Blog Posts

The NACBS Graduate and Early Career Caucus is holding three events this fall. The first two sessions will be on Zoom; the third will take place at the NACBS Conference in Chicago.

Participants MUST REGISTER for the Zoom sessions, as you will not receive a link to attend the session if you do not register. The program of events, including registration links, is below. 

The first session, “British Studies in the Digital World: NACBS Grad & EC Caucus Panel on Digital Humanities,” will take place this Friday, September 23rd.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Courteney Smith, [email protected], or Steven Casement, [email protected], of the Graduate and Early Career Caucus.

1. Fri. September 23rd, 2022 @1:00-2:30pm ET, via zoom: “British Studies in the Digital World: NACBS Grad & EC Caucus Panel on Digital Humanities.”  Join us for an exciting panel on the possibilities and opportunities for work in the field of digital humanities.  Register here for the zoom link: https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0pcOmvqjMsGtflWKB-PIRfV9sjkcigtst1 Panelists include:

Dr. Ray Siemens, Distinguished Professor of Early Tudor and Renaissance Literature at the University of Victoria.  Dr. Siemens is the former Chair of the International Alliance of Digital Humanities, and will be sharing his experiences on bringing late medieval and early modern texts into the digital world.

Dr. Jessica Otis, Assistant Professor of Early Modern and Digital history as well as history of science and technology at George Mason University and Director of Public Projects at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media.  Her research focuses on the cultural history of mathematics, plague, and cryptography in early modern England, and she has particular methodological expertise in network analysis. She has a deep interest in how to make digital humanities projects more accessible and long-term sustainable.

Dr. Taylor Soja, Assistant Professor of Modern British History at Illinois State University, and former member of the NACBS Graduate and EC Caucus.  Her research explores the relationship between violence and empire using methods of material culture, family history, and group biography with expertise in digital and public history, and their uses in the classroom.  

2. Fri. October 14th, 2022 @1:00-2:30pm ET via zoom: “British Historians in the World: Careers and Trajectories beyond the Professorship.”  Join us for our panel discussion on the possibilities for career exploration beyond the world of Academia.  This panel will include four panelists from a diverse array of career backgrounds, all with Ph.Ds in British history, who will share their experiences in finding their jobs and how their British studies degrees assisted in that choice and the skills they use daily. Register for the session link here: https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEpd-ipqjkuE9TujbQLAnjpDg2mrTIQ8pZk  Panelists include:

Dr. Catherine Babikian, Design Researcher at Ford Motor Co. As part of a human-centered design team, Babikian conducts exploratory, qualitative research to help inform new product experiences and provide insight on future design challenges.

Dr. Vanessa Wilkie, William A. Moffett Curator of Medieval Manuscripts and British History at The Huntington Library. As a rare book and manuscripts curator, Wilkie is responsible for developing the collections in my fields, working closely with researchers, curating exhibitions, interpreting the collections for scholarly and public audiences, among many other tasks.

Dr. Josh Tavenor, Senior Policy Analyst, Department of Economic Development, Government of Nova Scotia. Tavenor leads policy research, analysis, and development on a wide-range of issues, including employment skills development, rural development, technology sector growth, and agency governance.

Dr. Benjamin Herman, Proposals Analyst at ClinChoice. This position is responsible for dealing with incoming business opportunities and assembling documents to successfully win opportunities from clients, from first contact through the signed contract. This includes database management, budgeting, writing contracts and work orders, and leading cross-departmental teams to organize and communicate what the company can offer to customers.

3. Sat. November 12th, @10:15-11:45 ET (session six, in-person at the annual NACBS Conference in Chicago): “Professional Development Roundtable: From Dissertation to Book.”  This panel will explore the ways in which late career graduate students and early career scholars can prepare a dissertation for the publishing market and write or edit with the intent of publishing their first monograph.  Panelists include:

Peter Mandler, Professor, University of Cambridge

Mikki Brock, Associate Professor, Washington and Lee University

Kate Imy, Assistant Professor, University of North Texas

Brent Sirota, Associate Professor, North Carolina State University 

Best wishes,
NACBS Graduate and Early Career Caucus
NACBS Executive