Year One
Read everything and everyone for filth. Don't doubt yourself. If you feel something ain't quite right--- it's cuz IT AINT QUITE RIGHT. Trust your spirit.
By that second semester (spring term) of the first year, you should have some clarity about yourself and the folk around you--- faculty, staff, and fellow students. Ask yourself these questions:
If I am your first year advisor, we will meet and talk once a month (as much as possible) in your first year. By April, I will need to see two things: your CV and your current research statement. Your research statement by the end of the first year should include:
Before summer hits, you need to send the Director of Graduate Studies, your FIRST YEAR MEMO. Write this as a memo since it will officially be part of your file. But... think of it as a VISION STATEMENT. Lay down your dreams and plans and then go for them.
This memo must be 500 words and should include two parts:
PART I: Describe 1-2 of your successes from your first year as a graduate student. Explain your research/teaching areas of interest right now. In this part, please also give a brief description of any work that you had published, any plans that you have to submit for publication, any conferences where you presented your work, or any conference proposal you plan to submit. End "Part I" by drawing connections between all of these things.
PART II: Discuss your research/reading/writing plans for the summer. Describe 1-2 of your goals for your second year.
Where possible, find an accountability group who will be in community with you to help you achieve the goals and visions you describe here. Good Luck!
EYEZ ON THE PRIZE: When you go into the summer after your first year, take a look at the comp exam (click here). Jot down names of texts for your two lists. Next summer will be your comp prep time. It will come faster than you think.
Read everything and everyone for filth. Don't doubt yourself. If you feel something ain't quite right--- it's cuz IT AINT QUITE RIGHT. Trust your spirit.
By that second semester (spring term) of the first year, you should have some clarity about yourself and the folk around you--- faculty, staff, and fellow students. Ask yourself these questions:
- Who is my ride-or-die here? Could I see this person as my dissertation chair (click here what that means)
- How do I stay connected to folk outside of this institution/the academy who are there for me?
- What scholar(s) (their scholarship, vibe, activism, writing style, etc) do I most want to be like? Why?
- Who are my fellow peers who I can write with? Organize with? Talk to?
- What community projects can I see myself part of ?
- What scholarship excites me most? Why?
- What texts have I really liked? What connects them? What do I want to read next? (keep a running list of all of these things)
- What kind of digital footprint can I create now?
If I am your first year advisor, we will meet and talk once a month (as much as possible) in your first year. By April, I will need to see two things: your CV and your current research statement. Your research statement by the end of the first year should include:
- What you've studied, published, organized, and/or presented so far and why
- What's you've taught so far (in classrooms and/or communities)
- Your preliminary dissertation focus (not the exact topic, just the issues that interest you right now)
- Your plans for research and teaching post-dissertation
- How #1-4 all connect
Before summer hits, you need to send the Director of Graduate Studies, your FIRST YEAR MEMO. Write this as a memo since it will officially be part of your file. But... think of it as a VISION STATEMENT. Lay down your dreams and plans and then go for them.
This memo must be 500 words and should include two parts:
PART I: Describe 1-2 of your successes from your first year as a graduate student. Explain your research/teaching areas of interest right now. In this part, please also give a brief description of any work that you had published, any plans that you have to submit for publication, any conferences where you presented your work, or any conference proposal you plan to submit. End "Part I" by drawing connections between all of these things.
PART II: Discuss your research/reading/writing plans for the summer. Describe 1-2 of your goals for your second year.
Where possible, find an accountability group who will be in community with you to help you achieve the goals and visions you describe here. Good Luck!
EYEZ ON THE PRIZE: When you go into the summer after your first year, take a look at the comp exam (click here). Jot down names of texts for your two lists. Next summer will be your comp prep time. It will come faster than you think.
