David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way
Humanists @ Work (HumWork) is the graduate career initiative for the University of California. HumWork is organized by the University of California Humanities Research Institute and funded by the Modern Language Association’s Mellon-funded Connected Academics grant.
Schedule
8:00–9:00 AM Breakfast
9:00 AM Welcome and Introductions
David Theo Goldberg | UCHRI
9:15–10:45 AM Stories from the Field
UC Humanities PhDs share their stories as humanists at work in the world.
Simon Abramowitsch | English Instructor | Chabot College
Elizabeth Gessel | Director of Public Programs | Museum of the African Diaspora
Silvie Liao | Global Curriculum Development Manager | RiseSmart
Dana Carballo Linda | Executive Operations and Content Strategy | Menlo Ventures
10:45–11:15 AM Coffee Break
11:15 AM–12:45 PM Developing Our Questions and Narratives about the Humanities PhD
12:45–1:45 PM Lunch
Breakout 1: Managing Up
Annie Maxfield, MS | Interim Director Graduate Student Resource Center and Associate Director, Graduate Student Professional Development | UC Los Angeles
David Blancha, PhD | Assistant Director, Graduate Student Career Services | UC Los Angeles
During this interactive session a humanities PhD and his supervisor will lead a discussion about “followership,” drawing from experiences in their work relationship and building upon research in the field of leadership development and organizational communication. Participants will learn how to navigate communication, expectations, and power with their advisors or boss’s and strategies to build a productive and positive work environment.
Breakout 2: CV to Résumé: HumWork Tested & Tried Methods That Work
Jared Redick | The Résumé Studio
3:00–3:30 PM Coffee Break
3:30–4:45 PM So What Do You Do? Communicating Across Industry, Government, and Academia
George Anders | Editor at Large | LinkedIn | Author | You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a “Useless” Liberal Arts Education
Allen Chai + Linda Vo | Technical Recruiter | IXL Learning
Francesca Gilberti Burke | Senior Editorial + Content Manager | OpenTable
Adrienne Posner | Program Manager | Google
Susan Shald | Director of Talent Sourcing | Gallup
Kelly Anne Brown | UCHRI (facilitator)
Rebecca Lippman | UC Los Angeles (facilitator)
What perceptions do “those who work” beyond the university have about the general value of the PhD, and the humanities PhD in particular? So often professionalization efforts ascribe university-generated assumptions about what employers need and/or want from prospective employees, especially those who pursue advanced degrees, without the research to confirm these impressions. Given a noticeable lack of dialogue between laborers inside and outside of the university, our communities often struggle to find common language through which to express our experiences, expertise, and adaptations to technologies that drive continuously shifting modes of work in most areas of contemporary employment. By collaborating in an inclusive space with employers from diverse industries, we want to cultivate perspectives that allow us to better understand each others’ work in professional settings.
Building on four years of Humanists@Work conversations and activities related to careers beyond the professoriate, this multi-part session aims to host a dynamic and interactive conversation among humanities PhDs and invited leaders in business, nonprofit, and government. Through dialogue, we wish to:
- Learn about obstacles in the minds of industry experts regarding the value of a PhD that must be overcome in order for those with advanced degrees to clearly articulate the experience and expertise that they bring to the world of work, and why their contributions should matter to non-university audiences and industries.
- Gauge the extent of translational challenges that our graduate students face as they transition out of the university, and build communication strategies directed towards industries outside of the university, and to faculty and staff who work on professionalization within university settings.
- Generate a plan of action for future Humanists@Work research, communication efforts, and resource development that registers the questions posed by session participants and the answers we hear. By the end of the session, we wish to have a sense of how to imagine and plan for the next employer-facing incarnation of Humanists@Work.
Call to action: As we prepare for HumWork Berkeley, we invite you to begin generating questions for our invited industry/nonprofit/government interlocutors. What do you want to know? Send your questions to: humwork@hri.uci.edu.
4:45 PM Closing Remarks
Kelly Anne Brown | UCHRI
5:00–6:00 PM Reception