Applications – Studying Religion in Culture

More Isn’t Necessarily Better: Some Thoughts on the Job Search Process

September 25, 2018 by Russell McCutcheon

Another job search season is upon us and, not yet knowing if our Department will be lucky enough to search for a new tenure track line (this year I submitted requests for two, in fact), I thought I’d offer a little unsolicited advice to people on the job market (and simultaneously solicit anyone else with experience on search committees in our field to contact me to consider writing a guest blog for our site, reflecting on these very issues from […]

Historic Artifact? An Open Letter to Department Search Committees from 1997

September 15, 2015 by Russell McCutcheon

The following (co-written with my then co-editor at the now defunct Bulletin of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion, the late Tim Murphy), first appeared as an open letter in our inaugural issue (26/1 [1997]) and was then reproduced as the appendix to chapter 6 of The Discipline of Religion (2003). Though many things about the academic labor market may have changed over the past 20 years (e.g., many universities have moved to online application systems, complete […]

Applications Everywhere

January 27, 2015 by Steven Ramey

Many of our students have been writing personal statements for grad school, applications for Fulbright fellowships and other international opportunities, and cover letters to send with their resumes. But those tasks are not something that they will conclude when they finish their education. They will probably continue to revise narratives and letters for applications throughout their careers. Those who go into academia, for example, will have to apply for jobs, tenure, and grants. For example, right now, the department is working on a significant […]