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Colleagues,

Since I left VMI, I have been teaching in semi-retirement at JMU, because
the resident English Department medievalist, Dabney Bankert, whom some of
you will know, has been department chair and unable to teach a full load of
medieval literature courses. After Spring 2021, Dabney and I will both
probably retire for good and all, so JMU is mounting a search for a
medievalist in a tenure track position. The chair of the search committee,
Mark Rankin, provides a description of the job and the application link
below, but I want to add that, in my six years at JMU, it has been a great
place to work. The department is collegial, and, even as a part timer, I've
had the flexibility to modify courses and develop new ones (both medieval
and modern) without having to worry about anyone being territorial. The
administration is genuinely committed to undergraduate education, as well
as facilitating faculty research, with generous funding opportunities for
travel to conferences for both TT faculty and adjuncts. The department does
have a small Master's program that gives you the chance to teach at a
higher level and also to work with grad student assistants. There is also
an interdisciplinary Medieval-Renaissance minor, and you really get to know
those students as they take pretty much any class a medievalist offers.

Class sizes are small, usually in the teens or twenties, and the department
has enough faculty to keep it that way. The undergraduates, I've found, are
bright, enthusiastic, and eager to please. The first course I taught at
JMU, a medieval European survey, was full of kids who came to medieval lit
because they were Tolkien fans or Game of Thrones fans (the books, as well
as the HBO series), or gamers, and they were excited to be exposed to the
real thing.  This has continued to be true in most of the medieval courses
I've taught here.

And I probably don't have to tell you that the Shenandoah Valley is a
beautiful place to live, and between the university and Harrisonburg, there
is plenty to do, to say nothing of the presence of the American Shakespeare
Center's Blackfriars Playhouse in nearby Staunton, my home. So if you are
looking for a TT position or advising graduate students who are ready to go
on the job market, please consider this opportunity to teach at a place
where you can really make a difference in students' lives.

Alan Baragona

Cross-posted to Arthurnet, REED-L, and Chaucer

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rankin, Mark C - rankinmc <[log in to unmask]>

Colleagues,

Please forward this announcement to any qualified candidates. The
Department of English at James Madison University has just received
approval to hire a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Medieval Studies, to
begin Fall 2020. We are especially interested in candidates whose work
engages digital humanities and/or the Global Middle Ages. Secondary fields
may also include the environmental humanities, manuscript studies, and/or
women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, among other fields.

For additional information about this position, and to apply, visit
https://joblink.jmu.edu/postings/6671
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__joblink.jmu.edu_postings_6671&d=DwMF-g&c=OCIEmEwdEq_aNlsP4fF3gFqSN-E3mlr2t9JcDdfOZag&r=fjcQfgYV9f2j9kwBnJVXtSWmOPXt1KI9cj-r6oenF2I&m=Ou0Co1vBa0XuyFtD-dJKmZuSigZV1vWTkRCLHDMkdPI&s=fBwE6R8_cWlPsu3fDzaUIyiKLKSbg4akTmYriVkgAAM&e=>
.

Thank you,

Mark Rankin
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.jmu.edu_english_people_full-2Dtime-2520faculty_Rankin-2520Mark.shtml&d=DwMF-g&c=OCIEmEwdEq_aNlsP4fF3gFqSN-E3mlr2t9JcDdfOZag&r=fjcQfgYV9f2j9kwBnJVXtSWmOPXt1KI9cj-r6oenF2I&m=Ou0Co1vBa0XuyFtD-dJKmZuSigZV1vWTkRCLHDMkdPI&s=paqdaIcPziX_Cmx7JCk9sgv0yA3aG1RT2kZTOxLVnRo&e=>,
Ph.D.
Professor of English
Editor, *Reformation*
James Madison University
921 Madison Drive
MSC 1801
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
USA
540-568-6560