cfp.english.upenn.edu

Proposed Title: Academic Publication and Contingent Faculty
Editors: Lynée Lewis Gaillet and Letizia Guglielmo

Many publication manuals and writing guides targeted to graduate students and young professionals are currently on the market, particularly given the media attention focused on the ubiquitous “crises is scholarly publication”; however, current publications neither fully account for the range of academic positions often characterized as “other” nor offer comprehensive discussions of publishing scenarios coupled with practical advice for novice scholars. Nontraditional, hybrid, contingent faculty positions proliferate the academic landscape in the wake of economic downturn—with no resolution or plans for returning to “status quo” in sight. We see as our target audience, a range of professionals who seek advancement, including graduate students, lecturers and instructors, academic professionals in non-tenure track positions, adjunct instructors, junior academic program directors, and distance learning instructors among others.

We seek proposals addressing the current protean nature of faculty positions and offering concrete advice for maintaining a research and publishing agenda, even without department (financial or professional) support. Although the nature and look of publishing is shifting, the admonishment to “publish or perish” is still relevant; publications equal cultural currency in academia and often provide the means for purchasing advancement.

While we do not limit the scope and direction of proposed essays, we especially welcome proposals that explore:

• Publishing opportunities for advancement in a variety of fields
• Professional development opportunities that led to personal advancement
• Frustrations and experiences being “passed over” for lack of publishing
• Workshop and faculty development ideas for empowering contingent faculty
• Hiring (and firing) practices at various institutions
• Experiences with digital publication or non-traditional venues for publication
• Strategies for successful collaboration in publishing or professional development
• Experiences with IRB approval and research with human subjects
• Strategies for enacting and making public the scholarship of administration
• Strategies for securing grants for scholarship or professional development
• Alternate funding opportunities for scholarship or professional development
• Intellectual property issues, especially in online learning and digital course content
• Experiences developing and/or hosting in-house (departmental) or local conferences
• Connections between professional service and scholarship
• Creative discoveries of scholarship opportunities and topics for research

Proposals for essays should include: a 350-500 word abstract, a 100 word bio for each author, and complete contact information. Essays must be previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere.

Please send proposals and contact information to both editors by October 31, 2012:

Lynée Lewis Gaillet lgaillet@gsu.edu and Letizia Guglielmo lgugliel@kennesaw.edu