English 512, Introduction to Graduate Study
Tuesdays 1:25-2:15 p.m.  

Thompson 119

1 Credit

Revised 2019.08.22

 

Dr. Donna Campbell
Avery 202G • 335-4831
campbelld@wsu.edu
https://hub.wsu.edu/campbell

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 11-12.  You can also schedule meetings by appointment. I’m available in my office much of the day on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Virtual office hours: Contact me by email to set up a time for Zoom.

 

About the Course

 

English 512 is an introduction to the materials and methods of graduate study in English. It includes the following topics:

 

• Introduction to research methods, ethics, and issues (such as seeking IRB approval)
• Campus centers (CDSC, etc.) and their resources
• Reference management tools (Mendeley, Zotero, Endnote) and their uses
• Reading scholarly articles (arguments, contexts, theories)
• Writing seminar papers: finding your voice, making a persuasive argument, literature reviews, and so on
• Writing for the profession: calls for papers, conference proposals, brief biographies, and other materials
• Job market preparation: how to assess your goals, read a job ad, create a curriculum vitae (cv), and write a cover letter for academic and broader forms of employment
• Conversations with and presentations by faculty through the colloquium series and through faculty visits to the class

 

Text: Alt-Academy: Alternative Academic Careers for Humanities Scholarship by Bethany Nowviskie, available at http://mediacommons.org/alt-ac/

 

Additional readings may be added and will be given to you a week ahead of time or posted to Blackboard.

 

 

 

	Date	Topic	Assignments
1	8/20	Introduction
2	8/27	Charting your Path: ·       Review the Graduate Manual ·       Go over degree plans in class	500 words on your ideal and alternate career paths (vision statement)
3	9/3	·       Research methods and resources I: MLA, CompPile, listservs, etc. ·       Common research databases.
4	9/10	·       Reference management tools: Endnote, Zotero, Mendeley ·       Time management and writing processes
5	9/17	Meet in Holland/Terrell Library Foyer for a CDSC Tour
6	9/24	·       Research Methods II: IRB approval Guest: Ashley Boyd
7	10/1	·       Reading scholarly articles (arguments, contexts, theories)	Bring an article to class for analysis
8	10/8	·       Writing seminar papers I: finding your voice, making a persuasive argument, literature reviews, and so on Guest: Jon Hegglund
9	10/15	·       Writing seminar papers II: Workshop	Bring an assigned piece of writing
10	10/22	·       Writing for conferences and publication: reading and writing calls for papers, brief bios, putting together and submitting panels, and other materials ·       Conference etiquette: introducing yourself, asking questions, networking, tweeting, followup, meetings with publishers ·       Travel funding	Bring a CFP from your discipline
11	10/29	·       Writing for publication: abstracts and journal submission. ·       Public engagement (L.A.Review of Books, Avidly, Lithub) and social media (Twitter) ·       Where to find position listings and job ads
12	11/5	·       Applying for postdocs and other positions ·       Responding to job ads, drafting your CV, and writing your personal statement and/or cover letter ·       Guest: Julie Staggers
13	11/12	·       No class. Work on employment materials.	Read Nowviskie, 1 segment, for later discussion
14	11/19	·       Workshop on employment materials	Bring your CV and cover letter to class, along with a job ad Bring revised or updated version of your original vision statement
15	11/26	Thanksgiving Break
16	12/3	Sharing of final materials

 

Requirements and Assignments

 

This class is graded on a contract system, according to the number of items completed.

 

A          =          Completed CV and cover letter

Attend at least one colloquium beyond this class

Attend at least 12 of the 14 class sessions

Complete all the reading and writing assignments

 

A-         =          Completed CV and cover letter

Attend at least one colloquium beyond this class

Attend at least 11 of the 14 class sessions

Complete the majority of the reading and writing assignments

 

B+        =          Completed CV and cover letter

Attend at least one colloquium beyond this class

Attend at least 10 of the 14 class sessions

Complete at least half of the reading and writing assignments

 

B          =          Completed CV or cover letter

Attend at least 9 of the 14 class sessions

Complete at least some of the reading and writing assignments

 

B-         =          Completed CV or cover letter

Attend at least 9 of the 14 class sessions

 

 

WSU Policies

 

WSU Email Policy: WSU’s email policy states that instructors can only respond to emails sent from a WSU email address.

 

WSU Statement on Academic Integrity. Academic integrity is the cornerstone of the university. You assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work you submit. You may collaborate with classmates on assignments, with the instructor’s permission. However the guiding principle of academic integrity shall be that your submitted work, examinations, reports, and projects must be your own work. Any student who attempts to gain an unfair advantage over other students by cheating will fail the assignment and be reported to the Office Student Standards and Accountability. Cheating is defined in the Standards for Student Conduct WAC 504-26-010 (3).

 

WSU Midterm Policy. Based on ASWSU student requests and action by the Faculty Senate, WSU instituted Academic Rule 88, which stipulates that all students will receive midterm grades. Midterm grades will be reported as they are calculated in Blackboard. However, at midterm only 35% of the total graded assignments will have been turned in. Midterm grades are not binding, and because the bulk of the graded work in this course occurs after the midterm point, it can only accurately reflect student performance up to that point.

 

WSU Policy on Students with Disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please either visit or call the Access Center (https://accesscenter.wsu.edu/ to schedule an appointment with an Access Advisor. All accommodations MUST be approved through the Access Center.

 

WSU Safety Policy. Washington State University is committed to enhancing the safety of the students, faculty, staff, and visitors. It is highly recommended that you review the Campus Safety Plan (http://safetyplan.wsu.edu/) and visit the Office of Emergency Management web site (http://oem.wsu.edu/) for a comprehensive listing of university policies, procedures, statistics, and information related to campus safety, emergency management, and the health and welfare of the campus community.

 

WSU Policy on Excused Absences. Section 73 of WSU’s regulations does not permit instructors to request official documentation to allow excused absences except for military personnel and those traveling on WSU business; hence no other excused absences are permitted by WSU policy. The attendance policy for this course has been relaxed from previous versions of the course to include an additional absence to make up for this decreased flexibility in policy.

 

WSU Civil Rights Policy. Discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct (including stalking, intimate partner violence, and sexual violence) is prohibited at WSU (See WSU Standards of Conduct for Students). If you feel you have experienced or have witnessed discriminatory conduct, you can contact the WSU  Office of Civil Rights Compliance & Investigation (CRCI; https://crci.wsu.edu/), formerly the Office for Equal Opportunity (OEO), and before that the Center for Human Rights (CHR) and/or the WSU Title IX Coordinator to discuss resources and reporting options. (Visit oeo.wsu.edu for more information, including a list of confidential and other resources)

 

WSU employees, with limited exceptions (e.g. confidential resources such as health care providers and mental health care providers – see https://crci.wsu.edu/reporting-requirements-2/

for more info), who have information regarding sexual harassment or sexual misconduct are required to report the information to OEO or a designated Title IX Coordinator or Liaison. Addition to WSU’s policy: rude, profane, threatening, or otherwise inappropriate emails will receive no reply and will be forwarded to the appropriate administrative office.

 

 

Bitter Tastes receives 2017 Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award

http://choicereviews.org/review/10.5860/CHOICE.202136

From http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/outstanding: