. At least two other faculty made similar observations, including, "So, is this like your trip to London?"
Ever like a book but wish it didn't exist? I'm starting to dislike the novel, even though I found the structure interesting to study.
So, that's what "Rhetoric" (New Media) thinks of autism. A few math savants and some fictional characters… who also happen to be math savants.
There is much more behind why the job hunt is exhausting. Having to deal with faculty biases and expectations adds to the stress and frustration.
Depictions of autism -- I'll leave that for other rhetorical scholars. It definitely gets in the way of my own research interests, as I've mentioned before. I'm interested in theatre, film, and new media production. Just tired of "autism" being the starting point for most job interviews.
Whatever the "autistic-like" traits I have, one is a lack of patience.
That must be so frustrating. Job hunting is stressful for any individual. I can only say hang in there.
ReplyDeleteJob hunting stinks.
Job hunting does stink. I'm an NT rhetorician who's been lucky enough to find a position (I sold myself as an English education expert because of my high school teaching career before grad school). The "trip to London" comment is really insulting. Why bother to interview someone if you don't take them seriously? Idle curiousity? I hope I won't treat people so badly when *I* on the search committee.
ReplyDeleteGiving up the academic job hunt was a bit disappointing, but after the interview experiences I also realized that I might not be a good fit within many humanities departments. It's about finding the right place for me.
ReplyDelete