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Humanities Research in the Pandemic – Public Forum
March 3, 2021 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
How has the pandemic affected humanities scholarship? What are particular challenges to research? How have faculty and graduate students adapted to increased time commitment for teaching, the suspension of travel, and the closing of archives? What strategies can we develop to address extended review times for submitted manuscripts? How can we account for increased care-work and the unequal effects of the pandemic on BIPOC and women among faculty members and graduate students? The Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere invites you to participate in a virtual conversation about the effects of the pandemic on humanities research projects and to share best practices on how to address these challenges.
In order to facilitate discussion, please sign up for one of four 20-minute breakout groups, each led by a Humanities Center staff member.
Deadline: Tuesday, March 2
1. Publishing and Peer Review (Barbara Mennel)
In this break-out session, we will provide available data and informal information about scholarly publishing with presses and academic journals. We will discuss how to cope with extensive review times and how to balance short- and long-term projects with special attention to the tenure-clock.
Resource:
2. Rethinking Public Engagement (Alexandra Cenatus)
This break-out session will discuss the challenges that come with doing public initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also identify the ways in which humanities scholars can better support communities.
Resource:
3. Research Activities (Sophia Acord)
In the break-out session, scholars have the opportunity to share insights on how to address challenges in the pandemic for research activities, including travel to archives and best use of sabbaticals and professional development leaves. Participants may consider specific changes to Humanities Center fellowships and grants to respond to current and future needs.
Resource:
“Documenting Pandemic Impacts: Best Practices.” UMassAmherst / Advance Program (2 pages)
4. Maintaining Your Graduate Student Research Projects (Kristen Galvin)
This discussion will share strategies for project management and pivoting, and will generally encourage adaptability, openness, and creativity when dealing with unforeseen change.
Resource: https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-write-a-dissertation-during-a-pandemic
Further Reading:
The Chronicle of Higher Education. “On the Verge of Burnout.” Research Brief [PDF]
Sara Weissman. “Universities are Freezing Tenure Clocks. What Will That Mean for Junior Faculty of Color.” HigherEdJobs (May 15, 2020) https://www.higheredjobs.com/Articles/articleDisplay.cfm?ID=2238
Gender & Covid 19: Working Group — https://www.genderandcovid-19.org/
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/01/29/authors-discuss-their-new-book-gender-equity-academe
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-shrinking-of-the-scholarly-ranks
https://www.aera.net/Portals/38/VoicesFromTheField_WEB_final.pdf
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/02/01/covid-19s-impact-academic-research