English Faculty Involved in Hosting "Reinvent the Humanities Ph.D." Retreat on Oct. 23 and 24
Professors Ricardo Ortiz, Kathryn Temple, Sherry Linkon, and Rebecca Boylan are all involved in the exciting event below. Read on for details!
Do you want to help Reinvent the Ph.D. in the Humanities?
If you are a faculty member, graduate student, administrator or alt-ac professional who cares about the future of doctoral education in the humanities, please join us at our region-wide Reinvent the Humanities Ph.D. Retreat to be held at Georgetown University on October 23 and 24th.
Our work at Georgetown under the auspices of the Connected Academics Mellon/MLA grant involves answering the most pressing questions concerning doctoral education in the humanities today. Given the academic job market, what is the proper role of current and planned doctoral programs in the humanities? Are there programmatic changes that could better serve graduate students entering this market? What is the value of the Ph.D. in the humanities both within the academy and out in the world?
Our public forum on Friday, October 23 at 4 p.m., followed by discussion and a reception, will address innovations in humanities doctoral education. We have a wonderful slate of speakers, including:
Jane McAuliffe, former director of the Kluge Library and current director of National and International Outreach, a new service unit of the Library of Congress;
Peter Brooks, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholar, Princeton University and the editor of The Humanities and Public Life, 2014;
Julie Meloni, Ph.D. English, Washington State University, 2010, Senior Manager of Software Engineering, Hobsons, Education Solutions Company;
Katja Zelljadt, Director, Office of Challenge Grants, National Endowment for the Humanities.
Their comments will frame our day-long series of interactive working group discussions on Saturday, October 24 from 9 to 5 p.m. where we will explore ways to better prepare humanities Ph.D. students for opportunities both within and outside of the academy.
The morning will involve forums from the perspectives of key administrators, includingCarlos Alonso (Dean of the Graduate School at Columbia University), recent graduate students, alt-ac representatives, and contingent faculty.
The afternoon will be devoted to a Design Lab, facilitated by Sherry Linkon (Faculty Director of Writing Curriculum Initiatives at Georgetown University), where we will explore and develop proposals for change.
The day will be followed by a celebratory reception.
We would be grateful if you would forward this message to your departments, colleagues, and graduate students, and let them know that they can get involved by contacting us at reinventphd@georgetown.edu. You can also check out our website atreinventphd.georgetown.edu and the MLA website devoted to this project at https://connect.commons.mla.org for more information.
To be sure you receive future announcements and details about the retreat and about all of our activities, we invite you to join our listserv. Simply fill out this quick form telling us your name, affiliation,and contact info and we will add you to our listserv and/or list you as a potential guest at our Retreat. All you need bring is yourself and your ideas – no conference fees! Attendance is limited; we will send you a confirmation after we receive your completed form.
We invite you to save October 23-24 to join us at Georgetown, and to forward this invitation to your departments, colleagues, and professional contacts interested in attending. We look forward to working together with you to reinvent the Ph.D./H!