It happens often enough that most departments would give serious consideration to a qualified candidate who has shown themselves to be deft in many connected areas of scholarship while not being all over the place. Most job listings will call for a subfield which you may be able to match ... for example, they will ask for a Theologian who specializes in African American Religion. If you are a historian who specializes in African American Religion, and you've gone to conferences with theologians, and your advisor is someone whose scholarship is known among African American theologians, you have a fair shot at that job.
So ask your advisor. Don't embarass yourself by applying for an entirely different field or if the call is a general one, but if you can reasonably fill the department's void with your own training and experience, it doesn't hurt to give it a shot.
I have a colleague whose B.A. and M.A. were in Pol Sci but switched to a Ph.D. in history. Another colleague in Sociology whose Ph.D. was in history.
If you can plausibly fit into their criteria for research and/or teaching, it doesn't hurt to apply. You'll want to address your suitability for the position, despite the seemingly different background, right at the start of your application.
Actually, I'm an archaeologist looking for a way into other fields. I've been thinking that cultural anthropology and history might be options, as they are cognate fields to mine.
If jobs specify they want a cultural anthropologist, they usually mean they want a cultural anthropologist, in my experience. Sometimes, someone with a PhD in history, sociology, or women's or cultural studies might also be appropriate, but it's in some ways harder to make a jump from one field within anthropology to another. It can be done, but it doesn't happen that often in these contentious times.
When job ads say they want someone who does material culture, or they want a four-field person, then you may very well be a good fit.
With a Classical Archaeology MA, I got hired to adjunct Religious Studies. But I fit what they were looking for, I had taken graduate courses in Religious Studies, my BA was a double honours, and I intend to continue on in early Christianity at the PhD level. And Religious Studies, as a general rule, tends to emphasize the interdisciplinary approach.
I think the real trick is convincing them that the application is well-thought out and not a desperate after-thought.
May I ask why you want to move away from archaeology?
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So ask your advisor. Don't embarass yourself by applying for an entirely different field or if the call is a general one, but if you can reasonably fill the department's void with your own training and experience, it doesn't hurt to give it a shot.
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If you can plausibly fit into their criteria for research and/or teaching, it doesn't hurt to apply. You'll want to address your suitability for the position, despite the seemingly different background, right at the start of your application.
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When job ads say they want someone who does material culture, or they want a four-field person, then you may very well be a good fit.
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I think the real trick is convincing them that the application is well-thought out and not a desperate after-thought.
May I ask why you want to move away from archaeology?
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