More Senior Scholars, More Conversations

What if more graduate students and junior professors had chances to hear from senior professors in African American literary studies?

On Friday, at the Emerging Humanities Scholar Workshop, Elizabeth Cali and I facilitated a series of mini-presentations for advanced graduate students, one junior professor, and one librarian. The gathering gave us a chance to compare experiences, respond to questions, and share ideas we’ve been developing through more than a decade of conversations.

I kept thinking about how much professional knowledge circulates informally. Scholars learn things about presenting their work, managing projects, and navigating institutions through conversations that many emerging scholars rarely get to hear.

What if opportunities like this took place across the country? I’d like to see more emerging scholars hear brief, candid presentations from senior scholars, with enough time afterward to ask the questions those presentations raise.