Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities [Paperback]

Gregory M. Colón Semenza (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0230100333 | ISBN-13: 978-0230100336 | Publication Date: March 2, 2010 | Edition: Second Edition, Revised and Updated

Many graduate students continue to be regarded as "apprentices" despite the fact that they are expected to design and teach their own classes, serve on university committees, and conference and publish regularly. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the attrition rate for American Ph.D. programs is at an all-time high, between 40% and 50% (higher for women and minorities). Of those who finish, only one in three will secure tenure-track jobs. These statistics highlight waste: of millions of dollars by universities and of time and energy by students. Rather than teaching graduate students how to be graduate students, then, the guide prepares them for what they really seek: a successful academic career.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gregory Semenza's Graduate Study for the Twenty-first Century is a tough-minded, witty, generous discussion of how to enter the profession of scholarship and teaching. The appendices alone are worth the price of the book; Semenza provides samples of everything from course syllabi and job letters to materials on the teaching portfolio, book prospectus, conference participation - everything a serious graduate student needs to succeed. The book should be required reading for graduate students and their professors."--Barry V. Qualls, Dean of Humanities, Rutgers University

From the Author

Five characteristics distinguish Graduate Study for the 21st Century. First, this is a book designed solely for graduate students who wish to become professors on the tenure track; it does not spend time on alternative career paths for terminal M.A.s or Ph.D.s. Second, the unique focus on building a professorial career means that this book dedicates a significant amount of attention to professional development issues, including publishing, attending conferences, and job searching. In a straightforward and non-condescending manner, it emphasizes how a smart and informed "streamlining" approach to graduate study and teaching can lead to both a meaningful (and relatively short) graduate career and the sort of professional accomplishments that will make you a standout on the job market. Third, Graduate Study for the 21st Century is the only guide that recognizes the specific needs of students in the humanities. It does not assume that the concerns of a history student (or professor) are the same as those of an individual specializing in chemistry or engineering. Fourth, this book deliberately counters the tendency of the aforementioned guides to present an image of graduate school as unrelated to and unaffected by the brutal realities of late 20th-century and 21st-century politics and corporate economics. One gets the impression from previous graduate school guides that academe is no different today from what it was fifty or seventy-five years ago. Finally, this book operates at a level of detail simply not found in any of the aforementioned works. Focusing in depth on such important practical matters as selecting the right seminars, making the most of exams, and constructing effective CV’s, teaching portfolios, and job applications, the emphasis of this book is very much on how to succeed in graduate school. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; Second Edition, Revised and Updated edition (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230100333
• ISBN-13: 978-0230100336
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 2.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on the market, October 19, 2005

By 

BooksFreak "'Kathy'" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities (Paperback)

I just learned about this book from Michael Berube's blog. Berube--the brilliant iconoclast who fought so hard for graduate students in the wake of the Yale scandal--writes the foreword for the book, which he calls the 'most reliable book about academe and its inhabitants' he has ever read. I would have to agree with him. Semenza (UConnecticut) takes the approach that previous graduate survival guides miss the point by focusing on 'survival' instead of professional development, which all PhDs need in order to get a job. The book features highly detailed chapters on such things as publishing, attending conferences, and going on the market. The best chapter is on 'The Seminar Paper'. Here Semenza outlines the entire research process from conception to printing (if only I had this 3 years ago!). Written for PhDs or PhDs-to-be, the book doesn't pull any punches, I should tell you. At times, the directness and bluntness is intimidating, but when it comes to this profession, the truth sometimes hurts. Semenza's book is probably the best 'class' you'll ever take in grad school.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful, October 28, 2005

By 

Mike (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities (Paperback)

I'm only 2/3rds of the way through this book, but Wow. Basically Semenza lets everyone else "in" on what faculty members know about academia. This book is filled with every thing you need to know about every aspect of professing in the humanities: from organizing filing cabinets to publication and graduate student unionization. A few warnings: first, as a history PhD student, I feel that Semenza focuses a bit too much on English and literature examples (though this is expected since his field is in English Lit); second, the book isn't for undergrads still thinking about where to go to grad school so you won't find answers here on that subject. Otherwise, this is the perfect book for humanities students who want to profess on the college level.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Professional Development Manual or Expose?, December 13, 2005

By 

Vidhyha1 (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities (Paperback)

Reading this book gives one the sense that Semenza might have violated some unofficial rule of academic writing here, in that his honesty--or at least his willingness to share his thoughts on everything from grading undergraduate papers to interviewing job candidates--seems to know no bounds. Some of the wisecracks about nameless colleagues, and a few of them about named colleagues, are downright hilarious. As a former PhD student and current assistant prof., I can say that I wish I had read this 5 years ago and that I will encourage all of my own advisees read it immediately.