Contact

Statue of a fool at an intersection in Stratford, England.

When and How to Contact Me:

(Former students looking for recommendation letters, keep scrolling.
It's lower down this page).

Various ways to contact me:

You should contact me if you, for any reason, feel compelled to as a result of my work or things I've posted on this site or elsewhere. If you found something that I wrote (here or in my academic work) engaging, hey, let me know. I swear I won't think it's "weird" (a concern I have whenever I really want to compliment a scholar on their work when I meet them in person. Is it possible to be a lit scholar fanboy?). Maybe you disagree with something I wrote and want to respectfully engage in the ideas. Hey, that's even better. I've seen top scholars who were (authentically) positively giddy to talk about flaws in their work. My goal is to emulate that attitude.

                              E-Mail:     soneil4@ur.rochester.edu
               Other E-Mail:     smoneil@gmail.com
                             Twitter:     @BlueCollarSchol
        Facebook:     ABlueCollarScholar
                                   Blog:     Just reply to any post

Instructions for Former Students Seeking Letters of Recommendation:

Former students,

I have very few "rules" when it comes to whether or not I will write a letter of recommendation. In fact, there are only two rules:

Rule #1: I need to know about it at least two weeks prior (preferably more) to the date when the letter needs to be submitted.

Rule #2: I need to agree to do it.

That second rule isn't personal. I will write letters for students who have stood out. It isn't always about a letter grade. If a C student left a bigger impression than an A student, I'm more likely to write a letter for the C student. Bland, empty praise is a waste when it comes to recommendation letters. As such, I only agree to write them if I have enough material to write a really good one (ie: you really stood out in some way). If I decline to write a recommendation, it doesn't mean that I don't like you or that I don't think you'd be a good fit in whatever you are applying for. It simply means that any letter I could write would be bland/empty praise, and it would benefit YOU to find a letter writer who can really sell you as a person/scholar/professional.

You may contact me via any of the ways mentioned above (e-mail, FB, Twitter, etc) or you can simply complete the form to the right. I tend to respond quickly, so if you send the form and don't hear anything for a couple of days, send me a note to make sure I got it.