JOBS

[Donna Jo Napoli]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
PLEASE POST (as of May 29, 1998) OR FORWARD TO ALL MEMBERS-- THANK YOU
 
Jobs for Linguists.
        Swarthmore College has applied for an NSF grant to set up a
Linguistics Forum.  We will hear on August 1, 1998, whether or not we get
the funding.  If we do, we will have positions for one Ph.D. in Linguistics
and two BAs or MAs in Linguistics starting in Sept., 1998, and running for
two years with the possibility of an extension depending on further funding.
        We are now accepting applications for these positions with the
understanding that funding is pending.
        The Linguistics Forum will be an on-line educational forum for
Kindergarten through 12th grade students and their teachers.  These people
will write in to our web site with questions about language.  The questions
will be posted on a bulletin board, where linguist volunteers will select
questions to answer.  The answers will come back to the Linguistics Forum
staff (physically located at Swarthmore College) and we will then make sure
that they are appropriate for the age child/ classroom they are intended
for.  All answers should be designed to lead the child to the answer if
possible, through reasoning and experimentation.  And all answers should be
designed so that the child can bring an activity back for sharing in his or
her classroom.  Any questions that volunteer linguists do not answer will
be answered by the Forum staff (the three people we will hire plus various
faculty at Swarthmore College).
        The staff of the Forum must have a solid foundation in linguistics
(we won't consider anyone without at least a BA in Linguistics proper).
But the staff must also have:
        1) clear communicative skills
        2) creativity and vision
        3) comfort dealing with the internet
        4) interest across the board in theoretical and applied linguistics
        5) comfort dealing with children
        6) high tolerance for frustration
        All three staff members we hire will be involved both with
answering questions and in designing the Forum.  Part of our job over the
first two years will be to define our niche and to communicate that clearly
to the public.  The potential of the Forum is huge, and we need staff that
can envision that potential and help realize it.
        The Ph.D. will teach one course at Swarthmore College each academic
year.  In the fall of 1998, that course will probably be Morphology.  In
the fall of 1999, that course will probably be Historical & Comparative
Linguistics.  For this reason, the person must be a generativist (because
that's the kind of department we have at Swarthmore).  However, the person
need not be a specialist in either morphology or historical work, but
simply have a firm grounding in it.  The person will have the option of
working for only the 9 academic months the first year, or for working 12
months with a 1 month vacation in the summer.  During the second year,
however, the person must work for 12 months with just 1 month vacation.
The first year academic salary will be $45,000.  The summer salary (should
the person decide to work in the summer) will be $10,000.
        One of the BAs will be our web master and should have experience in
system administration, programming, and the internet.  This person will
write and maintain software, connect us with existing web resources, inform
us of these resources, set up a holding tank for the questions that come
in, design the archives for our answers, and basically build the structure
of the Forum. Skills in Unix/Linux will be helpful.
        One of the BAs will be our jack-of-all-trades, responsible for
outreach to the public and desk-top publishing as well as administrative
duties.  This person will handle all printed materials, publicity,
schedules of meetings with teachers and organizations, and so on.
        While the above descriptions make the two BA positions sound quite
distinct, in fact, the separation and sharing of duties will depend on the
particular people we hire -- so please consider the above descriptions as
fluid.
        Both BAs will be on a 12-month contract, with one summer month
vacation, salary being between $25k and $30k depending on duties.
 
        If you want to apply, here's what you must do.
 
(1) There is a Math Forum analogous to the Linguistics Forum we are
proposing.  You must take the internet tour of the Math Forum:
        http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math/office_help/
Once you have done that tour, answer these two questions:
        (a) What are the strengths and weakness of the Math Forum?
        (b) How would you design a Linguistics Forum?
Your answers can be detailed or not, but they should not be longer than 3
double-spaced pages each please.  Send us those answers as part of your
initial application.
 
2) Please send a c.v. that includes your e-mail address if you have one (we
will communicate with you only by e-mail if you have an e-mail address),
your educational history, a description of your computer and internet
experience, and a description of your experience with children K-12.
        If you are not yet up to speed on the internet, tell us whether or
not you are willing to get up to speed on it before August and how you plan
to do that.
 
3) Please have three letters of recommendation sent and send us the names
of these recommenders with their e-mail addresses.  At least one
recommendation should be from a linguistics professor.  At most one can be
from a child aged K-12 that you have taught or tutored.
 
4) If you have a Ph.D. in linguistics, send three papers on linguistics
that you have written which show the breadth of your interests in the field.
    If you have a BA or MA in linguistics, send one paper in any area of
linguistics.
 
Swarthmore is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  Women and Minorities are
encouraged to apply.  Primary or secondary teaching experience is a plus.
 
All materials must be sent in hard copy form by August 10, 1998 to the
Forum Director:
        Donna Jo Napoli
        Linguistics
        Swarthmore College
        Swarthmore, PA 19081
Do not send these materials by e-mail.  However, if you have questions and
absolutely need a response before you can apply, please address them by
e-mail to dnapoli1 at swarthmore.edu.
 
 
 
Donna Jo Napoli
Prof. and Chair
Linguistics
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA 19081
USA
(610) 328-8422
(610) 328-6558 - home
fax (610) 328-7323
dnapoli1 at swarthmore.edu