This time of year I am regularly regarded by my friends and family outside of academia as someone who is “off for the summer.” In my imagination, someone who is off for the summer gets a tan from working or playing in the yard during the day, kicks back on her front porch to enjoy a refreshing iced tea with her favorite lazy reading, takes her dog for hikes, and has the time to organize her closets and rid her house of the things that she hasn’t used since who knows when (and promptly takes them to the local Goodwill or Salvation Army to prevent further consideration). I often find myself frustrated when others imply that my job as a graduate teaching assistant affords me this sort of luxury. On the other hand, I recognize how fortunate I am to be away from the office for three months or so (that is, if I am not teaching a summer course or finding some other office to call home for a brief stint). If doing so is financially feasible, I do not have to teach a single class or report to the office for meetings until August; unquestionably, this is a privilege—a privilege that few fields offer.
Recent discussions here at the NGSC blog regarding the potential for academics to constantly be “on the clock” have me thinking about the relationship between work and summer (thanks Brittany Pladek!). Despite the seemingly popular notion that we all spend our summers “off,” as Kelli Towers Jasper pointed out, summer often means finding a way to pay the bills. We graduate students work odd jobs, pick up a summer class, tutor at Barnes and Noble and the local library, offer our skills at summer camps and so on. In fact, summer often means forcing ourselves to stick to a schedule even more stringent and demanding than that of the fall or spring semesters. We must find time to earn a(nother) living, continue our research, write a blog/article/chapter, plan for our fall courses, and the list goes on. This doesn’t seem to be exclusive to contingent faculty and graduate students, though; for full-time faculty the summer offers the chance to work on their own research and spend time away from the seemingly constant pile of undergraduate and graduate marking.
I recently crafted my summer reading schedule and found myself looking at a list of things I “must read by September,” rather than a list of things I’ve been hoping to read since…well, I can’t even remember. Here again emerges (at least the potential for) the always-working, always-on-the-clock academic. So, NGSC readers, I wonder, can we “clock out” just a bit this summer? Do the summer months afford you time away from the office, so to speak? If so, how do you spend your time?
Call for new bloggers extended to Wed., Feb 9
If the NASSR abstract deadline got extended, we thought the call for new bloggers should, too!
We’re looking for graduate students in Romanticism *at any stage* in their studies, and from different kinds of universities both in the U.S. and Canada, to help us create online conversation about our field and our unique place in it as students, teachers, and new professionals. It’s also a great way for you to demonstrate who you are as a scholar and have your creative, energetic, intellectual voice heard echoing throughout the blogosphere. (Okay, perhaps a modest quadrant of the blogosphere–but it’s OUR quadrant.)
We ask that bloggers post 1-2 times per month on any aspect of your life as a graduate student Romanticist. We hope you’ll join us and continue the conversation. To apply, send a short letter of interest and your CV to nassgrads@colorado.edu. [You do not need to be a NASSR member to apply.]
Call for New Bloggers!
We are looking for new regular contributors for the NGSC WordPress blog on www.nassrgrads.com. If you are interested, please send your CV and a brief letter of interest (no longer than 1 page) to nassgrad@colorado.edu by January 22.
Bloggers are responsible for publishing at least 1-2 posts per month. New bloggers will start February 1, 2011.
We hope writers will address the issues that affect, inspire, and rile them as novice professionals learning to navigate the field and establish how they will contribute to it. There are no preset categories or topics on which to write, so we encourage interested bloggers to let your interests drive your content. Topics might include questions, challenges, and solutions to pedagogical issues as well as research, reading, and writing methodologies. You might also blog about what you’re teaching and how you’re teaching it, what you’re reading or re-reading in the field that you find useful and exciting, as well as what professional activities you participate in (reading groups, planning conferences, attending conferences, trying to get published, etc.). The posts already published on the blog serve only as a guide and we hope new voices and interests will expand the array of topics and content. Most of all, we hope contributing to and reading our blog will be fun and rewarding! We hope you will apply to blog for us!
Note: You do not need to be a NASSR member to apply.
NASSR 2011 Proposals due Jan. 15, "Romanticism and Independence"
From the NASSR 2011 conference website:
Call for Papers: “Romanticism and Independence”
The NASSR 2011 Organizing Committee invites proposals for papers and special sessions on “Romanticism and Independence.” The conference theme is capacious, and we encourage submissions that engage any of its many possible inflections: literary, aesthetic, political, social, cultural, scientific. Proposals from disciplinary perspectives beyond literature and the arts are particularly welcome. Please submit proposals of 500 words to nassr.utah@gmail.com by January 15, 2011.
In addition to paper proposals, we also invite the submission of proposals for complete special sessions on the conference theme. Special sessions should consist of three presenters and a moderator (who may also be a presenter); please submit separate proposals for each paper and a brief description of the session. In the event that a proposed special session cannot be accommodated, individual paper proposals will be considered separately. Continue reading “NASSR 2011 Proposals due Jan. 15, "Romanticism and Independence"”
Reminder: Nominations for Interim Positions!
Again, we want to announce that the NGSC interim board is looking for graduate students who are members of NASSR (or who will join) to nominate themselves or others for the following positions that will be held at least until the Salt Lake 2011 conference and may terminate then.
Please send a 1-page letter of intent, as well as your CV, to nassgrad@colorado.edu by September 10, 2010. Faculty advisors Jill Heydt-Stevenson and Deidre Lynch will select the best nominees for each interim position. Please feel free to email us with questions regarding duties for positions you may be interested in. Rough outlines of duties can be found in the drafted bylaws (they were amended and changed slightly at the NASSR conference, but general descriptions are accurate). NGSC bylaws_Aug 2010
Co-chair nominations needed:
– 2 students from Canadian universities
– 1 student from a US university
Webmaster nomination needed:
– 1 student from a Canadian university
Secretary nomination needed:
– 1 student from a Canadian university
International “floating” board member position
– 1 student from a university that is neither in the US nor in Canada.
International Positions – How to Include in Caucus Board?
We are looking for grad students to please help us consider the possibility of integrating floating international positions to the NASSR Grad Caucus executive board? I know that the Canadian spots should surely remain, but I would be interested to know how we can include our colleagues from nations other than the US or Canada. Jeff Cox threw out the idea of the floating positions to ensure that candidates from anywhere in the globe could contribute and help us to keep a diverse course. Thoughts? Ideas? Concerns?
Please respond with comments – many thanks for your input.
Apply to Be an Interim NGSC Co-Chair
Because the NGSC will be run by an interim board until elections are held at the Salt Lake City NASSR conference in 2011, and because we strive to have a balanced interim board, we will begin taking applications for three needed co-chair positions.
We need:
– 2 graduate students at Canadian Institutions who are members of (or will join) NASSR.
– 1 graduate student from the US who is a member of (or will join) NASSR.
The positions: co-chairs of the NGSC (2 representing Canadian Institutions, 2 representing US institutions). If you have questions about what a co-chair’s duties include, the bylaws should give you an idea – they have been posted to this blog. You can also email us or pull us (especially Dana Van Kooy and John Leffel) aside at the Vancouver conference and the current co-chairs can talk about their experiences and workload in person.
How to apply: Send your CV and a letter of purpose to nassgrad@colorado.edu by Friday, September 10, 2010.
NASSR Graduate Student Essay Prize
Here is a friendly reminder that grad students presenting at NASSR are eligible to submit their papers for the graduate student essay prize. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, July 15, 2010. The winner will be announced at the conference banquet.
Send your submission to: nassr.2010@ubc.ca.
Our Abstracts – Send Us Yours!
In an effort to start sharing our vast collection of graduate work and ideas, a few of us on the NGSC board would like to share with you our abstracts for the upcoming NASSR conference. They are posted below, just click on the “read more” button to see them.
Please send us your abstracts (see my email below) that have been accepted *for any conference* – it doesn’t have to be NASSR – and I’ll post them to the blog. Please include your name, institution, conference title, and email. I think we’d all love to know more about each other’s work and we can also look for each other’s presentations to support our grad colleagues at professional events.
Thanks! Kirstyn (kirstyn.leuner@colorado.edu)
[abstracts are in alphabetical order by author ] Continue reading “Our Abstracts – Send Us Yours!”
Suggestion Box
Right now, while we are discussing the future of the NASSR Graduate Student Caucus (NGSC), is the perfect time for you to voice your opinions about what the NGSC can and should do for you. Do you have suggestions for by-laws? Is there some goal that the caucus should work toward? Some useful function it might serve? Please respond with any suggestions or comments that you have — thank you!