Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities

361 Pages·2010·1.43 MB·English

by  Gregory M. Colón Semenza

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S E
Gregory M. Colón Semenza
With a Foreword by
Michael Bérubé
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GRADUATESTUDYFORTHETWENTY-FIRSTCENTURY
Copyright © Gregory M.Colón Semenza,2005,2010.
All rights reserved.
First edition published in 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®in the
United States—a division of St.Martin’s Press LLC,175 Fifth Avenue,
New York,NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK,Europe and the rest of the
world,this is by Palgrave Macmillan,a division of Macmillan Publishers
Limited,registered in England,company number 785998,of Houndmills,
Basingstoke,Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above
companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave®and Macmillan®are registered trademarks in the
United States,the United Kingdom,Europe and other countries.
ISBN:978–0–230–10033–6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Semenza,Gregory M.M.Colón ,1972–
Graduate study for the twenty-first century :how to build an
academic career in the humanities / Gregory Colon Semenza.—Rev.
and updated 2nd ed.
p.cm.
ISBN 978–0–230–10033–6 (pbk.)
1.Universities and colleges—United States—Graduate work.
2.Humanities—Study and teaching (Graduate)—United States.I.Title.
LB2371.4.S46 2010
378.1’55—dc22 2009047064
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India.
Second edition:March 2010
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
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For Jane Cable and Patricia Chapman,
the two teachers . . .
and
Hans Turley (1956–2008)
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C
Preface to the Second Edition viii
Acknowledgments to the Second Edition ix
Preface x
Acknowledgments xiii
A Note on Terminology xv
Foreword by Michael Bérubé xvi
Introduction 1
1. The Culture of a Graduate Program 18
2. The Structure of Your Graduate Career: An Ideal Plan 39
3. Organization and Time Management 54
4. The Graduate Seminar 76
5. The Seminar Paper 90
6. Teaching 116
7. Exams 149
8. The Dissertation 167
9. Attending Conferences 195
10. Publishing 214
11. Service and Participation 238
12. The Job Market 255
Afterword 282
Appendix: Professional Documents 288
Notes 327
Index 333
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P S E
W
hen I learned last year that Graduate Study for the Twenty-First
Century has been used in some engineering, physical education, and
clinical psychology graduate programs—hardly the humanities disci-
plines it was intended for and, to be honest, fields about which I know
nothing—I realized that its success, alas, has had as much to do with
the niche it fills than with any particularly mind-blowing advice it
offers. That niche can still be defined today as I defined it in 2005: as
an absence of field-specific practical information for would-be aca-
demics. For this reason, I am even more immensely grateful for the
touchingly warm and generous responses that readers have shared
with me over the past four years. The additions and corrections
herein are almost entirely the result of feedback—some critical—I
have received through e-mail, phone calls, and Q&As following guest
lectures and workshops. The additions include a new Introduction
focused on advising issues, significantly expanded material on personal
voice in “The Seminar Paper” chapter, and an Afterword about the
current recession and its impact on the humanities.
August 2009
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S E
T
hanks both to my original Palgrave editor, Farideh Koohi-Kamali,
and my current one, Brigitte Shull, for immediately understanding the
value of a second edition. Lee Norton at Palgrave has also been
tremendously helpful.
Some people who deserved mention in the first edition and some
others who deserve it now: Marco Abel, Tommy Anderson, Doreen
Bell, Richard Bleiler, Reinhold Bubser, Jane Cable, Patricia Chapman,
Judy B. Cheatham, Richard Cunningham, Lara Dodds, Don-John
Dugas, Katherine Eggert, Molly Ferguson, Elizabeth A. Flynn,
Samuel Gladden, J. Glenn Grayson, Wendy Hoofnagel, Ken Jackson,
Matt Kinservik, Jon Kotchian, Paula Krebs, Ronald Levao, Charles
Mahoney, Geoffrey Meigs, Ryan Netzley, Penelope Pelizzon, Cathy
Schlund-Vials, Susie Schwieger, Benjamin Colón Semenza, Susan
Solomon, Garrett Sullivan, Mary Udal, Dr. Virago, and Robin
Worley.