I teach three courses – a writing course (20 students), a studies in the novel course (30 students), and a survey of African-American literature (35 students) – each meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a class period of one hour and 15 minutes. My day at school begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. Between classes, I hold office hours for three hours. I devote another two to three hours each week to advising other students about honors theses. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I generally work in my home office, where I have the quiet necessary to concentrate on grading student papers (which means I devote 20 to 30 minutes per paper, commenting on focus, development of ideas, and suggesting revision strategies). I collect one set of papers each week, so I typically spend about 12 hours per week grading. I spend another four hours or more per course preparing to teach, which mostly consists of reading the literature I teach. I need to reread the works every time I teach them (my courses vary each semester). The eight novels, each averaging more than 300 pages, for my studies in the novel class alone requires considerable time. Often I need to return to campus for work on various committees – I chair the undergraduate literature and outcomes assessment committees – and to attend department meetings, student presentations, mentor junior colleagues about their teaching and professional development, and other department functions.

 

I also edit and publish Dreiser Studies, a refereed journal published by the International Theodore Dreiser Society, of which I am president. Part of my duties involves reading and evaluating submissions, helping contributors revise their essays, and ensuring the timely publication of the journal, in addition to fielding email regarding Dreiser Society business. In a typical week, I also devote some time to my own scholarship, which this week has meant corresponding with a university press about the publication schedule for my biography of the writer Hamlin Garland and working on an essay for an academic conference. The majority of productive time on my research necessarily takes place during summers and academic holidays, though I try to reserve one day for this work. This week I’ve also spent several hours arranging to host a visiting professor from the University of Swansea in Wales, who will teach here during fall 2006, as well as arranging to lecture in Germany this summer — all part of my university’s mission to increase our international presence, to foster better understanding of other cultures, and to establish linkages with educational institutions abroad.

 

Aside from preparing for classes and fulfilling my professional obligations, in a typical week I also spend about two hours each night responding to email from students and correspondence with scholars at other institutions. In the evenings I typically return to course preparation. The realities of the job are such that I work until 11 p.m. or midnight, five or six nights a week.