Workshops

UM / User's Manual to the Humanities

The Center for the Humanities welcomes graduate students for lunch and learning during our series: UM / User's Manual to the Humanities! Join us to learn from other graduate students and from faculty about strategies for navigating graduate school while preparing for your career!

Thursday, October 17 / 12:30-1:45 pm, Merrick Building 210-01

OPEN TO ALL GRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE HUMANITIES

"Effective Grant Writing and Identifying Extramural Funding Opportunities for Graduate Students in the Humanities" with Dr. Gema Pérez Sánchez 

So, Should I go for that grant or fellowship? If so, which one, when, and how? We all know (in the abstract) that an external grant or fellowship can make a big positive difference in dissertating – making it more affordable to travel for archival work, buying you additional time to research and write, and so on. But what are some funding sources out there that might work for my project? When should I apply? What does a good grant/fellowship application look like? Prof. Gema Pérez-Sanchez (Modern Languages and Literatures) will lead us in an informative discussion about how to get started, where to look, and what to do. We’ll pre-circulate some brief readings for you to do as homework, so please RSVP by October 11 to let us know you’re coming.

To RSVP for in-person attendance, please email mll.events@miami.edu by Friday, October 11.

Format: Hybrid (in person and via Zoom) | Zoom link: https://miami.zoom.us/j/99486464267

If you are a graduate student joining from a UM department other than MLL, please contact Dr. Pérez Sánchez (gema@miami.edu) to request the documents you should read before attending the workshop.

This event is sponsored by the Michele Bowman Underwood Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, the Joseph Carter Memorial Fund, and the Center for the Humanities.

Wednesday, October 23 / 12:30-2:00 pm, Richter Library, First Floor, Flex Space B 

”So, What (Else) Should I be Doing? Professional Development during Grad School"

We all know that a good dissertation and good teaching experience are key credentials on the academic job market. But what other things? Should I write that book review? Should I post stuff? What matters, and what maybe matters less? And when should I do what? We'll talk about this with some younger faculty members and senior dissertators who can speak from recent experience. 

 to register for this Workshop.

Wednesday, November 13 / 12:30 – 2:00 pm, Richter Library, First Floor, Flex Space B  

“Putting Myself out There: Getting Ready to Apply for Academic Jobs”

So I’m almost done with the dissertation and getting ready to apply for academic jobs. When and where do I search? What should my CV look like? What about that letter of application?  Some faculty members with recent experience of the job market – both as candidates and as search-committee members – will give a few pointers and answer your questions. 

 to register for this Workshop.

Wednesday, September 18 / 12:30-2:00 pm, Richter Library, First Floor, Flex Space B 

”To the Prospectus and Beyond! Transitioning to Doctoral Work”

How do you find a compelling dissertation topic? What does a good dissertation prospectus look like? What are some good strategies for handling the tricky transition from coursework to dissertating? What are some good ways to create habits and structures that will ease this transition? Some experienced dissertators will help brainstorm some answers with you.

Thanks for attending this Workshop!

2023 - 2024 Series: AI and the Teaching of Humanities-Based Writing

We’ve all been hearing, reading, and talking a lot about the seemingly quite sudden and dramatic impact that artificial intelligence will likely have on writing generally, and on student writing in humanities-based courses especially. Those of us who broker humanistic writing at UM have plenty of lingering questions as we continue to think about how we should teach writing in the new age of ChatGPT. This academic year, the Center for the Humanities is pleased to host a series of informal events to help you shape your instructional thinking around AI.

Friday, February 23 @ 12:00 - 1:30pm, Richter Library, First Floor, Flex Space B

"Workshop / AI in the Writing Classroom: Perspectives from a Faculty Working Group"

Discussion with Faculty Participants from the College of Arts and Sciences

Featured Panelists:

• Sarah Cash, Senior Lecturer, Department of Writing Studies
• Shai Cohen, Lecturer, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
• Daryl Greenfield, Psychology
• April Mann, Director of The Writing Center
• Kim-Phuong Truong-Vu, Sociology
• Adina Sanchez-Garcia, Director of First Year Writing, Department of Writing Studies
• Mari Williams, Senior Lecturer, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

You are invited to attend a workshop on working with student writing in the context of emerging AI technology.

This panel discussion, AI in the Writing Classroom: Perspectives from a Faculty Working Group, presents the culmination of extensive research and collaboration within a faculty working group dedicated to exploring the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the writing classroom. We will discuss some of the group's findings, innovative pedagogical approaches, and practical strategies that harness AI tools to enhance the teaching and learning of writing. Attendees can expect to gain valuable insights into how AI can be leveraged to provide personalized feedback, promote critical thinking, and foster creativity in writing instruction.  

Co-organized by: Adina Sanchez-Garcia and April Mann, Department of Writing Studies and the Writing Center, University of Miami.

 to reserve your spot for this lunchtime program! Please RSVP by Wednesday, February 21, to enable the Center for the Humanities to plan for set-up and lunches.

Friday, September 15, 12:30 – 2:00pm, Richter Library, First Floor, Flex Space B

“Thinking/Teaching with Machines: Rhetoric, Writing, and Artificial Intelligence”

Discussion with Ben Lauren, Associate Professor and Chair of Writing Studies

One of the intriguing possibilities artificial intelligence (AI) offers writing teachers and students is thought partnership. In this presentation, Professor Ben Lauren will share examples of thought partnership with AI in action to enhance critical thinking and engagement with the texts we encounter and compose. Additionally, Ben will share examples of in-class writing activities that can be used to practice critical thinking during the writing and revision process.

Organized by the Center for the Humanities and Writing Studies.

 to reserve your spot for this lunchtime program!

Tuesday, February 20 @ 12:30pm, Richter Library, Second Floor, Cuban Heritage Collection, Conference Room

“Workshop on Academic Publishing”

Discussion with Steven P. Rodríguez, Scholarly Acquisitions Editor, Vanderbilt University Press; Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History.

Steven P. Rodríguez is a PhD candidate in history at Vanderbilt University and scholarly acquisitions editor at Vanderbilt University Press. He holds a BA in history and philosophy from The College of New Jersey, an MA in history from Brandeis University, and an MA from Vanderbilt University. His work has been supported by the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, the Goizueta Foundation, and the Tinker Foundation. His article, “Education is the Precursor to Commerce”: Pan-Americanism and Inter-American Education, “was recently published in Diplomatic History. In addition to his work as a scholar-editor, Steven serves as a host for the New Books Network, an author-interview podcast.

Co-sponsored by: Center for the Humanities, Institute for the Advanced Study of the Americas (UMIA), Cuban Heritage Collection (CHC), Department of History, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Emilio Bacardí Moreau Chair in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies.

 to reserve your spot for this lunchtime program!

Workshop / "Scholarly Publishing: Everything You've Always Wanted to Know"

Adina Popescu Berk, Senior Editor for History at Yale University Press

Friday, February 3, 12:30 – 2:00pm. Online Program.

Bring your publishing questions and conundrums to this talk that will cover the essentials of publishing for scholars. We will broach any topic that is of interest to the audience, including: How do I choose a press? What if my top press says no? What is the difference between a trade and a crossover book? How do I pitch my book to editors or agents? What does a good book proposal look like? What kind of timeline can I expect to my finished book? How do I turn my dissertation into a book? Is there a difference between a first book and a second book? What does a book contract look like, and what should I watch out for? How do publishers decide what the price will be? Should I work with an agent? And more!

Adina Popescu Berk is senior editor for history at Yale University Press. She has worked at Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Basic Books, and Westview Press and has worked on trade books, scholarly books, textbooks, journals, and digital publications in history, psychology, sociology, and African American studies. She holds a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University.

 to register.

Workshop / “How and When to Use a Developmental Editor for an Academic Book”

Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel and Lillian Manzor, Modern Languages and Literatures

Friday, March 3, 12:30 – 2:00pm. Richter Library, First Floor, Flex Space B.

Please RSVP by Wednesday, March 1 (end of day, so we can confirm number of lunches).

In this workshop, we will briefly discuss how and when to use a developmental editor to assist in the completion of an academic monograph. 

Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel is a Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures; the Marta Weeks Chair in Latin American Studies; and specializes in colonial, postcolonial Latin American, and Caribbean literature. She teaches courses on critical theory, comparative coloniality, gender and sexuality studies, and Latinx, Latin American, and Caribbean studies. 

Lillian Manzor is an Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Miami's College of Arts and Sciences, Faculty lead for Latin American and Caribbean Research at the University of Miami Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, USA, and founding director of the Cuban Theater Digital Archive.

 to register.

"Classroom Connections through Object-Based Learning" / Organized by PETAL and the Center for the Humanities

Friday, September 16, 2022, 12:30 - 2:00pm, Richter Library, First Floor, Flex B. (Lunch Provided.)

Featured Panelists: Cristina Favretto (Special Collections), Jodi Sypher (Lowe Art Museum, Ashli White (History), and Nick Pici (Writing Studies)

This session is meant to provide an introduction on object-based learning (OBL), a student-centered learning approach that uses objects to create a more profound learning experience. Join our expert panelists as we explore OBL benefits, case studies at UM, and which resources are available to faculty who are curious in getting started!

Registration: bit.ly/Miami_Object-Based

Virtual Workshop with John Paul Christy: “Applying for ACLS Fellowships and Grants in the Humanities and Social Sciences"

Friday, February 25, 2022, 12:30 - 2:00 pm

This presentation offers guidance for scholars pursuing fellowships and grants in the humanities and social sciences, with a focus on funding opportunities offered by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). After a brief review of ACLS programs, Christy will offer insight into ACLS’s peer review processes and offer tips and strategies for submitting a strong proposal. Learn how ACLS develops programs and funding opportunities for scholars, who is reading and evaluating proposals for funding, and how to strengthen and clarify your materials for these audiences.

John Paul Christy is the Senior Director of US Programs, where he helps maintain and enhance the Council’s peer-review processes while also developing and implementing new fellowship and grant programs and other initiatives to support scholars and scholarship in the humanities. Before joining ACLS in 2012, John Paul was a Presidential Management Fellow in Washington, DC, where his portfolio included projects related to US cultural diplomacy and the public humanities. He received his PhD in classical studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

Registration here!

Virtual Workshop with William Germano: “Revising the Dissertation, Finishing the Book: a working seminar on scholarly writing”

Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, 12:00 - 2:30pm

This session is primarily designed for postdocs, junior faculty, and other early-career scholars, but it's really about the challenges that all writing scholars face. How do I make what I have on paper appealing to an editor, to a publishing house, to a readership? Each participant is asked to submit in advance a current c.v. and a book proposal (five to ten pages). Each proposal will receive written feedback prior to the first session. Together we will use the occasion to work through issues and concerns emerging from the written feedback as well as from new questions posed by the participants. Those participating are encouraged to come to the Thursday afternoon talk, which will reinforce some of the points we will discuss in our session. Note that our time together will be structured as a class, not as a lecture. Come prepared for some breakout room work.

Time commitment: 2.5 hours in session, plus preparation of materials and review of response. Registration will be limited to fifteen attendants.

William Germano has served as editor in chief at Columbia University Press and vice-president and editorial director at Routledge. Since 2006 he has been professor of English literature at Cooper Union. Among his books are Getting It Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious about Serious Books (3/e 2016) and From Dissertation to Book (2/e 2013), both published by the University of Chicago Press. His most recent book, written with Kit Nicholls, is Syllabus: The Remarkable, Unremarkable Document That Changes Everything (Princeton, 2020). Over the past twenty-five years he has given talks and led workshops on scholarly writing at institutions in North America, Europe, Abu Dhabi, Australia and New Zealand. On Revision: The Only Writing That Counts will be published in October 2021 by the University of Chicago Press.

Professional Development: Expanding Career Opportunities for Ph.D. Students

Tuesday, November 16, 2021, 6:00 - 7:30 pm

Beyond the dissertation is your career, but what opportunities are out there? What might you do now to prepare for the next stage? Please join our distinguished panel of University of Miami professionals who will share their stories and strategies for navigating careers “post-Ph.D.” in university administration and answer your own questions. Panelists: Christina Larson, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Center for the Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences; Roxane Pickens, Ph.D., Director, Learning Commons, UM Libraries; and Director, American Studies Program, College of Arts and Sciences; Maryann Tobin, Ph.D., Assistant Dean, College of Arts and Sciences.

Recording here!