scared and excited
Thinking seriously about the possibility of moving to Bangladesh. The job I interviewed for today is at a new school Asian University for Women, and it looks like my dream job. The mission, the design, the people - faculty and students - all seem excellent. I don't think I could have designed a place that would be a better fit for me, except for how it's halfway around the world. The more I learn about this school, the more excited I get. The idea of moving to Bangladesh is exciting but also really scary. big_britches is being his awesome super-supportive self. He says I haven't sounded nearly so excited about any of the other possibilities. The first interview I had, at Carleton College, is only a one-year fellowship. The school seems great - a liberal arts environment with a real commitment to teaching but also research. Not very diverse, but they seem like they're addressing diversity issues earnestly and in a smart way that I think will work well. And I've applied for several other jobs at liberal arts colleges looking for folks working on intersectionality, and they also seem like great jobs. But US institutions all have the baggage of the way things have been done for so long. AUW is starting the right way - looking at the literature on pedagogy to determine what actually works (engaged learning, small classes with lots of support, like in-class writing tutors) and developing the curriculum and policies collaboratively. They even set people up for this by having a group interview - Four of us had two hours to choose and design a curriculum module. It was a great experience and went really well. Every aspect of the planning seems well-thought out, and the Dean's attitude is that if people want to do something, they can find a way. And their focus is on serving underprivileged women from Asia, and their students seem great. Even a great liberal arts school in the US means primarily serving privileged people, so it's difficult to imagine how it could compete with this job (except in terms of salary, research support, and being closer to loved ones!). The Dean indicated that they are very interested also that I would be available to go in January, as they are short one Humanities faculty member. This was their first day of interviews, so they have 34 more people to interview (hiring 18 positions). IT definitely felt like a good fit to me, so I will be obsessively researching Bangladesh for the next couple weeks until I hear something. If you see any news about the region, please feel free to pass it along!