492326* words later….

Readers may have detected a somewhat harried nature to my blog posts of the last few weeks. The reason is that I was preparing to hand in my tenure file — the packet of information that is sent to external referees asked to write about my case. A tenure file consists of:

A) Updating my cv; B) Compiling hard copy versions of everything that’s mentioned in the cv that I want my betters in the field to actually read with a careful eye (i.e., no “occasional publications,” op-eds, or blog posts); C) A statement that encapsulates the underlying themes of my research and teaching to date.

If this sounds like all it would require is a cloistered weekend and some toner, well, that’s what I thought six weeks ago. I then discovered, however, that writing a statement of research and teaching is the equivalent of writing a ten page cover letter saying, “Look at me!! LOOK AT ME!!!” You’d think with my blog and everything this would be easy to write, but you’d be wrong. Then I decided that this would be an excellent opportunity to revise my book manuscript and polish all of the draft articles I have in the wings. Not surprisingly, this took a bit longer than expected, and distracted me a hell of a lot more than my lovely wife expected. I handed in the file this morning. As I sank back into my chair, I began to wonder just how many words I had printed out. In a fit of sheer bloody-mindedness, I opened up every document, did a word count, and added it all up. Which is where I got the title to this post. [What’s with the asterisk?–ed. Because that word count, while accurate, is nevertheless inflated. Like every other political scientist, I publish my scholarly work in both article and book form. Many of my articles are simply book chapters that have been hived off into stand-alone essays. Similarly, I have sometimes published more accessible forms of my research in policy journals. So while the word count is pretty high, there’s a lot of duplication. How much duplication?–ed. I’d say that buried beneath that word count are about three big ideas, four pretty big ideas, three smaller ideas, and some nice moments of criticism.] Anyway, it’s off my desk and out of my hands — so I’m now off to do some serious drinking. After the whole process is over — i.e., in early 2006 — I might be motivated to post something about the political economy of getting tenure. For now, however, political scientists should click over to Henry Farrell’s informative post about how to get your conference paper accepted for the American Political Science Association annual meeting.