Carnival of GRADual Progress, 17th edition

25Mar08

Welcome to the 17th edition of the gradual progress carnival! Blogwise, there’s been a lot of advice and suggestions going around; so for the most part, that’s what the following collection of entries will present.

 

A little administrative business first: I’m looking for volunteers to host the Carnival for the next several months (barring April). If at any point between now and October or November, you’re interested in hosting, email me and we’ll arrange something. Amanda at A Lady Scientist will be hosting next month so please send submissions etc over to her. One last thing: EA has been kind enough to be in charge of the blogroll this past year. Since she’s finishing up her program in the next month or so (for more, see below), she will relinquish her Gradual Progress Carnival duties. So I’m looking for somebody who is a little more technologically savvy than I am to take over the blogroll, adding new blogs to the list as they come up. If you’re interested, I’ll let you know and we’ll make arrangements.

 

On to the Carnival…

 

The folks over at scatterplot have continued their series, “ask a scatterbrain.” Much of their advice is tailored to sociology but there may be suggestions that are relevant to your own field. At the very least, some of you may be inspired by a piece of advice here or there. “Ask a scatterbrain” over the past month has tackled the issue of what matters in when going on the job market as well as discussed ways to build networks while in graduate school. In response to concerns that too many people talk about academia from the perspective of top 20 schools, another installment of the series specifically requested tips from those at institutions more representative of where the vast majority of us will teach and research. And finally, this month’s series ends with questions about journals and publishing.

 

This seems to be a time of year when many people, myself included, are concerned about their productivity and their ability to write. To that end, Teppo at orgtheory.net discusses writing software built for macs, namely Scrivener. (Full disclosure: I stumbled across Scrivener a few months ago and I’ve decided to write my dissertation with it.) Be sure to check out the comments for detailed listings of other programs that some might find useful.

 

The grad skool rulz series continues at orgtheory.net: this latest installment summarizes ideas about how to juggle grad school obligations with family life.

 

Anomie recommends a new book about writing productivity (with links to other positive reviews) and she also presents her own manuscript template. Along the same lines, Ancrene Wiseass passes along some more book suggestions for dissertation writers. Quiche is working on a new chapter and tries to figure out the best way to get past the blank page. Check out the comments for additional wisdom.

 

By now, almost all of us are in the final push of the academic year, whether it be the second half of the semester, or the beginning of the third quarter. Accordingly, teaching fatigue is probably starting to set in, which makes Meagan’s presentation of her lesson plan system particularly welcome. After going to a series of job talks at her department, the History Enthusiast has compiled a list of the things that seemed the most important pieces of advice for graduate students giving job talks. Some of her tips may seem obvious, but they can all too easily be forgotten in the panic of preparing for a job talk.

 

Some bloggers have been in more of a reflective mood. Elle recounts how she was drawn to history and the moments when she began to realize that history was not just a collection of facts but also an argument over interpretation; as she mentions, this realization is a lesson all historians hope to convey to undergraduates through their teaching.

 

Psycgirl advocates taking what she calls “mental health days,” advice that seems to be truly pertinent in these last few months before the end of the academic year.

 

And finally, there is good news over at EA’s blog: she’s finished her dissertation and will be defending it soon! Congrats and good luck go out to her.

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