Gray Skies Part

I’ve been in such a state of turmoil with figuring out what my job talk would be. This has weighed heavily on me for the past several weeks, but I knew that the topic I want to write on next would need much too much work to get to a state worthy of intellectual discussion. The work I’m currently doing would not be “scholarly” enough. (It’s good work and will contribute to the pedagogy of law school, but it’s not about legal doctrine.) The work I’ve already done that’s being published just isn’t right for it. And so how did I find that Goldilocks “just right” piece? Argh!

Then today happened. A friend here chatted with me about what to discuss relative to scholarship. In other words, no, I didn’t ace that part of my interview here. But fortunately, she was willing to offer some words of advice. At first, I felt like things were now utterly hopeless—what I had wasn’t sufficient for discussing scholarship or my scholarly agenda. And knowing that, I knew it would effect how I would act and react in the coming interviews.

That feeling lasted about three minutes, then my gray clouds parted: I knew! I have something I worked on a few years ago that is sufficiently developed to use it for interviews on Friday. Further, I think it’ll turn into a great job talk—especially because the area of law is not one that (as far as my research has revealed) is a hot topic for any of my interviewers. Even better still, it heavily focuses on doctrine and it’s a small niche in the law that ties so nicely to my background from before law school and the work I did with persons with mental illness.

Have I found my “agenda”? Maybe. But what I do know is that I’m so much better prepared for Friday and any call backs. I’m actually now—finally—feeling settled with this area of the interviews and talks. This deserves a double: WooHoo!! WooHoo!!