In 2022, Lauren Burrell Cox and June Ke, former graduate students associated with the UF Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere and the University of California Humanities Research Institute respectively, released Under Review: Rethinking Humanities Graduate Education, a podcast that examines humanities graduate education to amplify graduate students’ perspectives.
The podcast hosts met in the summer of 2020 at the National Humanities Center Podcasting Institute, which was held in a virtually. After they were assigned to the same project group during the institute, Cox and Ke remained in touch, connecting over their shared interests in graduate education reform and documentary film. In summer of 2021, they began to collaborate virtually to inaugurate a podcast about humanities graduate education. Thus, Under Review was born.
The six-episode series addresses the topics of prestige, labor, collaboration, mental health, education reform, and the role of humanities centers. Cox and Ke interviewed a range of guests for the series including ACLS President Joy Connolly and National Humanities Center Vice President of Education Andy Mink. Cox and Ke believe that PhD professionalization should include openness to a variety of careers and that discussions of career diversity must be embedded in larger discussions of contingency, educational reform, and racial and socioeconomic diversity. The episodes delve into pressing issues such as the tenure-track jobs crisis, economic outcomes for humanities PhDs, future directions for graduate education, and professional development that accounts for diverse paths and the current realities of the job market. Under Review serves as a resource for graduate students in the humanities to gain a sense of empowerment as they navigate the academy and take the next steps in their careers.