Undergraduate Research in English Studies


Book Description

Editors Laurie Grobman and Joyce Kinkead offer a groundbreaking collection of essays that aims to mobilize the profession of English studies to further participate in undergraduate research, which in the past had been reserved for scientific fields. Why shouldn't undergraduates in English studies have the same opportunities as those in the sciences to benefit from undertaking real research that can inform and have an impact on practitioners in the discipline? They should and can, according to editors Laurie Grobman and Joyce Kinkead, who have produced this collection to showcase the first steps being made to integrate undergraduate research into English studies and, even more important, to point the way toward greater involvement. Undergraduate Research in English Studies is a groundbreaking collection that aims to mobilize the profession of English studies to further participate in undergraduate research, an educational movement and comprehensive curricular innovation that is "the pedagogy for the twenty-first century," according to the Joint Statement of Principles composed by the Council on Undergraduate Research and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research. Students engaged in genuine research gain an insider's understanding of field-specific debates, develop relevant skills and insights for future careers and graduate study, and contribute their voices to creating knowledge through the research process. Some contributors discuss the importance of mentoring, how to conduct research responsibly, and avenues for disseminating research and scholarship locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally. Others provide case studies of undergraduate research in literature and in composition and rhetoric. The volume combines theory and practice, and lays the groundwork for further practice and inquiry, sending forth a call to broaden undergraduate research possibilities in all areas of English.




On the Inconvenience of Other People


Book Description

In On the Inconvenience of Other People Lauren Berlant continues to explore our affective engagement with the world. Berlant focuses on the encounter with and the desire for the bother of other people and objects, showing that to be driven toward attachment is to desire to be inconvenienced. Drawing on a range of sources, including Last Tango in Paris, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Claudia Rankine, Christopher Isherwood, Bhanu Kapil, the Occupy movement, and resistance to anti-Black state violence, Berlant poses inconvenience as an affective relation and considers how we might loosen our attachments in ways that allow us to build new forms of life. Collecting strategies for breaking apart a world in need of disturbing, the book’s experiments in thought and writing cement Berlant’s status as one of the most inventive and influential thinkers of our time.




The Value of the Humanities


Book Description

In The Value of the Humanities prize-winning critic Helen Small assesses the value of the Humanities, eloquently examining five historical arguments in defence of the Humanities.




The Indispensable Guide to Undergraduate Research


Book Description

Despite all of the information that exists to encourage students to attend and do well in college, this is the first research-based guide that directly advises first- and second-year college students. With a focus on the needs and interests of students who are underrepresented in the academy (African American, Latinx, low-income, and first-generation students), this book will help all students take full advantage of the academic resources that the university setting has to offer. The authors introduce students to different types of research across the disciplines, showing them how to work with professors to build a course of study, how to integrate research work into coursework, and how to write and present research. This timely volume will also assist faculty, staff, and parents in providing the needed tools to promote student success. Book Features: Prepares students for the transition from high school to college with a focus on writing, time management, and research skills.Addresses the challenges that face high-achieving, underrepresented students.Empowers students to seek out resources and research opportunities to achieve their full academic potential.Includes models, approaches, student voices, and vignettes from the authors’ successful undergraduate research program. “A must read for every college student. This practical guide provides a roadmap for success as a researcher, a scholar, and a learner.” —Tia Brown McNair, Association of American Colleges & Universities “Faculty mentors and administrative leaders who aspire to be effective sponsors and supporters of students from diverse backgrounds should definitely acquire this resource.” —Elizabeth L. Ambos, Council on Undergraduate Research “What I love about this book is the broader, humanistic conversation about how pursuing research becomes a window into how one becomes a supremely informed and critical citizen.” —Armando Bengochea, director, Mellon-Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program




MLA Guide to Undergraduate Research in Literature


Book Description

What makes a good research topic in a literature class? What does your professor mean by "peer-reviewed" sources? What should you do if you can't find enough material? This approachable guide walks students through the process of research in literary studies, providing them with tools for responding successfully to course assignments. Written by two experienced librarians, the guide introduces the resources available through college and university libraries and explains how to access the ones a student needs. It focuses on research in literature, identifying relevant databases and research guides and explaining different types of sources and the role each plays in researching and writing about a literary text. But it contains helpful information for any student researcher, describing strategies for searching the Web to find the most useful material and offering guidance on organizing research and documenting sources with MLA style.




Undergraduate Research for Student Engagement and Learning


Book Description

There is growing interest in undergraduate research, given its benefits to students, faculty members, and the institution. For higher education scholars, faculty, and administrators, this book logically synthesizes the literature to demonstrate its impact on facilitation of learning and engagement and to chart a course for expanding and improving these opportunities. This book provides a comprehensive overview of undergraduate research as a "high-impact practice" in postsecondary education, from its theoretical underpinnings and research-base, to student participation and faculty incentives. This important resource offers analysis of the current state of undergraduate research, explores challenges and unresolved questions affecting undergraduate research, and provides implications for research and practice.




The Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate Research


Book Description

Undergraduate Research (UR) can be defined as an investigation into a specific topic within a discipline by an undergraduate student that makes an original contribution to the field. It has become a major consideration among research universities around the world, in order to advance both academic teaching and research productivity. Edited by an international team of world authorities in UR, this Handbook is the first truly comprehensive and systematic account of undergraduate research, which brings together different international approaches, with attention to both theory and practice. It is split into sections covering different countries, disciplines, and methodologies. It also provides an overview of current research and theoretical perspectives on undergraduate research as well as future developmental prospects of UR. Written in an engaging style, yet wide-ranging in its scope, it is essential reading for anyone wishing to broaden their understanding of how undergraduate research is implemented worldwide.




The Naylor Report on Undergraduate Research in Writing Studies


Book Description

The Naylor Report on Undergraduate Research in Writing Studies combines scholarly research with practical advice for practitioners of undergraduate research in writing studies, including student researchers, mentors, and program administrators. Building upon the 1998 Boyer Commission Report, Reinventing Undergraduate Education, this book provides insight into the growth of undergraduate research over the last twenty years. Contributors demonstrate how undergraduate research serves students and their mentors as well as sponsoring programs, departments, and institutions. The Naylor Report also illustrates how making research central to undergraduate education helps advance the discipline. Organized in two parts, Part I focuses on defining characteristics of undergraduate research in writing studies: mentoring, research methods, contribution to knowledge, and circulation. Part II focuses on critical issues to consider, such as access, curriculum, and institutional support.




Researching Writing


Book Description

Researching Writing is an accessible, informative textbook that teaches undergraduates how to conduct ethical, authentic research in writing studies. The book introduces students to the research approaches used most often and offers a course framework for professors creating or teaching research courses themselves. Author Joyce Kinkead lays out the research process, including finding and defining questions, planning, and starting the research. Expository content introduces the language and methods of writing research, and specific methods are demonstrated in published examples, illustrating student work using student work and showing that it is possible for students to join the scholarly conversation in writing studies. Other features include student activities, instructor resources, student resources, and links to external content on journal websites, digital publications, YouTube, and similar work. The first-ever textbook for research methods in writing studies for undergraduates, Researching Writing takes a hands-on approach that excites and engages students in the depth and complexities of research and will influence the creation of courses in new writing majors as the field continues to grow.




Bodies in Flux


Book Description

Doctors, scientists, and patients have long grappled with the dubious nature of “certainty” in medical practice. To help navigate the chaos caused by ongoing bodily change we rely on scientific reductions and deductions. We take what we know now and make best guesses about what will be. But bodies in flux always outpace the human gaze. Particularly in cancer care, processes deep within our bodies are at work long before we even know where to look. In the face of constant biological and technological change, how do medical professionals ultimately make decisions about care? Bodies in Flux explores the inventive ways humans and nonhumans work together to manufacture medical evidence. Each chapter draws on rhetorical theory to investigate a specific scientific method for negotiating medical uncertainty in cancer care, including evidential visualization, assessment, synthesis, and computation. Case studies unveil how doctors rely on visuals when deliberating about a patient’s treatment options, how members of the FDA use inferential statistics to predict a drug’s effectiveness, how researchers synthesize hundreds of clinical trials into a single evidence-based recommendation, and how genetic testing companies compute and commoditize human health. Teston concludes by advocating for an ethic of care that pushes back against the fetishization of certainty—an ethic of care that honors human fragility and bodily flux.