Graduate Student Newsletter, January 2008

Academic Writing for the Social Sciences and the Humanities

Presenter: Matthew Kelley, Ph.D. of the Sweetland Writing Center

The purpose of this workshop is to review the structures and strategies of academic writing and to introduce the demands of advanced academic writing in the fields of the social sciences and the humanities. Topics include: drafting and revising, conventions, audience and tone, and citation format.

Dr. Kelley is a senior lecturer in the Sweetland Writing Center, the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program, and the Department of English. Prior to coming to U-M, he taught as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois and Purdue University. He has a Ph.D. in American Literature and an M.A. in English from Purdue University and a B.A. from Emory University. He is the author of the textbook Writing about Literature (College Network Press, 2004). His articles and reviews have appeared in journals such as Modern Fiction Studies, The Journal of American Culture, Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the United States, Sagetrieb: A Journal of Imagist Poetics, The Langston Hughes Review, Clio, Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Jewish Studies Journal, Rain Taxi Review, Sycamore Review, the MLA Options Teaching Series, and most recently in the book Poetry's Poet: The Poetry and Pedagogy, and Poetics of Allen Grossman from the National Poetry Foundation Press. His book Pages Made Blank By Rain: The Poems of Allen Grossman is forthcoming in 2008 from the University of Maine Press.

Pre-registration is required at https://secure.rackham.umich.edu/Events/wssel.php

Monday, January 14, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm, Amphitheatre, 4th Floor, Rackham Building

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Piled Higher & Deeper: The Power of Procrastination

A recent survey by U.C. Berkeley found that 95% of all graduate students feel overwhelmed, and over 67% have felt seriously depressed at some point in their careers. In this talk, Jorge Cham recounts his experiences bringing humor into the lives of stressed out academics, examines the source of their anxieties and explores the guilt, the myth, and the power of procrastination.

Pre-registration required at https://secure.rackham.umich.edu/Events/wssel.php

Tuesday, January 15, 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm, Amphitheatre, 4th floor, Rackham Building

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The Tobacco Consultation Service offers a 7-week "Kick the Habit" Quit Tobacco Program

For U-M graduate and professional school students

1st Session: Wednesday, January 16

Session Dates: January 23, January 30, February 6, February 7, February 13, February 20, February 27

Cost: FREE for U-M Premiere Care members; University Health Service will sponsor a portion of the fee for non-U-M Premiere Care members (please e-mail //';l[1]='a';l[2]='/';l[3]='<';l[4]=' 117';l[5]=' 100';l[6]=' 101';l[7]=' 46';l[8]=' 104';l[9]=' 99';l[10]=' 105';l[11]=' 109';l[12]=' 117';l[13]=' 64';l[14]=' 121';l[15]=' 107';l[16]=' 115';l[17]=' 111';l[18]=' 108';l[19]=' 112';l[20]=' 110';l[21]='>';l[22]='\"';l[23]=' 117';l[24]=' 100';l[25]=' 101';l[26]=' 46';l[27]=' 104';l[28]=' 99';l[29]=' 105';l[30]=' 109';l[31]=' 117';l[32]=' 64';l[33]=' 121';l[34]=' 107';l[35]=' 115';l[36]=' 111';l[37]=' 108';l[38]=' 112';l[39]=' 110';l[40]=':';l[41]='o';l[42]='t';l[43]='l';l[44]='i';l[45]='a';l[46]='m';l[47]='\"';l[48]='=';l[49]='f';l[50]='e';l[51]='r';l[52]='h';l[53]='a ';l[54]='<'; for (var i = l.length-1; i >= 0; i=i-1){ if (l[i].substring(0, 1) == ' ') document.write("&#"+unescape(l[i].substring(1))+";"); else document.write(unescape(l[i])); } //]]> for more information).

For more information, call (734) 936-5988 or visit http://www.med.umich.edu/mfit/tobacco. Co-sponsored with Rackham Graduate School and University Health Service.

Pre-registration is required at https://secure.rackham.umich.edu/Events/wssel.php

Wednesday, January 16, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, Executive Board Room, 1st floor, Rackham Building

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International Coffee Hour - Cooking & Recipes!

Come meet and mingle with international graduate students over coffee and pastry. Rackham will provide information on grocery shopping and simple recipes for interested students. Optional activity: bring 1-3 recipes to share/trade with other graduate students, such as one that is easy to prepare or one that is hearty for the winter semester! How about a recipe representative of your home country?

Pre-registration required at https://secure.rackham.umich.edu/Events/wssel.php

Friday, January 18, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm, Northwood Community Center Multipurpose Room, North Campus

Postdocs and Faculty Work at Liberal Arts College

Interested in teaching at a liberal arts college? This event features information on Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships at Oberlin and Kalamazoo Colleges for University of Michigan Ph.D.s (see http://www.rackham.umich.edu/postdoctoral/exchange_program/). It also offers information from liberal arts faculty and administrators on job search strategies and faculty worklife. Co-sponsored by CRLT and Rackham Graduate School.

Friday, January 18, 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm, East Conference Room, 4th floor, Rackham Building

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Day at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum

Come and join other Rackham graduate parents and their children for a day at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum (http://www.aahom.org/). The Museum has more than 250 interactive science and technology exhibits, including a light and optics gallery, a full-size ambulance, a health station, and an exhibit that lets kids pose as reporters on the local cable channel.

U-M grad parents will receive the discounted entrance fee of $5.00 per person. Children age 2 and under are free. You must, however, pre-register to receive the discount. We will explore the museum at our own pace. A pizza lunch, courtesy of Rackham, will be served at 11:30 am. at the first floor vending area just past the ambulance. This is a public area, so space may be limited.

The event is open to all Rackham students, but pre-registration is required at https://secure.rackham.umich.edu/Events/wssel.php

Saturday, January 19, 11:30 am - 3:30 pm, Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, 220 E. Ann St., Ann Arbor

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The Young Scholar's Guide Through the Maze of Copyright, Part 1: From Today to the Completed Thesis

Presenter: Paul Newman, J.D., Ph.D., Intellectual Property Specialist

The last thing that you as a graduate student want to spend your time worrying about is copyright law. However, there are things that you need to worry about in order to avoid perils down the road. This first workshop will address questions such as the following: (a) When do I need to get permission to reproduce other people's work and when can I simply do what I want because the work is old or because my use falls under the Fair Use exception? (b) If I publish an article now, will this prevent me from including it as part of my thesis? (c) If my dissertation research is being funded by a faculty member's grant (or private spin-off company), what are the implications of this when it comes to copyright ownership of my work? (d) What does "publication" of my thesis with University Microfilms International (ProQuest/UMI) entail, legally and professionally? (e) What is the difference between the various publishing options that UMI offers, especially the open access option versus the traditional option? (f) If I am an international student, will American copyright law prevent me from translating my thesis into my native language?

The workshop is scheduled for a full hour, so we'll have ample time for questions.

Pre-registration required at https://secure.rackham.umich.edu/Events/wssel.php

Tuesday, January 22, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm, East Conference Room, 4th Floor, Rackham Building

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Secrets of Study Success for Graduate Students

Without advanced reading, time management, and test taking skills, the multiple responsibilities and academic challenges for graduate students can be worrisome, if not downright overwhelming.

This seminar provides graduate students with research-based strategies to enhance study and self-management strategies that ensure academic success and decrease stress. Specific strategies address topics such as: slow reading rate, inadequate comprehension, procrastination, disorganization, test stress, and ineffective time/task management. In addition, ample time is provided for individual questions and concerns.

Pre-registration required at https://secure.rackham.umich.edu/Events/wssel.php

Thursday, January 24, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, East Conference Room, 4th floor, Rackham

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Rackham Graduate Student Newsletter