Course Calendar

The most accurate and up-to-date version of this calendar can be found on this site. Use this online calendar to check on reading assignments and other due dates, rather than the pdf or paper version of our syllabus, since those versions of the syllabus will not be updated throughout the semester.

I reserve the right to change the course calendar as needed; advance notice will always be given of any changes.

Week 1: Introductions

Monday, August 25

  • Welcome/practicalities, course goals, procedural guide, fall course selections

Week 2: NO CLASS

Monday, September 2: LABOR DAY

Week 3: The First Year of PhD Study (and beyond)

Monday, September 8

  • Managing coursework, committee members and mentors, preparing for the second-year review and beyond
  • BIG QUESTIONS in literary studies
    • Please bring to class one “big (or small) question” you have about the discipline(s)/your subfield(s), the profession more generally, and/or academia/higher ed in the United States

Week 4: Conference Presentations and Current Graduate Student Panel

Monday, September 15

  • Applying to conferences, writing abstracts, attending and presenting at conferences, conference funding
  • Visit from EGSO
  • Current graduate student panel: Teddy Leane, Allison Chu, and Margaux Delaney
  • Please send Lindsay your ranked list of journals for your journal review presentation by class

Week 5: Olin Library: Meet in Olin 108

Monday, September 22

  • Library session with Fred Muratori
    • Please bring a laptop to this session.

Week 6: Article Publishing

Monday, September 29

  • Turning a seminar paper into an article, researching and submitting to a journal, the peer review process, managing reviewer feedback, timelines, publishing chapters from your dissertation
  • Journal review presentations

Week 7: Fellowships and Grants

Monday, October 6

  • Visit from Chijioke Onah: Applying to external fellowships as a graduate student
  • Applying for fellowships and other research funding, general fellowship resources, writing fellowship and/or grant applications, timelines
  • Session open to other graduate students

Week 8: NO CLASS

Monday, October 13: FALL BREAK/INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY

Week 9: Rare and Manuscript Collections: Meet in the lecture room in Rare and Manuscript Collections (level 2B of Carl A. Kroch Library)

Monday, October 20

  • Rare and Manuscript Collections session with Katherine Reagan
  • Last day to drop classes or change grading basis

Week 10: Spring Courses and Faculty Panel

Monday, October 27

  • Faculty panel: Jessica Rosenberg, Kevin Attell, and Adhy Kim
  • Visit from Katrina Overton: pre-enrollment and SP25 classes

Week 11: NO CLASS

Monday, November 3: INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS

  • Lindsay will hold individual meetings during class time (sign up for a meeting time using the Calendly link Lindsay will send via email)

Week 12: Teaching

Monday, November 10: Meet in GSH 258 (Dept Lounge)

  • First-year MFA students will join our class for this day
  • Visit from Juliana Hu Pegues, Director of Graduate Student Teaching
  • Visit from Katrina Overton and David Faulkner: Applying to teach an FWS

Week 13: Academic Jobs and Writing for Broader Audiences

Monday, November 17

  • Applying to academic jobs, materials, application timelines, interviews, campus visits
  • Visit from Anna Shechtman: Writing for broader audiences

Week 14: NO CLASS

Monday, November 24: THANKSGIVING WEEK

Week 15: Jobs Beyond the Tenure Track

Monday, December 1

  • Visit from Lynne Stahl, Humanities & Interdisciplinary Studies Librarian, Wesleyan University; and Amy Li, Digital Content Producer, ILR School, Cornell University
  • Visit from MJ Mosereiff, Careers Beyond Academia

Week 16: Conclusions

Monday, December 8

  • Wrapping up and celebrating the end of the semester.
    • Please bring a device to class that you can use to complete the course evaluations.
    • Around 4ish we will head from GSH to the Big Red Barn!