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[123_abc]

A handful of motivated students at the SLAC at which I teach have approached me about teaching a class on the process of submitting articles to journals.  I teach in a humanities field.  We've never offered a course like this, but I have considerable flexibility in designing new courses and I am quite sure the powers that be will let me teach the class as a small-group independent study.  The students involved are smart, motivated, and considering grad school.  And, all are wrapping up a major research paper which will be article length.  

If any one has taught such a class or knows of good materials please send them my way.  I'm interested in ideas for the class--activities, assignments, etc.  And, I'd be interested in ideas for articles/books which offer advice to young academics.

[new99]

You might have a look at Wendy Belcher's Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success. It's based on a multi-week workshop the author used to teach, and includes a number of structured exercises.

[larryc]

I am not sure if I agree with the wisdom of teaching such a course.  Virtually no undergrad, no matter how bright, is ready to write a publishable research paper int he humanities, they lack the depth of knowledge. I wonder if you could not change the course focus a bit--presenting research to the public or something like that.

[seniorscholar]

Larry is of course right. However, if you feel you must do it, start by having each of them read an article in a recent issue of one of the top-flight academic journals in the field, analyze it, mark any questions they have, summarize, write an outline, check out all the sources used . . . and once they realize how far out of reach this level of writing is for them, propose that instead they publish a journal, as a class, at the end of the semester.

(Idea stolen from the person who teaches the advanced undergrad rhet and comp course in my department.)

[lasquires]

There are journals out there that are specifically designed to publish undergraduate research. I know my university publishes one. You could do some hunting around and see if there are any that accept submissions at the national level. If nothing suitable comes up, I like the suggestion of having them create their own journal. It could even be a web project.

[123_abc]

Hi everyone, thanks for the advice, especially new99's book suggestion. 

The class will also include submitting to conferences, which is a more achievable goal than submitting to a journal.  And, we'll pay close attention to undergrad journals, especially the one published by our field's national honors society. 

I understand the criticism about this class.  However, I see a number of benefits to it.  These students are excited to go onto grad school and this will help them understand the reality of academia and academic work.  Frankly, I don't know that all of them understand how grueling and soul-crushing it can be and how tedious and hard it is to get published.  I want to help them understand the process and help them gain insight into what grad school will really be like. 

[larryc]

Well, make sure that the students don't actually submit their papers to journals without your approval. The peer-review system is overwhelmed and broken enough already. And I don't understand why you think that encouraging students in the humanities to go to graduate school is any kind of a positive good in this job market. It strikes me as grossly irresponsible.

[tuxedo_cat]

Well, there's some interesting stuff here:

http://upd.mercyhurst.edu/

I would say that if you are someone who is not tenured at this SLAC, this is exactly the sort of thing that looks very nice in your tenure file -- even if the students don't get published, SLACs do really like this kind of faculty mentorship.  I also think there is some pressure in humanities depts. at these little schools to do *something* -- esp. when the Psych Dept. has kids working in a lab all summer and getting listed as coauthors for published papers or getting interviewed by the local NPR station.  There is definitely some expectation that humanities depts. at a SLAC need to keep up with this angle on "the undergraduate experience," and it really isn't that easy for, say, literature or philosophy.

Having said that, I'm afraid I agree wholeheartedly with larry's assessment that encouraging these students to consider a career in academia is irresponsible.  I think you do have some ambivalence already about this.  

I don't think the course is such a bad idea -- a published article in an undergraduate journal looks good on the non-academic resume, too.  But I can also see this turning into much more of a time-commitment than you expect.  Do *not* take on more than 2 or 3 students if you get no teaching credit for it.  Tell the younger students they can do this course with you next year.

There, have I confused you enough yet?

[corny]

Hi everyone, thanks for the advice, especially new99's book suggestion. 

The class will also include submitting to conferences, which is a more achievable goal than submitting to a journal.  And, we'll pay close attention to undergrad journals, especially the one published by our field's national honors society. 

About conferences: I know that the American Comp Lit Association, for example, has recently started including an undergraduate panel (or seminar, rather, in the ACLA's terminology) at their annual conference. I don't know what field you're in, but something like that might be a nice way to ease them into the conference side of things.

[new99]

Well, make sure that the students don't actually submit their papers to journals without your approval. The peer-review system is overwhelmed and broken enough already.

Chime. I’ve been on the other side of a journal and seen undergraduate work come in, and it was a waste of time for both the editors and authors, since that kind of work wouldn’t get sent out for review. I suspect most undergrads who get published in regular academic journals do so through co-authoring, but that’s not too common in the humanities. Aiming students toward undergraduate journals would probably be a good idea, but I second the suggestion to gear them up for presenting at conferences and getting feedback and (critical) reviews from others.

Frankly, I don't know that all of them understand how grueling and soul-crushing it can be and how tedious and hard it is to get published.  I want to help them understand the process and help them gain insight into what grad school will really be like. 

Or how grueling and soul-crushing graduate school and trying to pursue an academic career can be, especially given the job market in the humanities, but also given the very nature of the process. You asked for other books for young academics, but I can’t think of any others to recommend, partly because none I’ve seen get that part right: none deal adequately with failure, rejection, or difficulties. You’d be better off finding readings from Chronicle articles about grad school, publishing, the job search, etc. making sure to stress that the negative experiences are not anomalous.  Ideally you would want them to come out of such a class with a realistic picture of graduate school and life in academia, including the difficulties and costs. Another thing you could do is bring in guest speakers such as journal editors, current graduate students, or better, people who’ve just finished the phd and are on market. You could also try sharing a review or rejection letter you've received, if you'd be comfortable with that.

[123_abc]

Well, make sure that the students don't actually submit their papers to journals without your approval. The peer-review system is overwhelmed and broken enough already. And I don't understand why you think that encouraging students in the humanities to go to graduate school is any kind of a positive good in this job market. It strikes me as grossly irresponsible.

If you read my second post you'll see that one goal is to help these students realize the reality of academic life and give them tools that will help them suceed in grad school.  What would be grossly irresponsible is encouraging them and not giving them tools or preparing them for the reality of grad school.  There's no need to infect them with negativy and defeatism.  

Frankly, I don't know that all of them understand how grueling and soul-crushing it can be and how tedious and hard it is to get published.  I want to help them understand the process and help them gain insight into what grad school will really be like.  

Or how grueling and soul-crushing graduate school and trying to pursue an academic career can be, especially given the job market in the humanities, but also given the very nature of the process. You asked for other books for young academics, but I can’t think of any others to recommend, partly because none I’ve seen get that part right: none deal adequately with failure, rejection, or difficulties. You’d be better off finding readings from Chronicle articles about grad school, publishing, the job search, etc. making sure to stress that the negative experiences are not anomalous.  Ideally you would want them to come out of such a class with a realistic picture of graduate school and life in academia, including the difficulties and costs. Another thing you could do is bring in guest speakers such as journal editors, current graduate students, or better, people who’ve just finished the phd and are on market. You could also try sharing a review or rejection letter you've received, if you'd be comfortable with that.

[/quote]

Thanks--that's all very useful advice.  I have a good rapport with these students and am comfortable sharing my own experiences with them.  As I think more about the class I see that I will have to draw on my and my colleagues' experiences.

[larryc]

There's no need to infect them with negativy and defeatism. 

What is your position on prudence and realism?

[seniorscholar]

  These students are excited to go onto grad school and this will help them understand the reality of academia and academic work. 

That's why the stated goal of our department's "senior seminar" (limited to 12 students) for majors who are interested in graduate school rather than a teaching certificate, law school, or the many other goals English majors in a big university have is: research, write, and revise the "writing sample" that you will use for your grad school application.

(And at a university with a large graduate program in English, it's possible to find a little committee of 3 people on the graduate faculty to read these and give the students a cold-blooded assessment of their chances.)