The Department maintains an active calendar of graduate events. Graduate events are held on Wednesdays, at 5:15. We reserve this time slot so students and faculty can keep the time free. We expect students to attend all Department colloquia and the dissertation prospectus workshop. Students are encouraged to attend the other events hosted by the Department; doing so allows you to make the most of your education.

Department Colloquia

Typically two or three times every semester, the Department hosts colloquia. The colloquia involve presentations by prominent historians from other institutions, or occasionally one of our own faculty, to present work-in-progress. The colloquia involve a pre-circulated paper, which all attendees are expected to read in advance. At the colloquia, speakers introduce their projects, commentators offer an assessment of the submitted work, and the audience discusses the research. These occasions offer essential opportunities for graduate students to observe how historians debate and refine work, and to participate in discussion of on-going work in the field.

Professionalization Workshops

The Director of Graduate Studies coordinates a series of professionalization workshops, meant to provide graduate students with the kinds of skills not taught in the traditional classroom setting. The workshops include attention to both academic and non-academic career trajectories. Recent examples include workshops on the academic job market, submitting an article to an academic journal, or a presentation on the American Historical Association’s career diversity initiative.

Graduate Student Writing Workshops

Twice a semester, the Department sponsors writing workshops for graduate students. Organized along the lines of Department colloquia, these workshops give graduate students the chance to present their own work-in-progress for feedback. The workshops involve discussion of a piece of  pre-circulated writing by a graduate student (dissertation chapter, article draft, etc.), which the student introduces, then another graduate student comments, and finally all attendees discuss. The workshops provide a venue for students to receive useful feedback and to practice presenting their work in an informal, supportive setting. The workshops are by the DGS; students should contact the DGS for more information or to volunteer to offer a paper.

Pedagogy Discussions

This Department highly values teaching and subscribes to the view advocated by the American Historical Association that all historians, in academia or not, are teachers. Our commitment to teaching is evident in many ways, including History 603, our historical pedagogy course. We also seek to encourage discussion of teaching through our new series of pedagogy discussions. Coordinated by the Director of Graduate Studies, these workshops, led by both faculty and graduate students, bring together the Department to discuss issues related to teaching, such as teaching writing, or developing grading rubrics, ranging from the nitty-gritty to philosophies of teaching.

Graduate Student Seminars

When prominent historians are on campus or in the area, the Department endeavors to have them visit CUA to offer seminars reserved for graduate students. Faculty in such seminars often work through a text with students, or discuss a book they have written, or review a given topic. Recent seminars have been led by Miri Rubin, Jay Rubenstein, and Chris Wickham.

Student/Faculty Book Club

The Department hosts a book club for graduate students and faculty. Once a year, a faculty member selects a work of history of broad methodological interest. Students and faculty read the book, and then discuss it, led by the professor who selected the book. Recent book club selections include Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory, Mary Beard’s SPQR, and Robert Caro’s Working.

When I was your age . . .

As a light end to the academic year, the Department hosts a “When I was your age . . .” event (shamelessly borrowed from the graduate students in the Department of History at Harvard University). A faculty member, chosen by students, comes and informally discusses with the students his/her experiences as a graduate student and how his/her career has developed.