A Nice Resource on Writing and Research, Dr. Kay Guccione

I am constantly reviewing resources on academic writing and publishing. Some are good, some great, and some provide dubious information.

I recently found a really good website by Kay Guccione, of the University of Sheffield. She provides research mentoring and coaching to the scholarly community there. From reading her website, I would say they are most lucky to have her.

And now you have a bit of "her."

Check it out! Dr. Kay Guccione's Researcher Portal.

"Somewhat miraculous"

It is Monday morning, and last night marked the first night of Hanukkah. It is my first one alone in a very, very long time. I am divorced, and my daughters are not here. Still, I can be grateful for a good deal, and for that which that feels somewhat miraculous.

"Somewhat miraculous" is about as close as I get to the notion of miracle. I am not a person who comes by faith easily. While this is not the place for theology (and in truth, its not a favorite topic of mine with those I don't know and love very deeply) I do have something in mind that pertains to writing.

When I think of the notion of "somewhat miraculous," I think of that which I am gifted. That is, something that seems to have appeared from some collective intelligence beyond my own. Call it the creative energy of the universe, the collective unconscious of humanity, ascribe some religious name to it, whatever you wish.

Writers call it the muse. Sitting down and not having any idea what we are going to write, and having writing transpire anyhow, is somewhat miraculous to me. I know that I have my part in it, and that part is sitting down, being fully present in the moment, and being courageous enough to sit in silence and accept it.

My butt in the chair. My fingers on the keys. I am granted words. From whoever or whatever or wherever I do not care.

Fifty years old, newly alone. Trying to make meaning of my new identity, new notions of family. Still, writing, the muse, always here, always.

Today, I am still, I wait for it.

Happy Hanukkah

May the light of the university warm your hearts this Hanukkah. For those in need of extra light, whose hearts are hurting, I offer you my sincere hope for healing.

Go Where Your Energy Is

It is a simple principle, and one that is important to follow. You will be far more productive if you go with your energy, and write what you wish to write. This could apply to re-prioritizing your article order, or what section you focus on.  Not much more to say about it for now, but do consider what this means for you.

Considering Article Reviews

Les Back, a British professor of sociology, writes some wonderfully insightful blog posts about academic life. In one post titled, The Devil You Know, he calls into question the nature of the blind review process.

I have been ambivalent about the practice of blind peer review for a long time. The arguments for it are compelling. By engaging in a blind review, reviewers are safe from retribution, and can give a fair and unbiased review.

Yet, we seldom consider its issues, and the implications of these issues for how we approach our work.

We send our articles to journals, whose editors are supposed to seek out the most qualified experts to read our work. However, this often does not happen. Editors are us, faculty, who rarely get release time for their editorial service. They are super busy, and often don't have time to look for reviewers who are perfect matches for our work. I do not blame them, but this is just the truth.

There are perhaps a dozen reasons why the review process may lead to highly idiosyncratic, sometimes capricious, and often unfair reviews. It is really important that scholars understand the quality of reviews. Too often, young scholars are subtly, and sometimes not so subtly taught that reviews are sacred documents that they must accept as being perfect. This can lead to two unhelpful responses: 1) self downing and not sending the article out for a long time (if ever); 2) authors reacting so defensively as a means of ego self-preservation that they do not pay attention to helpful feedback.

It is important to approach the review process in a non-defensive yet critical manner; reviews are sometimes helpful, but not always If you receive a revise and resubmit, your job is to try, the best you can, to non-judgmentally and non-defensively make all changes you can that do not compromise the integrity of your work. If your article was rejected, your task is to use whatever feedback you can to improve your article in your best, non-defensive judgment.

Your subsequent goal should be to resubmit your rejected article within a couple of weeks (or, it will probably not get resubmitting for a long, long time). You are no longer bound by the reviews of the past reviewers; they rejected you, and you are moving on. Take what you like and leave the rest, as new reviewers are most likely going to focus on an entirely different sets of "problems", most of which you (or anyone besides said reviewer) are not going to be able to predict.

Why You Need to Stay in Academia

So many people want you to leave the academe; many of them want your money to help you do so. They play on your fears. Do you really want to leave?

Why should you stay?

Because it is true that only a very small percentage of people publish the majority of scholarship. And based upon your training and skill set, why can't you join that club? Why, because the myth/prevailing belief is that only very special people with special skills can do so. That is just such horse pucky. I have watched many people over the years learn to write and publish articles easily, and far more than they would have dreamed of.  You can too.

There are no tenure track jobs out there, they say. Really? With an ever increasing number of people freaked out and scared about competing for positions, many of whom have fallen victim to the voices of for-profit naysayers who make great money on playing on your fears, there actually are jobs out there. Yes, some fields are very, very competitive. But again, have you done everything you can do to compete? Have you published enough? Have you done all the internal work and skill building that you need to do to compete? Have you given yourself a fair shot?

But, here is the most important reason.

Because if you don't, you may feel like you bailed on your dreams, and may regret it for the rest of your life.

That is why.

The Immigrant Other: Lived Experiences in a Transnational World.

The website for one of my two new books on the criminalization of immigration is now live! The Immigrant Other: Lived Experiences in a Transnational World (Columbia University Press), will be out in March. We are really excited about this book. It turns social policy on its head, and begins with the lived experiences and voices of the most vulnerable, marginalized, or "othered" immigrants around the world.  It privileges narratives, stories and evocative qualitative methods to really paint a picture of the lives of undocumented immigrants around the world.

Here is what one of our reviewers said about it. 

"The Immigrant Other paints a moving picture of the lived experience of immigrants in the contemporary age. Engaging essays cover a broad range of migrants groups, institutional locations and nations. Through memborable narratives of individual struggle and collective resistance, the book provides valuable insight into the pain and struggles, but also the heroism of immigrants in the face of nation states that criminalize their lives." — Robin Jacobson, University of Puget Sound, author, The New Nativism

Please check it out, and suggest it to your libraries, colleagues who teach such courses, advocates, or others interested in the rights of heroes trying to care for their families in an increasingly global, transnational, and complex post-modernity.