I encourage you to read this excellent post from the Tenured Radical on how to teach lecture classes well. As she puts it: The lecture class is worth learning to teach well because this is where you will build your reputation as a teacher. It is where you will recruit students into your upper level […]
Read More »Considering going on to PhD
In the full knowledge that you might ignore any and all of this information, I present you with some things to think about as you consider going on to a PhD. Do you want to study for a PhD? I know this seems like an odd question to ask, but the first step is to […]
Read More »Where do you start with doctoral fellowship applications?
I received the following question from a reader: My MA is completing end of August this year, and I plan to go on to PhD. My department has recommended I apply for SSHRC and other grants. I am completely green when it comes to applying for grants/scholarships, and have no idea where to start. There […]
Read More »Impact, Interdisicplinarity, and Publication Strategies
In May 2009 I did a talk in the Career Corner at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The nice people from University Affairs videoed it and have now posted the video, nicely edited into short chunks, on their website. I thought you might like to see me in action. This section is […]
Read More »Should you do a PhD?
There has been a lot of public debate about graduate studies, particularly in the humanities. Unsurprisingly, this is causing some anxiety for people either doing or contemplating grad school. Here are a few things to think about when making this decision. Why do you want to do the PhD? Are you excited about your research project […]
Read More »Planning when you have no goals
As so often happens, reading someone’s blog inspired me to write about something. Keri is on sabbatical. And on her first day, she writes I am already in a bit of a panic about not get everything done that I want to get done over the next 6 months. And, yet, as I sit here this […]
Read More »Roads not goals
I hate goals. I don’t find them motivating at all. If setting goals works for you, go ahead. You are in good company at this time of year. But if goals just make you panic about not achieving them and being a failure, I give you permission not to set any. I don’t care if […]
Read More »A PhD doesn’t prepare you for a career
There is a lot of talk about whether doctoral programs should do more to prepare students for careers outside of academia. When you think about it, most doctoral programs don’t even prepare you for a career inside academia. Universities are not really in the business of training people for careers Many of us roll our eyes whenever […]
Read More »Other sources of teaching-related stress
In my last post I suggested that teaching might be taking up more time than it needs because you are using more preparation to deal with anxiety. In that post, I talked about the anxiety caused by insufficient or inappropriate training for this aspect of the job and ways to get the support you need […]
Read More »Don’t let obligation get you down
You got into academia because you were excited by ideas. Particular ideas. Stuff you read made you think “But what about …” Or “I wonder if …” You do research to answer those questions and contribute to the conversations that inspired them. Have you lost that excitement? All research goes in phases. Sometimes you do have to […]
Read More »Embrace the research process
“The usual result of worrying about excellence or perfection before you start creating is that you’ll never start creating. Let go of how good the end product will be and embrace the act of creating. Excellence comes as a byproduct of continual creation and learning.” (Charlie Gilkey, Productive Flourishing, July 30, 2009) When you only […]
Read More »What should you do next?
Look at your desk. Really look at it. I’m thinking of both your physical desk, with physical papers strewn about, and your virtual desk, with folders and documents. I bet you have a stack of conference papers that need to be turned into journal articles. And some notes on other things you want to write. […]
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