About the Seminar
PURPOSE: The Seminar on Historical Change and Social Theory (SHCST) is designed as a bi-weekly forum for the constructive criticism of work in progress by faculty and graduate students. Faculty and graduate students in history, the social sciences, and area studies are especially encouraged to participate. Our goal is to create an interdisciplinary community where people working on a variety of topics can receive fresh ideas, bibliographic references, and advice that will help them revise manuscripts that will later become journal articles, book chapters, master’s theses, and the like.
Participants in the seminar must commit to:
- Regular attendance
- Eventual presentation of a work in progress to the group
- Serve as a commentator on a paper at least once
FORMAT: The paper to be discussed will be emailed to participants one week before the seminar. Paper writers should attach a memo to the paper stating what kind of audience they intend for the paper, and what kind of help they need with it. At the seminar, the paper writer will be expected to make brief (10 minutes) comment about the paper. Paper writers are encouraged not to make a formal presentation of their manuscript, but instead to provide the basic context of the paper and their purposes in writing it. This will be followed by comments from two discussants (10-15 minutes each), preferably from different disciplines. Afterwards, the discussion will be opened up to all members of the seminar. While we expect the comments to be diverse, especially given the seminar's interdisciplinary nature, commentators should try to tailor their comments and criticisms to the intentions of the author. Written comments shall also be welcomed.
MEETINGS: The SHCST will meet every other Monday from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in the Greenleaf conference room, Jones 100A. For specific dates, see the current schedule.
TO PARTICIPATE: Those interested in participating in the seminar should join the mailing list. For more information you contact Emily Clark (eclark@tulane.edu). SHCST members will receive the papers via the email mailing list.
ORGANIZERS: Emily Clark (History) and Ludovico Feoli (Latin American Studies).
We offer special thanks to the George Bernstein, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts, for his support of the SHCST.