Progressive Geographies

‘Shit I learned during my PhD‘ (via Academia Obscura)

Some interesting, and at times provocative, advice. Not all relevant to all disciplines, but certainly worth a look. [The original post seems to be unavailable; but can be found here Now fixed]

Jon Tennant just finished his PhD in paleontology. This post originally appeared on Jon’s blog, Fossils and Shit. Follow him on twitter @protohedgehog.

Doing a PhD is one of the greatest trials you will ever experience in your life. It is physically and mentally grueling, you will be challenged and pushed to the limit every single day, and the pressure levels are so high they will bust you right into the sixth dimension if you’re not prepared or strong enough.

So yeah, they are not for the faint of hearted. That is, if you want to succeed by pushing yourself to the limit, excel in everything that you apply yourself to, and grow to become more powerful than you can possibly imagine (compared to the wimpy undergrad you used to be). But I imagine you wouldn’t even be doing a PhD if this wasn’t your mentality anyway.

I’m a strong believer in committing yourself fully to something if you believe in it, and doing everything within your power to achieve your goals. A PhD is basically a 3-4 year long single project that you can, and should, dedicate yourself too. Now that I’m nearing the end of my own challenge, I wanted to share some simple things with you all that might help in some way.

Cornell Open – open access out of print Cornell University Press books

Cornell Open is the new global open access portal for classic out-of-print titles from the distinguished catalog of  Cornell University Press. Funded by the newly created Humanities Open Book Program, a collaborative effort between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Cornell Open offers for the first time open access to key titles in literary criticism and theory, German studies, and Slavic studies.

“As America’s first university press we are extremely honored to receive this generous grant from the NEH and Mellon, and expand our role as a leader in open access scholarship through our new Cornell Open initiative,” said Cornell University Press Director Dean Smith. “Our close collaboration with the Cornell University Library and noted scholars in the field has ensured that the Cornell books chosen for this project are ones that will truly make a significant global impact in each of their respective fields.”

“These first open books from Cornell University Press reflect a long-standing legacy of publishing classic scholarship in German Studies and Slavic Studies,” said Brett Bobley, Director of the NEH’s Office of Digital Humanities. “We are pleased that the titles are accessible and open for the next generation of scholars.”

Slated to feature twenty ebooks in its first year, available from both Cornell as well as collaborative partners JSTOR and Project MUSE, Cornell Open aims to expand this list to 150 titles for the Press’s 150^th anniversary in 2019.

“Project MUSE is delighted to provide a stable, long-term, and highly functional platform for the digital open access versions of these influential works of scholarship, “ said Wendy Queen, Director of Project MUSE. “The titles enhance our offerings in core humanities and area studies disciplines and our global user base will benefit from unrestricted access to these classic scholarly books.”

Cornell University Library and Press staff began the process of selecting the first twenty books to be digitized with the NEH grant by examining over two decades of the library’s circulation statistics for influential Press titles which are currently out-of-print. Scholars and subject specialists in selected fields were then asked to evaluate the list of prospective titles using both this quantitative data and their own knowledge of research and teaching needs in their specialty areas, to choose those books of greatest continuing interest and relevance.

“As an advocate for open access and sustainable publishing, Cornell University Library is thrilled to see the digital versions of Cornell University Press titles made openly accessible to all readers,” said Anne R. Kenney, Carl A. Kroch University Librarian for the Cornell University Libraries. “Previously available in print form only, the titles selected were not only well received when initially published but remain relevant to scholars and students today.”

“I’m particularly pleased that this initial round of Cornell Open books includes titles that will be important complements to books in our Signale series in Modern German Letters, Cultures, and Thought,” added Kizer Walker, Director of Collections for Cornell University Library, and Managing Editor of the Signale series. “The program will acquaint new readers with three seminal works in criticism, theory, and literary history by Signale’s editor, Peter Uwe Hohendahl, originally published with Cornell Press in the 1980s and ‘90s.”