The Job Talk as Storytelling: A Two-Day Virtual Workshop with Josef Woldense

August 4 & 5 | 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM | Central Standard Time

Note: Attendees, please be sure to check your spam folder as the workshop approaches. Your email filter may flag my announcements as spam especially if you are not affiliated with the University of Minnesota.

Overview

What is the job talk? Simple, it is an oral presentation that displays your research. The problem, of course, is that you have spent all of your time thinking and expressing your research in a medium other than the oral form of communication. Although the underlying ideas you wish to convey are largely the same, the medium in which you are now asked to express them is profoundly different. The primary challenge in crafting the job talk, then, is this: How do I translate my research from one mode of communication to another? This is precisely the question this workshop seeks to answer and it does so by drawing on storytelling as the central translating device.

Day 1 | August 4 | 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM | Central Standard Time

  • Introduces a general framework on how to think about the research presentation as storytelling.

  • Walks through a portion of an actual job talk to demonstrate the principles of storytelling when applied to research.

Day 2 | August 5 | 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM | Central Standard Time

  • Building on the principles from Day 1, participants now have the opportunity to start crafting their own research presentation in the form of storytelling.

Questions about the workshop

  • Who is the audience for this workshop? Anyone interested in learning more about giving research presentations is welcome to join. My immediate goal, however, is to offer this to PhD students about to enter the academic job market — hence the title of the workshop.

  • How will we meet? We will use Zoom as our virtual meeting platform (New to Zoom? Check out this video). You will receive the link to join the meeting after you register. Be sure to check your spam folder if you do not see an email from me with the Zoom information.

  • Is this workshop mostly lecture based? The workshop will consist of two modes, one where I will be the primary speaker and the other where you will be engaged in small group work. Especially Day 2 of the workshop will be mostly small group work. Please come ready to participate.

  • What is expected of participants? From the humanities to the social and natural sciences, the workshop tends to attract people from various academic disciplines. This diversity is great! It makes for rich and insightful conversations. To avoid misunderstandings, however, it does mean that participants need to be a bit more mindful, patient and empathetic. After all, you will be sharing the same space with someone who does not share your disciplinary norms.

  • Can participants attend just one day of the workshop? Sure. But if you do, I strongly recommend you attend Day 1 of the workshop. Day 2 will draw heavily on the things introduced in the previous day. Although it is not impossible to follow along, there will be significant knowledge gaps between you and your workshop peers. This is especially so because Day 2 consist mostly of small group discussions.

  • Will the workshop be recorded? The workshop will not be recorded.