FELLOWSHIPS FOR YALE GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS

Graduate Fellowship Colloquia

Summer 2008 Schedule
Updated: July 7, most recent updates marked in bold

Wednesday meetings:
June 18, July 2, July 16, July 30, August 6, August 13, August 20
Rooms 38/39
2:00 – 4:00 PM

The Graduate Summer Colloquium, for June, July, and August fellowship periods, will have seven Wednesday meetings.  Meetings will begin at 2:00PM and will run up to two hours.

Presentations will take place according to the schedule of assignments below.  For a description of presentation format, please see George Miles' comments below.

Presentation expectations:

Over the course of seven meetings, summer fellows will each make a brief (10 to 12 minute) presentation to share with us the topic of their research, why it interests them, and why they think we, whatever our departmental or disciplinary specialty might be, should care about their work. Presenters may discuss how the Beinecke collections inform (or might inform) their research and how their thinking has been influenced by the work they have done to date.

Another, less formal way to describe what we are asking each of you to do when you present, is to borrow a concept from a friend of mine in History and American Studies, Johnny Faragher, who often refers to the importance for academics to have a "cocktail party" description of their research projects. What Johnny means by this is the need for academics to be able to offer a short but intriguing explanation of their project that will capture colleagues' interest at a crowded conference or faculty reception. How, in 30 seconds or less, do you persuade someone that they want to hear more about you and your research and then, how do you expand on that in ways that interest and inform someone who is probably NOT a specialist in your field, and, finally, how do you respond to the kinds of questions and comments you receive from people who are highly intelligent, generally informed, but often trained in a different discipline than you?

This is a different sort of presentation than we usually make in a research seminar in which all the participants share a relatively focused interest in a topic or discipline, but it is the kind of presentation that will become increasingly important to you as you enter the job market and begin working at schools where you may be the only specialist in your field.

If you have questions or conflicts with your assignment, please contact George Miles, curatorial coordinator of the Fellowship Program at george.miles@yale.edu.

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