Humanities Writing Retreat, May 8-12, 2022
In the week after the spring semester 2022 ended and before Summer A began, 33 faculty members, staff, and doctoral students from the University of Florida gathered for a productive week of writing at the beautiful Austin Cary Forest Campus northeast of Gainesville. Funded by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Margaret and Robert Rothman Endowment, the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere offered five days of reorientation from teaching and service to research and writing in a calm, quiet, and beautiful setting. Faculty members advanced book manuscripts, drafted articles, and completed grant applications, while doctoral students worked on dissertations and essays. Daily catered lunches on a deck overlooking a lake fostered exchange and stimulated conversation about scholarship and projects in progress.
“The writing retreat provided me with the quiet space, resources, and time that I needed to complete the final chapter of my dissertation. Fueled by coffee and the delicious catered lunches, I was able to write over forty pages–a feat that felt impossible before the start of the week. After the isolation of the pandemic, it was wonderful to be part of a community of scholars and writers, and I enjoyed socializing with everyone during the daily lunch break. I also learned a lot from the book proposal workshop, which will undoubtedly benefit me as I graduate and move into the next stage of my career. I am very grateful to CHPS for this opportunity.”
– Brianna Anderson, Ph.D.
Former Ph.D. student, Department of English
“At the end of a busy semester, I find it difficult to rally my energy and focus on my writing. The summer writing retreat was exactly what I needed to reclaim my motivation. After a week, I caught up on my freelance writing deadlines and drafted articles that were later published in USA Today and Forbes. CHPS created a supportive community where participants could share space and ideas. I continue to treasure the new colleagues and mentors I met during the writing retreat.”
– Laken Brooks
Ph.D. student, Department of English
“Our project, ‘From Report to Court,’ examines how cases of sexual violence reported to law enforcement in Alachua County progress (or not) through the criminal justice system. During the annual writing retreat, we were able to work together to build a unified dataset from our analysis of Gainesville Police Department records, files from the State Attorney’s Office, and public records data from the Alachua County Clerk of the Court. The concentrated time together allowed us to prioritize the project and to develop a way to analyze our cases across agencies; we then used these analyses to give a talk on the project at a conference in June 2022.”
– Alyssa Zucker, Ph.D.
Professor and Vada A. Yeomans Chair of Women’s Studies– Maddy Coy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies