Early Career Researcher’s Event 2015

The event will take place 5-7pm on the 8th and 10-5pm on the 9th in the Anatomy Theatre and Museum at King’s College London.

Friday 8 May

4.15-5 Registration for participants arriving on Friday

5-6.30 Welcome by Gordon McMullan (King’s), followed by

Workshop-Seminar on Close Reading: Susan Bruce (Keele)
What is a ‘small group’ at your institution? What is a seminar? What do you want students to do in seminars and how do you want them to behave? What’s more important: intellectual content? Social interactions? How do undergraduates address the process of close reading? Do they enjoy it? Does it scare them? How does A-level shape their expectations? We will listen to your experience of, and reflect on, the business of close reading and small-group teaching.

6.30 drinks

8 dinner at a restaurant nearby (venue tbc)

Saturday 9 May

9.30-10 Registration for participants arriving on Saturday

10 Session 1: Reasons to be Cheerful: Life in an English Department Now: Richard Kirkland (King’s), Bernhard Klein (Kent), Gordon McMullan (King’s), Lucy Munro (King’s)
Too often, early-career academics hear senior colleagues complaining about things not being as good as they were in the old days. Our aim in this session is to offer a balanced account of the state of play in UK English departments now and to reflect on the joys as well as the challenges of our profession.

11 coffee

11.30 Session 2: How to Get Published: Margaret Bartley (Arden Bloomsbury)
An introduction to the practicalities of publishing your work; what publishers needs from you; how to approach publishers and what to offer them; and information about each stage of the publishing process.

12.30 lunch

1.30 Session 3: A Guide to Good Lecturing: workshop with Nicole King (Reading)
In this session we will discuss your perspectives on giving lectures, pedagogical reasons for and against lecturing, examples of lecturing, ways to identify good practice and how to improve your lectures. The session will include activities and there will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.

3 coffee

3.30 Session 4: Progressing through the Career: Tasha Alden (Aberystwyth), Clare McManus (Roehampton), Kathryn White (Ulster)
This session will include discussion of the following: getting a permanent post; life as a ‘new academic’; planning the career; negotiating the demands of research, teaching and administration; work-life balance (including parenthood); getting promoted. We will aim to address as many of your questions as we can.

4.30 Summary – to include answering any of your questions not covered so far – and evaluation

5 finish