People are clueless. The pro-life ethicist in question is as unhirable as a mega-feminist, one who believes in abortion until kindergarten. Nobody’s getting hired. Gender studies programs died a very long time ago. This is a war over the gnawed-down bones of a long-expired dinosaur. None of this is remotely relevant to what is actually happening in higher education.
The idea that anybody cares about anybody’s opinion at this point is so quaint as to border on deranged. If we get permission to hire, we receive it so late that all we can squeeze into the search process is one rushed conversation with a candidate. In the humanities, and especially in gender studies, there are no tenure-track jobs. There are not even instructorships. We’re talking about lecturer positions for which universities almost invariably conduct hiring without a formal interview. Neither lecturers nor instructors are expected to conduct research, so their opinions do not come into play at any point during hiring.
I’ve been hiring for six years. The idea that I would have time or interest to inquire about any candidate’s opinions on any subject is downright outlandish.
I can imagine approaching the person who heads our gender studies program. She is, of course, untenured and directs this program as a sort of a volunteer gig on the side. If I were to address her with a sentence starting with the words “In your hiring process,” she would think I’m experiencing a severe neurological event. She has less likelihood of ever getting to hire anybody than I do of walking on the Moon.
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