One of the most challenging aspects of our work is navigating the
emotional, relational, and political dynamics of academia.
Whether it’s a student reacting negatively to a polarizing
reading, negotiating a conflict with colleagues, performing our
identities in the classroom, or attempting to find a work-life
balance, we all need strategies for dealing with the messier
parts of our job. To create an open forum for faculty and
graduate students to engage in dialogue about these challenges,
the Graduate Committee and Chair’s Advisory Committee are
co-sponsoring our first Brown Bag discussion. Committee
representatives as well as invited faculty members will be
available to answer questions, share stories, and participate in
a relaxed, collegial conversation. Note: there won’t be any
formal presentations; instead, this event is meant to be entirely
conversational.

All graduate students, faculty, and instructors in English are
welcome to attend. We encourage everyone to join us and take
advantage of this new, informal mentorship opportunity we’ve
worked together to develop.

The department will provide some coffee/tea/soda and cookies; but
you should feel free to bring your own lunch. Our hope is that
this event will be well attended by a broad cross-section of our
department, since we also hope that this, and future events like
it, will help strengthen collegiality and trust—in short:
community—in our department. If you have ideas for topics for
future Brown Bags, please email either your Graduate Student
representatives on the Graduate Committee or Chair’s Advisory
committee (or both) or Marco.