This course gives students training in the academic skills necessary for success in their graduate program and prepares them for success as humanities professionals.
Athena Title
Key Skills for Comparative Lit
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will know the principles of academic writing for literary and cultural studies and be able to apply them in their own assignments and independent work.
Students will be able to use relevant databases in the humanities and their own sub-fields.
Students will have developed their close reading skills and worked on incorporating them into compelling argumentative writing.
Students will know how to write a conference abstract with a high chance of acceptance by a major conference in their field.
Students will understand the process of journal article submission and peer review. Students will also become familiar with prominent journals in their field.
Students will have learned about grant-writing and learned strategies for success. Students will also learn about grant opportunities at UGA and externally.
Students will understand the current professional environment in the humanities and the academic job market. In particular, students will know the kinds of jobs available, the relative availability of jobs in different fields, and the different kinds of profiles required for jobs at different academic institutions.
Students will know about other career paths that are frequently followed by humanities MA and PhD graduates.
Topical Outline
MA and PhD students in comparative literature and intercultural studies work within and across a wide range of sub-fields. Nevertheless, there are basic scholarly and professional skills that are essential for success as a graduate student and as a higher-education professional. These include academic writing, library and archival research, close reading, time management, conference abstract writing, publishing articles, navigating funding applications, knowledge of the professional standards of the field, making language-skills part of your profile, and an understanding of the job market, academic or otherwise. This course gives students basic grounding in these areas so that they can get their maximize value from their time as graduate students and make the most of the resources available to them at the University of Georgia. Students will undertake short written, oral, and research assignments that allow them to develop essential skills for the program and beyond.
