Good trip
Posted on | October 1, 2008 |
I haven’t yet had a chance to say thanks to Adrian and my other generous hosts at Monash last week… even though the Qantas debacle meant I was a little bit late and spent most of the day in transit everyone made me feel very welcome and not too much of a screen studies amateur.
There could be the potential for a podcast of the event given the close relationship I developed with a roving mike but in saying that I would be more than happy if my dinner hypothesis was proven and no-one bothered to download it. In any case the “under construction” theme was thoroughly fitting my home cooked theories about work on television (theories that reached a crescendo during the Emmys coverage) and I remain very grateful for all the ideas, DVDs and even spoilers shared afterwards.
Despite some strong desires to enjoy the beautiful Melbourne surroundings and also my first ever Grand Final Parade I escaped early in the morning to beat the road closures and get to my interview at Sydney…
NOW.
(excitement)
The official news arising from that very nervous afternoon is that I have accepted a position as Lecturer in my old department, Gender and Cultural Studies, commencing mid-2009. Before that I will be finishing my Working From Home project based at Sydney too. This is very good news. Not only is the GCS program booming - enrolments and staff numbers have grown significantly since I was a grad student there - I’ll be inheriting some of the most interesting courses I could possibly hope for. e.g., my first assignment will be Intimacy, Love and Friendship in second semester next year. It means I can pursue my two ongoing research interests while also having access to a range of teaching opportunities - from foundational, introductory subjects to theory and methodology units as well as postgraduate coursework and supervision.
Five years of research work has been an incredible opportunity and privilege, but it has also been difficult to work so many years in my own head and without clear frameworks to contribute to institutional regeneration. I really want more diversity in my job, to be able to teach and learn from students and feel part of an ongoing project that has a collective outcome. The individualisation of workload and anxiety in research-only positions has also burrowed away at the expense of my personal life for some time now and it’s time to change that while I still can.
Some issues in particular are not incidental in making secure employment increasingly attractive. So, I am happy but also humble to have had the cards fall in my favour this time. I intend to make the most of this.
Of course such a profound change calls for some renovations on-blog as well! Hopefully you’ll stay tuned for some aesthetic developments which will reflect the more profound movements in the life of this “Brisbane research fella.” Here I don’t mean to invite jokes about the suit I wore to the policy forum on Monday (although it was great to have an event to dress up for). Rather, HCT will be having a redesign in the next week or two. For one thing, it needs to start saying “thirty something” rather than “twenty something”…
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7 Responses to “Good trip”
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October 1st, 2008 @ 9:20 pm
Congrats Mel - that’s great news!
October 2nd, 2008 @ 1:52 am
Congratulations on the appointment! I look forward to a lot more musing about teaching-related matters in the future! (And, of course, to see where a teaching-energised environment leads you in research terms, too.)
October 2nd, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
Heartfelt congrats, Mel, and happy birthday! Being 30 is ace.
One day i hope to get a real job, too - it’s great to know they do exist…
October 2nd, 2008 @ 1:39 pm
woohoo (again)
October 3rd, 2008 @ 7:03 pm
Jean was the only one to get the subtle birthday reference. Typical!
I keep being told 30 is the new 20. I’m sure Kate would have some things to say about that. I guess the logic is it’s okay to have my first “real job” 10 years too late - the house and 2.5 kids may be a problem tho.
October 3rd, 2008 @ 9:21 pm
Happy birthday!
Speaking as a newly minted fortysomething…
Without a “real job” - but that’s a Gen X thing no doubt!
October 10th, 2008 @ 7:34 am
Happy belated. And welcome back to Sydney.