![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Silly annoying downturn.
Dec. 13th, 2008 02:29 pmThe most recent PHD Comic made me laugh bitterly. No, grad students aren't being made to take unpaid leave or anything like that, but the economy finally got around to annoying me directly. Every year at the AWP conference (the biggest creative writing conference), there's a pedagogy forum, wherein folks submit one-page papers outlining a pedagogical point -- an exercise, a bit of philosophy, whatever -- and then, if their paper is accepted, they sit around for a while and discuss pedagogy with other like-minded folks for about an hour. It's also the easiest way to be an official presenter at the conference, which is the magic bullet that lets you access your travel allowance from the department.
Last year, when AWP was in New York, everyone and their dog suddenly decided to go the conference. Times was, pretty much anyone who submitted a paper was accepted, but under the flood of submissions the process got MUCH more selective. So in those plush economic times, our program director negotiated an agreement with our department chair such that anyone attending AWP could use their travel allowance, regardless of presenter status. That offer was extended to this year, and thus there was very little discussion of pedagogy papers on our listserve, and most people didn't submit. Hell, I actually wouldn't mind having the extra CV line, and even I didn't submit; I knew I had the money anyway, and I was busy.
Up through last week, the department chair was keeping the funding agreement on the table, but now it's been retracted pursuant to a memo from the College regarding non-presenter funding. I'm not upset with the chair or with our program director -- they both did what they could, it sounds like -- but it still stands that people have been making decisions based on funding assumptions, and that rug was suddenly yanked out from under us. I mean, I can swing it, and I think everybody in my hotel room is still going, so at least we don't have to scramble to maintain our per-person cost, but it remains annoying.
On the plus side, we managed to find a sub-100$ one-way flight down to TX for my brother-in-law, thus making it possible for him to work his alloted hours AND for me (and, incidentally, Elisa) to drive down to the grandparents' for early-Christmas (Grammie's doing Christmas the weekend before). Woohoo!
And now that I've finished complaining mildly, I need to get back to work. Have to read poetry manuscripts for the Journal prize (due Monday) and grade student portfolios (also due Monday).
Last year, when AWP was in New York, everyone and their dog suddenly decided to go the conference. Times was, pretty much anyone who submitted a paper was accepted, but under the flood of submissions the process got MUCH more selective. So in those plush economic times, our program director negotiated an agreement with our department chair such that anyone attending AWP could use their travel allowance, regardless of presenter status. That offer was extended to this year, and thus there was very little discussion of pedagogy papers on our listserve, and most people didn't submit. Hell, I actually wouldn't mind having the extra CV line, and even I didn't submit; I knew I had the money anyway, and I was busy.
Up through last week, the department chair was keeping the funding agreement on the table, but now it's been retracted pursuant to a memo from the College regarding non-presenter funding. I'm not upset with the chair or with our program director -- they both did what they could, it sounds like -- but it still stands that people have been making decisions based on funding assumptions, and that rug was suddenly yanked out from under us. I mean, I can swing it, and I think everybody in my hotel room is still going, so at least we don't have to scramble to maintain our per-person cost, but it remains annoying.
On the plus side, we managed to find a sub-100$ one-way flight down to TX for my brother-in-law, thus making it possible for him to work his alloted hours AND for me (and, incidentally, Elisa) to drive down to the grandparents' for early-Christmas (Grammie's doing Christmas the weekend before). Woohoo!
And now that I've finished complaining mildly, I need to get back to work. Have to read poetry manuscripts for the Journal prize (due Monday) and grade student portfolios (also due Monday).
