All conference activities on Thursday, May 19 will take place on the Baylor University campus. Following the luncheon keynote address and prior to the opening reception at the Armstrong Browning Library, conference attendees will have the opportunity to attend one of the following five panels. To help organizers plan for these events, you will be able to indicate preferences during the registration process.
68 Years and 24 Positions: Leading like a Feminist in Academic Administration
The five panelists represent 68 years of administrative experience as Chairs, Deans, Interim Deans, Associate Deans, Associate Chairs, Program Coordinators, and Executive Directors of Centers. The panel will consist of brief presentations and then an open forum. Each panelist will share positive and negative experiences of administrative work and offer reflections and advice about finding fulfillment in academic administration. After the presentations, the session will be open to the attendees to share their experiences and to ask for thoughts from the panelists. Our hope is that we will create a safe space for women to discuss their own experiences to take strength and find renewal through a community of women academics.
DEI Syllabus Workshop: Teaching Diversity with 18th– and 19th-Century Material
This workshop will consider ways to increase the diversity within courses teaching eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature and historical texts. Roundtable panelists will offer reflections on how to introduce diverse texts and authors to students and how to troubleshoot potentially charged conversations. Participants are encouraged to bring in personal syllabi from previous or forthcoming courses that they would like to engage more directly with issues of diversity. Participants will have the opportunity to experiment with revising their syllabus in breakout sessions.
Digital Humanities: Tools for Teaching and Research
In this hands-on workshop, participants will be introduced to a variety of digital humanities tools that may be used to enhance research and teaching. Several Baylor faculty will be presenting the ways in which they have used these tools to diversify and augment their research and/or teaching. Then, conference participants will have the opportunity to experiment with these tools in breakout sessions. Tools for novices to more advanced DH practitioners will be available for use.
Trends in 18th and 19th Century Publishing
Editors from four journals will reflect on recent trends in scholarship. In particular, editors have been asked to reflect on how the following issues are (or are not) manifesting in scholarly writing: university Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging initiatives; the #MeToo movement; and the COVID-19 pandemic. Editors have also been asked to reflect on how publishing has been impacted by or how their respective journals have responded to these same issues. This session will function as a roundtable offering ample time for participants to comment on and to interact with the panelists.
Negotiating the Post-Pandemic Market and Pursuing Alt-Ac Positions
Beat the post-pandemic job-market blues with this graduate student professionalization panel on jobs both inside and outside the academy. Discussion will focus on questions regarding the state of the post-pandemic job market, as well as types of alternate-academic or academic-adjacent positions available for humanities PhDs and tips for the job search. Whether already on the job market or unsure about pursuing alt-ac careers, come hear from our panelists about translating your academic accomplishments from your CV for alt-ac positions, the kinds of experiences you should pursue during graduate school to prepare for the alt-ac job market, and the resources available for those interested in positions either outside the academy or in academic-adjacent fields.