As you reach the end of your doctoral work, you will probably need to “defend” your dissertation. Most universities in the United States require this, although the procedures and formats may differ among them and from those in other countries. In the U.S., the advisory committee you’ve had a love-hate relationship with throughout your dissertation writing constitutes your defense committee as well. In other countries, the defense may be conducted with a blind peer review process (Australia) or as a viva (U.K.). For most students, though, it’s still a one-to-three-hour torture, with much agonizing beforehand.
Are you stuck in your academic writing?
If you happen to be stuck in your academic writing, the good news is:
(1) You are not alone! This happens to all of us.
(2) There are remedies. Stay with me and read on.
First, ask yourself, “Why am I stuck?”
You might be stuck because you don’t know what to say.
OR
You might be stuck because you have too much to say.
New TAA Workshops by James Lang now available
TAA recently added three new 90-Minute Virtual Workshops by James Lang, former Professor of English and the founding Director of the D’Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption University: 1) “Writing Like a Teacher: Expanding the Audiences for Your Research”; 2) “Queries, Proposals, and Agents: The Mechanics of Submitting to Trade Book Publishers”; and 3) “Writing Accessible Prose: Attention Tools on the Page”. These TAA-sponsored virtual workshops are offered to institutions on a first-come first-served basis. Learn more about how you can bring these or other TAA virtual workshops to your campus for only $1,000.
Event: 13th Annual Nonfiction Writers Conference May 10-12
Are you looking to branch out into authoring other nonfiction works? The Nonfiction Authors Association is holding its 13th annual Nonfiction Writers Conference online May 10-12, 2023. Opening speaker, Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild: Lost and Found on the Pacific Crest Trail and Tiny Beautiful Things, will speak on the writing life.
Busy TAA People: TAA member receives nine distinguished academic awards
TAA Member Thomas Luke, Ph.D., was granted nine distinguished Christian academic awards from Chaplains College School of Graduate Studies, seven of which are literary awards for his Ph.D. dissertation book, Invisible Wounds. He also graduated Valedictorian of his class with Summa Cum Laude distinction by earning the highest GPA of his 2023 class, which was a 4.0.
He was also conferred the rank and office of Distinguished Research Professor by the school’s board of regents and will continue his research and teach his curriculum to Ph.D. candidates at Chaplains College School of Graduate Studies and to its chaplains through the Chaplaincy Training Institute.
Exploring diversity in science textbooks
When Kathy Burleson, a senior lecturer of biology at Hamline University, was preparing to teach a course on the biology of women, she was surprised that she couldn’t find any images of the female muscular system to use for the class. “I got really curious about the discrepancies in how women’s and men’s bodies are portrayed across anatomy and physiology textbooks,” she said. To learn more, she embarked on a research project in 2016 with the goal of helping to close diversity gaps in STEM.“Textbook images tell us a story about science and who belongs in science,” she said. “My hope is that, informed from interviews and data, we can give textbook publishers something to think about.”