Our field, like the rest of the humanities and social sciences, directs most of its developmental resources to supporting the younger generation of scholars through the doctoral and postdoctoral phases of their careers up to the publication of the first book. This is appropriate, as the challenges of turning the dissertation into that first monograph, clearing the path to promotion to tenure, are formidable. Beyond that phase, however, lies the mid-career challenge of writing the second book that, in most universities, marks the dividing line between associate and full professor. Of scholars in the humanities and social sciences who publish a first book, most do not publish a second. This is often by choice, as some of us elect to prioritize others aspects of our professional careers. For others, though, not publishing a second book is less a matter of choice than the product of circumstances. Research continues, writing gets done, and yet the book remains elusive, and with it, the rewards of promotion to full.
To help mid-career members who find themselves in this position, the AAS will offer its first workshop on the challenges of writing the second book on the afternoon of Thursday, March 22 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, prior to the opening of the annual meeting in Washington, D.C. The workshop will be jointly run by Beth Berry, Tim Brook, Josh Fogel, and Tobie Meyer-Fong. Members of the Association who are working in any of the areas and disciplines represented by the Association are invited to apply. The participants will be limited in number. No cost is involved.
To apply, you must be a current member of the AAS, have written at least 100 pages (roughly 25,000 words) of the second book manuscript, and be committed to completing it. The application consists of:
(1) a brief CV (no more than 3 pages);
(2) a short document (also no more than 3 pages) stating:
(i) title, publisher, and date of publication of your first book;
(ii) title and précis of the current book project in no more than 300 words, giving a word count of the current material in usable draft form;
(iii) a brief account of the problems you are facing in trying to complete the book, with some thoughts on the practicable solutions you see to these problems, and on what help you think you could use to move forward;
(3) a short description (one page) of one concrete writing problem you face, accompanied by a passage from your draft (no more than 5 pages) exemplifying this problem.
Please send your application materials in this order as a single PDF file to Joshua Fogel at fogel@yorku.ca. The deadline for receiving these materials, December 29, is absolute. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out on January 15.
Come prepared to talk freely about your work and have some fun.
Posted by: Maura Elizabeth Cunningham <mcunningham@asian-studies.org>