The Grad Guide is a weekly digest of announcements, events, and programming for graduate and professional school students. If you're not already signed up, click here to register your email address with our list! Bookmark this page to get all the most recent updates and events!
Send questions about graduate student resources to askthegargoyle@uchicago.edu, and be sure to check out GSA's FB page, or follow us on Twitter.
Registration opens Monday, May 20
Recharge at Ratner is a quarterly event that provides students with opportunities to take a break from studying and de-stress with physical activity. This quarter event is taking place June 6th, and activities will feature both dodge ball and three on three basketball tournaments. While the event is open to all, registration for the tournaments opens May 20. Gather some friends and sign up today! More information on additional activities is also available here.
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Thursday, May 16-Friday, May 17
The question of permanence, of how to create continuity and belonging, has long been an implicit topic of study in Africanist anthropology. Older anthropological theories presupposed continuity in their analyses of African sociality, even as their ethnographic accounts revealed flux and instability. Contemporary anthropology understands permanence as both fragile and elusive. Asking how permanence is imagined, actively produced, or its absence exploited, opens up conceptual space for a more subtle reading of continuities and forms of belonging as well as ruptures and re-imaginings of sociality in contemporary Africa. Learn more about the conference.
Friday, May 17, 9:30 am-6:00 pm, Gordon Center for Integrative Science, W301/303
This interdisciplinary conference focuses on the current state of knowledge of tropical forest diversity and outlooks for its protection. Morning and afternoon sessions will explore the contributions of both science and policy to biodiversity conservation in tropical forests worldwide. For complete conference schedule, details, and registration, click here.
Friday, May 17, 12:00 pm, Social Sciences 224
Nobel Laureate Friedrich August von Hayek was an unconventional economist. He veered away from technical analysis relatively early in his career in order to pursue epistemological, psychological and ethical questions. His investigations resulted in a theory of cultural evolution, which meant both to explain the emergence of the free market and to promote it. Naomi Beck examines the reasons that led Hayek to use evolutionary arguments in his defense of methodological individualism and the free market. Relying on a perception of human beings as rule-following animals, Hayek depicted the social order in a similar way to the sensory order, namely as a structure that arises without design, through a non-conscious process of selection of rules of behavior. Social Sciences 224 is accessible to all. For further information, contact Beth Calderon (bethcalderon@uchicago.edu).
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Monday, May 20, 12:30-1:30 pm, Reynolds Club South Lounge
Please RSVP. You taught your own course for the first time and it was awesome! Apply for the Excellence in Course Design Award, and get advice from last year's winners on how they presented their experiences with their course. Or just come to find out what innovative things your fellow graduate students are doing in their classrooms. Drinks and cookies will be provided. Please feel free to bring a lunch. For more information about applying for the award, visit here.
Tuesday, May 21, 12:00-1:00 pm, Register Online
Join David J. P. Fisher from Rockstar Consulting and Ajax Workforce Marketing as he discusses how to use LinkedIn in your professional life. Learn the best practices for profile development and a few tips to make your profile stand out from the rest. Develop a connection strategy that enables you to network more effectively. See how new tools, such as endorsements, tagging, and groups, can help you accomplish your daily business goals. By the end, you'll be ready to engage with your network on a whole new level.
Wednesday, May 22, 12:30-1:30 pm, Gates-Blake 133
Please RSVP. Pre-registration is not required, so feel free to bring friends the day of! We are just trying to get a sense of how much food to order.
EAT Frozen yogurt and banh mi sandwiches! TEACH Hear 4-minute flashtalks on new ideas in teaching presented by other grad students. TALK Consider – in small groups – which of the ideas presented deserves the "best idea" award. RUN Return to Lab/Library/Classroom!
Wednesday, May 22, 3:00-4:30 pm, Gates-Blake 133
This course is designed for graduate students interested in teaching. Have you found that your students aren't using the academic sources you expect for their assignments? Do your students seem to lack basic library research skills? In this program, University of Chicago librarians will highlight ways you can integrate library research instruction into your courses to promote the acquisition of the skills necessary to complete research assignments. We'll demonstrate ready-to-go online tools that can be integrated into your Chalk site, and discuss the different types of in-class instruction the Library can provide. At the end of the session, we'll work together to create some sample assignments designed to help students learn how to use the Library's collections and online resources. Register for this workshop.
Wednesday, May 22, 3:00-4:30 pm, Classics 110
This program run by the Career Advancement office will offer graduate students an overview of the application process for academic jobs as tenure-track faculty and post-docs. Topics include materials (CV, cover letters, letters of recommendation), planning for interviews, making contingency plans. Although the academic job application season goes into high-gear in Autumn, prior preparation and strategic thinking are necessary. If you have questions, please contact Patrick Houlihan houlihan@uchicago.edu
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Wednesday, May 22, 11:30 am-1:30 pm, Reynolds Club McCormick Lounge
Take a break in your day and relieve stress by petting and playing with certified therapy dogs from Rainbow Animal Assisted Therapy Organization!
Join the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs as we celebrate the class of 2013! This celebration recognizes multicultural students who are graduating from the University of Chicago in the College, graduate or professional schools during any quarter of the 2012-2013 academic year. Graduates are asked to register online by Friday, May 31. You may also submit a nomination for the ceremony's student speaker. The deadline for speaker nominations is Friday, May 17. This year's celebration will take place on Thursday, June 13 at 6:30 pm at the Assembly Hall in International House. Questions? E-mail Tara Driver at tdd@uchicago.edu.
The OMSA Student Advisory Board (SAB) exists to support OMSA's mission by advocating for African American, Asian American, Latina/o, Native American, Multiracial, and Undocumented students at the University. Board members play an important role in shaping policies and procedures at OMSA, as well as representing their constituents in meetings with a variety of Campus & Student Life administrators. As a board member, you can also bridge communications between student groups, faculty and administrators. Take advantage of this opportunity to make a difference on campus, and learn from a diverse set of peers with varying interests. Applications are available online.
The University Community Service Center (UCSC) is seeking passionate, committed, and civic-minded graduate student office interns for the 2013-14 academic year. Applications are due Monday, May 20. Graduate Student Internships: Service Match Intern - Chicago Studies – Faculty Engagement Intern - Chicago Studies – Communications Intern. For more information, please go to the UChicago Career Advancement website and click on "Chicago Career Connection" to view job postings and to apply.
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Friday, May 31, 9:00 am-12:00 pm, Ida Noyes Hall (East Lounge, 2nd Floor)
Are you applying for funding to support overseas research? Join the Office of the Dean of Students, Graduate Student Affairs, and faculty experts for a full morning of tips and strategies for putting together a competitive application. Workshop your introduction to get your writing started right. This workshop will feature a discussion of grant-writing tips and strategies, a faculty panel, and an opportunity to workshop your introduction with other students, including students who've won these fellowships before. All students in the Social Sciences are invited to attend, however, this session will be most helpful for domestic students applying for funding to support research abroad. Register online here. Questions or requests for special accommodations may be addressed to jessicasmith@uchicago.edu.