I have had a mixed time in academia. While some people were supportive, others worked to undercut me. I think it’s important to support new people to, and people who feel alone in, academia. This page of resources is my effort to do just that.
I invested a lot of time plying my trade, so this is my effort to try to level the playing field for people who don’t have extensive networks to lean on. Lots of people who get jobs or win grants model their materials on someone else’s. I have been no exception in that regard. I am posting elements that I have developed over my short academic career: application materials (CC0), syllabi (CC BY-NC-SA), book proposal materials (CC BY-ND) and fieldwork documentation (CC BY). This work is licensed under various Creative Commons, so please respect those.
If you find any of my materials helpful, I’d appreciate it if you asked your local university and public libraries to buy my book, or if you purchased a copy for yourself.
Application Materials | Syllabi | Book Proposals | Fieldwork Documents
Job applications vary considerably depending on the academic market you are trying for. I applied for criminology positions. I have included only applications that resulted in me being shortlisted. I did try to apply for assistant professor jobs in the US, but I was never shortlisted. Two issues with my resume likely contributed: I had little quantitative training and I had a light publication record. I also did not have US networks to lean on for advice. You can see that UK applications and Australian applications differ. My profile was competitive for the jobs I applied for. I was shortlisted for 5/8 jobs I applied for in the UK; I was shortlisted for 7/9 jobs that I applied for in Oceana. Given the nature of job applications, I’m releasing these materials as CC0.
I applied while I was a PhD student to the University of Liverpool for an entry-level Lecturer post in Singapore. At the time, I was a pre-Brexit European candidate and had working rights in the UK. I ultimately was appointed to this post. It was unusual for that market because most Lecturer posts seek candidates who have defended their PhDs.
I applied while I was a Senior Lecturer for an Associate Professor post at the University of Nottingham and a SL, level 4, post which is the equivalent of Associate professor, at the University of the West of Scotland. I applied as a Senior Lecturer with 5.5 to 6.5 years of experience. At this stage, I viewed my profile as between SL and Associate Professor depending on the institution. I had a grant win, a book on an elite university press, two PhD completions, and between 300 and 400 citations. At the time, I was a foreign candidate who would have required sponsorship had I been successful. I was shortlisted, but I was not appointed after interview at Nottingham and won the position at UWS. The materials were similar, so here are the ones for Nottingham.
In all cases I applied as a lecturer with two or three years of experience for other lecturer moves. I viewed my profile, with a modest publication record and no book or grant win yet, as one that was suitable to make a horizontal move. At the time, I was a foreign candidate who required visa sponsorship.
ANU: Selection Criteria | Job Talk Presentation
Monash: Cover Letter | Selection Criteria | Job Talk Presentation
Flinders (appointed): Cover Letter | Selection Criteria | Job Talk Presentation
I applied as a Senior Lecturer to the University of Melbourne with 5.5 years of experience and Victoria University, Wellington with 6.5 years of experience. At this stage, I viewed my profile as between SL and Associate Professor depending on the institution. I had a grant win, a book on an elite university press, two PhD completions, and around 300 citations. For the Australian job, I was rated as a domestic candidate as I had permanent residency. For the New Zealand job, I was an Australian citizen with passporting rights. I offered the position in New Zealand but turned it down in favor of returning to Europe to be closer to family. I’m offering the Melbourne materials below.
I have taught various iterations of the following classes. The last syllabi I produced for these classes are available. I’ve denoted them as CC BY-NC-SA which requires you to attribute this work to me and share any derivative syllabus you make under the same CC BY-NC-SA license. For other teaching resources, check out my profile on Prof2Prof: https://www.prof2prof.com/users/rajeev-vishwanath-gundur. You will need a profile to access all of my materials though there are some useful grading worksheets that you can use for free and without attribution.
I developed The Open Circuit podcast to support this class’s video lectures.
Landing a book contract for an academic book can be a challenging process. It requires a network and support. If you don’t have it, here is some advice, and my proposal materials for you to view. If you find this helpful, please ask your university and public library to buy my book, Trying to Make It, or buy a copy for yourself.
There are several avenues that prospective authors might pursue. Some are able to secure agents to shepherd them through the publication process with a trade press. I know nothing about how this works. This seems to be the best way to make money, but I have no idea what the sums involved are. Some universities will not recognize these books as publications towards tenure.
Others secure contracts with commercial academic publishers such as Routledge or Springer. Having reviewed for both, these proposals are relatively straightforward. They require a chapter outline and some market research to justify the need for the book. Routledge provides a guide on how to submit a proposal, which is available on their website. These presses publish a lot of books, though many are very expensive and are not expected to sell a large number of copies.
Others secure contracts with university presses, since these are often more esteemed within the world of academia. A successful academic book might sell a couple of thousand copies of a book over its lifespan.
Understanding your employer’s requirements for publication credit is important before choosing what you publication avenue to pursue and how you write your book. For me, I sought a university press, to try to maximize my employment options (that didn’t work out so well), and had a goal of writing the most accessible book that I could, to maximize my potential readership (jury’s still out on that).
Some people seek to turn their PhD dissertations into a book. This is what I did. This conversion can be tricky, depending on your objectives and the publisher’s requirements. Some will take dissertations with relatively few adjustments. These books are usually sold for high prices and don’t get much general readership. Others require significant rewrites with a view to sell the book at a cheaper price to a broader audience. There are a couple of books that provide advice on how to do this, and I suggest taking that advice on board if you want people to read your work.
Despite trying to write my PhD dissertation like a book, it still required significant revisions to make it into Trying to Make It. The largest challenge once I got the contract was rewriting passages to be more accessible and bringing it up to date. One thing that I didn’t know when I shopped my manuscript around is that most university or commercial academic presses don’t provide authors with developmental editors. You need to rely on you community the help you with your writing process. The best books have a tremendous amount of support, rest assured. I had a lot of help to get my book to where it finally was.
Getting a book contract is difficult. There are different rules to pursuing one compared to journal articles. I read William Germano’s Getting It Published to get my head around developing the proposal materials and a senior colleague gave me his materials. Once I got the proposal together, I sent it to a colleague who had published at a major university press who helped me to refine it. I’m providing the proposal materials for two of my submissions. One, to Chicago University Press did not get picked up, but the editor did complement them. The other, to Cornell University Press did get picked up, and eventuated into Trying to Make It. The basic materials for most university presses are similar, so these are a starting point. Shoot for the stars and good luck.
Please note these are CC BY-ND: Chicago Materials | Cornell Materials
Fieldwork is difficult. There are several good books out there that will help you get prepared. Some basic advice that I can give is that it’s important to operate with respect regardless of who you are communicating with, it’s important to consider the risks to yourself and to your respondent, and it’s important to be realistic in terms of interviewing people. It is a high-energy activity. Two interviews a day are plenty, though three are possible if you must. Having clear paperwork is important. These are some example documents I developed for my fieldwork. Feel free to adapt them to your needs.
Information Sheet: English | Español
Demographics Sheet: English | Español
I also think that if you are doing qualitative fieldwork that you need to journal. You should strive to write to record your observations because your memory will betray you. You should also write to practice the craft of writing. Write notes that you want to read later. More likely than not, you’ll develop a style that you can be proud of and that will help you when it comes time to write your dissertation or book manuscript. I edited these notes after I wrote them to ensure clarity.