Advanced Research Colloquium Fall 2008

The goals of this course are both modest and ambitious. Primarily, this colloquium is meant to provide a bit of support for, and some perspectives on, a process that you have already begun: the development of your professional lives as teachers, scholars, and academic colleagues. To that end, we will sound out some professional commentary and advice on very practical matters: things like conference work, preparing a teaching portfolio, and of course entering the (dreaded) job market. But because each of us marks out (and experiences) these paths differently--and because all such advice is perhaps best approached with flexibilty, humor, and a healthy skepticism--we will also have faculty visitors to expand the conversation. In this sense, the course is a "colloquium," a calling together of our community of expertise and experience.

In addition, this course has recently adopted two additional objectives: the polishing of your conference persona and, perhaps most importantly, the revision of scholarly essay that you will submit for publication by semester's end (see below). In this sense, the course works less like a colloquium, and more like a "satellite" in relation to your relationship with your mentor. Though your primary work, therefore, will be with your faculty mentor, it goes without saying that I hope to work closely with you on your writing as well.

Most of our readings, as you will see below, will be posted on our class Blackboard site. (And in a few weeks, there will be no reading assigned as you work on one workshop item or another.) We will adjust the calendar where needed.

The following texts should be in the bookstore. Please note that we will only be reading short portions of Light's text and Deneef's collection. All these books are on Reserve as well.

Course Requirements

Some Convenient Conference Links, and Links Regarding Professionalization in English and the Humanities

Calendar of Readings:

All readings below, when not noted as from one of our books, is available in PDF form on our Blackboard web site (W). If I've made a PDF and posted it there--usually in the main course readings folder--it will also receive a (W) here.

Suggested Summer Reading: Semenza, on Teaching, pp. 101-123.

2 Introductions

Please read before class:
John Guillory, "Preprofessionalism: What Graduate Students Want"
Cary Nelson, "No Wine Before Its Time: The Panic Over Early Professionalization;" -and-
Jennifer Wicke, "I Profess: Another View of Professionalization"

Supplementary Readings:
Andrew Hoborek, "Professionalism: What Graduate Students Need"
MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Professionalization: "Professionalization in Perspective"
Paul Handstedt, "Service in the Life of the Small-School Academic"

Required Readings:
Marshall Gregory, "How to Talk about Teaching in the MLA Interview" (W)
Semenza, 132-34; Semenza, chapter on Organization and Time Management (Ch. 3)
Light, Chapter 4 "The Most Effective Classes" to page 73 only
Light, Chapter 6 "Faculty Who Make a Difference"

Supplementary Readings:
Goldsmith, Chapter 7 "Teaching and Research" to page 186 only;
Scott, "Why I Teach by Discussion" in Deneef and W
Kathleen McCormick, "Pedagogical Possibilities: Working at Teaching-Oriented Institutions" (W)
Norman Christensen, "The Nuts and Bolts of Running a Lecture Course" in Deneef and (W)

16 Teaching (2) The Teaching Porfolio
Note: We will Meet in the Connors Learning Center today
Class Visitors: Lad Tobin and Sue Barrett

Required Readings:
Semenza, 123-133
Pat Hutchings, "The Professional Development of Graduate Teaching Assistants" (W)
"How To Write a Teaching Philosophy Statement" from The Chronicle of Higher Education (W)

23 Conference Papers and Conference Participation (1)

Required Readings:
Edward H. Friedman, "The Captive Audience; or Liberating Thoughts on Conference Papers, on our Blackboard Site and here
Alan Richardson, "Notes on Proposing and Giving Conference Papers" (W)
Semenza, Ch. 9 on Attending Conferences

Conference Paper Presentation # 1 ______________

30 Conference Paper Proposal Workshop

For this workshop, you must bring five copies of a past or future conference proposal to class.

October
7 Scholarly Articles (Scoping out Journals in Your Field)

For this week, please bring a list of Three journals in your field you might submit to; be ready to discuss the different scholarly emphases, standards and expectations of each of your three. It's not a bad idea to have a discussion with your mentors about this topic.

Required Reading:
Gerald Graff, "The Myth of Academic Difficulty" (W)
Semenza, pp. 92-101, 206-210
Rowena Murray, "Targeting a Journal" (W)

Recommended reading:
Goldsmith, "Teaching and Research" Chapter 7 pp. 187 to end;
Graff, "Unlearning to Write" (W)
And if you've never read Graff and Andrew Hoborek's "Hiding it From the Kids"(W)--
which is actually about applying to graduate school--I also think it has some workable ideas about
understanding what we mean by "a general reader" for submission to scholarly journals.

Supplemental Reading
Louis J. Budd, "On Writing Scholarly Articles" in DeNeef and (W)
Carlo Rotella, "Open Ears" (W)

Goldsmith, Chapter 3 "The Mentor"
The Mentoring Guide from the University of Michigan

21 No Class this Week: Meetings with Me and Your Mentor about Your Articles-in-Progress

November

4 Scholarly Articles Workshop (Responding to Reader's Reports)

For this class, I would like you to bring three copies of a one or two-page section or summary of your article-in-progress--either:

Conference Paper Presentation # 7 ______________

11 Job Market (1) Field Definitions and the JIL
Classroom Visitor: Lisa Fluet

Required Reading:
The MLA Job List Before class, I want you to conduct a search for jobs in your field using both the MLA Job List and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Take this seriously: don't just browse. That is, try to analyze how it is that your specializations are or are not reflected in job opportunities this year.

Supplementary Reading:
Report on the MLA’s 2004 Survey of Hiring Departments
Required Reading:
The MLA Guide, Chapters 1 and 2, "General Advice for Job Seekers" and "The Academic Job Search"
David C. Moore, "Timing a First Engtry into the Job Market: Guidelines for Graduate Students Soon to Complete the Job"
Philip Gaines, "I've Looked at Jobs from Both Sides Now"

Recommended Reading:
Semenza, Ch. 12, "The Job Market"
Sara Jayne Steen, "The Job I Got: the Search and After"

The Web Site called "9 Interviews," click here
Dlisabeth Rose Gruner, "Feminists Face the Job Market"
Devoteny Looser, "...Two Body Problem"
Julie Vandervere, "Where's the Closet at the Hilton?"

Please read any 2 articles on MLA interviews (your choice) on our Blackboard site.

Suggested Readings:
Goldsmith, Chapter 5 "Landing an Academic Job"

Tues 25 No Class Final Date for Submission to Your Mentors of your Revised Essay (you can give me my copy by Dec. 4th.)

Required Readings:
David Evans, "Small Departments and Professional Desires"
Scott J. Juengel, "Community, Collegial, and Departmental Culture"
Please also look at the Web pages of your own undergraduate institution.

Suggested Readings:
Semenza, Ch 11
Look in the "Campus Visits" Folder on our Blackboard site.

Andrew Bresnik, "How I Got to Collegiate"
Judith Argon, "Securing Funding from Federal Sources" in DeNeef and (W)