Category: Reflection
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Supporting dissertators
My most recent blog post over at University Affairs is about how coaching has really been helping me now, my “what if” thoughts about my PhD years, and my new offering: a discussion and support group for dissertators! An excerpt: I’m launching a virtual discussion and support group, open to dissertators and graduate students in…
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Academia’s many worlds
I’m working on a piece for OCUFA about my reasons for not pursuing a tenure-track job. Reflecting on the topic — there’s much to unpack there! — eventually led me to think about how different people within academia actually inhabit their own unique spaces. Take a handful of tenured professors, even in the same or closely-allied disciplines,…
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My manuscript
I recently wrote about embracing the word “scholar.” In that post, I told you that my dissertation manuscript is in a pile on my floor. It’s moved around a bit in the year-and-a-half since I handed in the final version of my dissertation. I have worked at it, making changes big and small to the…
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Scholar
Several weeks (months?) ago, Brandy Schillace asked me to contribute to her Rogue Scholar Salon. I haven’t yet. I started but then got stuck. Where? At the word “scholar.” Brandy herself, a former tenure-track professor, is very much continuing as a medical humanities scholar despite going rogue—quitting her academic job! But me? Well, I never…
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Confidence
Last week I was interviewed by David Austin Walsh from the History News Network; you can read the transcript of that here. David titled the interview, “Recent PhDs Need to Have their Confidence Boosted,” which it seems is something I said during our conversation . . . and I was right! I was reminded of…
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Needs inventory
Needs, necessities, non-negotiables. These have come up a few times in my coaching calls with others. One woman realized she needed to take a “vacation” from a big writing project, but could read novels, something she loves doing and doesn’t always make time for. Another, who recently relocated to South Asia, decided to hire a…
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Working on it
My life’s changed a great deal over the past year. In mid-June 2012 I received my diploma, my PhD in history from the University of Toronto. It was a big moment, getting that piece of paper. I’d been through some less-than-pleasant administrative experiences, and did not fully trust that I would actually graduate. So even…
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Chris Peterson: “And then the rest of my life began”
Like many academics, I spent my young adult years postponing many of the small things that I knew would make me happy, including reading novels for pleasure, learning to cook, taking a photography class, and joining a gym. I would do all of these things when I had time—when I finished school, when I had…
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Why I started my PhD
I was recently asked why I did a PhD if I didn’t now want to be a professor. The question was posed by a friendly acquaintance and was meant genuinely, out of curiosity. The assumption he made—that a doctorate is a prelude to a professorship—is common inside and outside the academy. I’m not surprised by…
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Thank you!
I’ve had a great time with this blog over the past 6 months—my half-year-iversary is coming up this weekend on Thursday! When I began, I was excited to write about my own transition process, reflect on what I’d learned, and provide support and helpful resources for others in my situation: PhDs trying to figure out…