Historians in Practice

The history department hosts a series of professional development workshops designed to help Yale students professionalize themselves by offering deep dives into subjects not normally covered in classes and advising. The series is redesigned each year in coordination between the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Student Advisory Committee. Sessions cover practical, personal, and theoretical issues crucial to the lives and careers of the History graduate community that are not fundamentally scholarly but nonetheless crucial to success and achievement. All sessions last one hour and are hosted in the 2021-22 Academic year as hybrid events. Sessions will be recorded and linked on this page.

Sessions, dates and times are listed here:

  • Nov. 18 @ 4:00 pm: Publishing with a trade press – how to reach agents, publishers, craft book production - Guest speakers: Paul Freedman and Valerie Hansen [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials
  • Nov. 30 @ 5:15 pm, HQ 276: The process of article writing and submission - Guest speakers: Anne Eller and Noel Lenski  [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials
  • Dec. 6 @ 4:00 pm, HQ 276: On organizing information and finding patterns – using technology to do history - Guest speaker: Fabian Drixler [zoom link]
  • SP22, date TBD: International scholars/ international students and the American academic environment – logistics, bureaucracy, and building a life and career with a US PhD - Guest speakers: Rohit De and OISS representative
  • SP22, date TBD: Teaching with an emphasis on anti-racist / anti-white-supremacist pedagogy - Guest speakers: Natalia Braginsky and the Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning Collective
  • SP22, date TBD: Successful grant and fellowship writing - Guest speakers: David Engerman and Joanne Meyerowitz
  • SP22, date TBD: Self-advocacy and academic etiquette – how to navigate the mysterious world of academic engagement with mentors, teachers, colleagues, and peers - Guest speakers: Marci Shore and Mark Peterson
  • SP22, date TBD: How to begin conceptualizing the second big project - Guest speakers: Sergei Antonov and Denise Ho
  • SP22, date TBD: Workshop on succeeding as a public intellectual with an emphasis on community action and social change - Guest speakers: Beverly Gage and Timothy Snyder
  • SP22, date TBD: Job search overview for advanced students with an emphasis on the logistics of relocation and establishing a new life as a faculty member - Guest speakers: Alvita Akiboh and Hussein Fancy

Past Events 2020-2021

  • Thurs. Dec. 3: Accessing digital archives and managing digital data – Guest speakers: James Kessenides and Jana Krentz (Yale Libraries), George Miles (Beinecke Rare Books Library). [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials
  • Fri. Jan. 22: Identifying, applying to, and presenting at conferences – Guest speakers: Anne Eller and Jennifer Klein. [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials
  • Thurs. Feb. 4: The Process of article writing and submission – Guest speakers: Noel Lenski and Joanne Meyerowitz. [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials
  • Thurs. Feb. 18: Successful grant and fellowship writing – Guest speakers: Laurie Benton and Joe Manning. [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials
  • Wed. Mar. 3: Using technology in history research and writing (GIS, Excel, Adobe CS, Python, Gephi, Zotero, Scrivener) – Guest speakers: Catherine DeRose (Digital Humanities Lab), Bill Rankin and CJ Rice (Yale History). [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials
  • Mon. Mar. 15: Building diversity into community and practice – Guest speakers: Elizabeth Hinton and Matt Jacobson [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials
  • Thurs. Apr. 1: Introduction to the History job market for early cohorts – Guest speakers: Jennifer Allen and Sunil Amrith. [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials
  • Wed. Apr. 14: University press publishing – Guest speakers: Jaya Chatterjee and Heather Gold (Yale University Press). [video + transcript]
  • Fri. Apr 30: Career diversity – guest speakers Charlotte Abney Salomon (Science History Institute, Philadelphia), Nichole Nelson (New Jersey Institute for Social Justice), Keri Lambert (Philips Academy, Andover), Max Walden (MBA Candidate, NYU). [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials
  • Thurs. May 6: Succeeding as a public intellectual – guest speakers Paul Freedman and Joanne Freeman. [video + transcript] requires Yale credentials