I hate quoting posts in their entirety but it couldn’t be avoided in this particular case:

This week, there was exactly one (eins!) job added in German studies, and apparently its ideal “fit” will be in possession of demonstrated teaching ability, specialization in distance learning, a proven record of securing outside funding, and a time machine.

Texas Tech U. Texas Tech seeks a Germanist “specializing in early twentieth-century literature and culture, including Holocaust studies.” You know, all those things that happened in the early 20th Century, like the Holocaust.

Four years ago when I was last on the job market, we definitely never saw “distance learning” on job ads. And “a specialization in distance learning” was not even a term that existed. I’m reading it as “a person who teaches only online”, and that’s a scary concept.

Another new and troubling development is “a proven record of securing outside funding.” For a tenure-track position? In frigging German Studies? Seriously? What outside funding precisely is there to secure? Especially in a way that would be accessible to a recent PhD graduate or an adjunct?

The only thing that does not surprise me about this ad is that, in terms of the intellect, Texas Tech remains. . . you know. . . Texas Tech.