University of Venus

What’s New at UVenus: ● UVenus was mentioned in 109 Low, The Newsletter of the Graduate School of Arts &...

Inspiration can sometimes come from the most unusual sources. In my case (and in the case of one of my colleagues at University of Venus), the Muse was none other than Tina Fey in her book Bossypants. In retrospect I should have known that academia and the world of comedy writing would have much in common.

Ph.D. students: How to finish your dissertation and enjoy your time writing it

I read Itir Toksöz’s post on the merits of scholarly travel in August of last year, just as I was finalizing the details for my most recent trip to Brazil. Toksöz recognizes that traveling too frequently may be costly in terms of neglected “school” work, but argues persuasively in favor of traveling to conferences, in particular, as necessary for academic exchange and networking. I agree; however, scholars who are also parents need to consider the impact their work-related travel can have on their families.

What’s New at UVenus: ● A couple of shout-outs for University of Venus in this month’s Teaching Carnival at ProfHacker...

Academic conferences offer opportunities to test-run ideas before like-minded colleagues, to network, and to key into conversations within one’s discipline or specialization. For many academics, it’s an integral part of the job. In my University’s promotion system, considerable weight is given to presenting papers at academic conferences. Whether local, national or international, conferences provide venues for institutional promotion-- a chance to showcase research outputs from our little corner of the world.

Last November, I briefly visited Boston to give a lecture at Northeastern University, my alma mater where I got my Ph.D. degree. The last time I was there was four and a half years ago to defend my dissertation. It felt like “Homecoming” for me this time, when I visited my old university after such a long time.

I’ve written before about conversations that count — those written artifacts that will count toward tenure or promotion — and I’ve complained that non-traditional writing (e.g. blog posts) doesn’t count for much (or for anything, according to the latest TRIP report on the state of my field). But of course, I still have to play by the rules, such as they are, and I continue to work toward submitting articles to journals and hope for publication.