Interview of the MLA
Answers
Answer:
these are questions to be asked
Explanation:
Career Advice
Questions They Might Ask You
Katherine Ellison and Cheryl Ball share questions you can expect to hear at an MLA interview.
By Katherine Ellison and Cheryl Ball
December 17, 2012
The questions you’re asked at a preliminary interview (phone, Skype, at Modern Language Association meeting, etc.) will depend on the job description, sometimes on your rank (e.g., whether you’re entry-level or advanced), and whether the institution is research-intensive or teaching-intensive. Below are a few of the sample questions we’ve received, heard, or asked over the years for tenure-track jobs at four-year teaching and research institutions.
Research Questions:
Most research questions will be rather detailed and direct; looking back on our own experiences, most of those specific questions fell under one of four categories: to explain, to expand, to apply, or to translate. The general questions, below, are good places to start practicing. You should have thoughtful answers for each of them, ranging from 30 seconds to two minutes in length depending upon the scope of the question.
Tell us about your research/dissertation/book project. (For this one you can have a two-minute "spiel" prepared!)
Are you familiar with theorist X? How would you apply his/her work to your project?
How do you define X hotly contested term in your field? (e.g., “digital humanities,” “new media,” etc.)
What are you working on next? or, What is your research agenda? or, Walk us through the next five years in your research.
Where do you plan to publish your (first/next) book?
What’s important about your research?
How does your work contribute to the field?
How will you bring your research into your teaching?
Tell us about your grant experience; or, How will you bring your grant experience to bear at our school?