ABSTRACT
That is why there are oral and sometimes written exams for the doctorate that are discipline focused. But faculty with twenty years of experience have had twenty more years of figuring out how to teach the complexities of the discipline to undergraduates than those fresh out of graduate school. For these reasons, the more difficult courses to teach are usually taught by the older faculty. Similarly, graduate courses are unlikely venues for the newly minted Ph.D. These courses require far more nuance and attention to process than most new professors possess. In graduate education, there is much more attention to the setup of the seminar and far less intrusion by the professor once the seminar gets under way. Pulling back and letting the students develop the class on their own requires a sense of personal and disciplinary confidence that does not have to be demonstrated to the students in order to be felt by them. It is not what you know that counts in leading a graduate seminar, but how well you support students to think independently of you. For all these reasons, the department chair may put you into some courses and not into others. Do not look at this as undervaluing your knowledge or skill. Your time will come. After several years of hearing yourself talk and witnessing the effectiveness of your words on students, you will be ready for the more abstract and challenging courses.
