Join us: Online Feminist Scholars Digital Workshop -- May 17-24, 2013

Feminist Scholars Digital Workshop (2013)

Friday, May 17th through Friday, May 24th

What is the Feminist Scholars Digital Workshop?

The Feminist Scholars Digital Workshop is an online, asynchronous, interdisciplinary, participant-driven workshop for scholars and individuals working on feminist-oriented research projects. The goal of the workshop is to create an online space where participants can exchange scholarship and ideas.

How Does it Work?

The workshop is an informal, highly-collaborative meeting where participants create and set in motion their own agendas. There is no program for the workshop and there are no presentations. Instead, participants collaborate in small groups to exchange research projects for feedback and peer review.

The workshop is free and open to anyone interested in feminist research, whether they are graduate students, librarians, archivists, professors, academics, para-academics, or non-academics.

Outcomes of the workshop include:

Fostering working relationships among feminist researchers and scholars
Encouraging inter- and cross-disciplinary research and collaboration
Discussing strategies, best practices, and feminist research methodologies/methods
Promoting collaborative learning and professional development
Creating a supportive space for feminist scholars to interact and network

Who Should Attend?

Anyone with an interest in feminist scholarship and research.

How Much Does it Cost?

Nothing! Participants can attend the workshop for free.

When Does it Take Place?

This year’s workshop will take place Friday, May 17th through Friday, May 24th.

Where Does it Take Place?

The Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory (HASTAC) hosts the workshop. Many thanks to HASTAC for their generous support.

What Do I Need for the Workshop?

Ideally, you will bring a working manuscript (i.e. journal article, proposal, dissertation chapter, webtext) to the workshop. However, you are not required to have a manuscript to participate.

Whom Do I Contact for More Information?

For additional information on the workshop, please contact Lori Beth De Hertogh at lori.dehertogh@wsu.edu (@lbdehertogh) or Jacob Friedman at jacob.friedman@wsu.edu.

Post any questions to the main Q&A thread here.

You can also access live updates via Twitter using the hashtag #FSDW13.

About the Organizers

Lori Beth De Hertogh is a Ph.D. student in the Rhetoric and Composition program at Washington State University. Her primary areas of study are computers & writing and digital feminist rhetorics, but she is also interested in issues related to open-access educational technologies and digital publishing. Lori Beth founded the Feminist Scholars Digital Workshop with the goal of creating an online space where individuals interested in feminist research could come together to collaborate and exchange ideas.

Jacob Friedman is a Ph.D. Student in Washington State University's Rhetoric and Composition program. His scholarly interests include the Digital Humanities, open access, technological rhetoric, and scientific rhetoric. Having come into academics by way of an MFA in creative writing, he also has an interest in propaganda, and post-9/11 literature.

Workshop Timeline

Friday, May 17 —

Sunday, May 19

Monday, May 20 —

Thursday, May 23

Friday, May 24

Create HASTAC user account
Post introductions
Form reading groups

Meet in small reading groups
Read manuscripts; exchange ideas

Wrap-up
Post summaries of workshop experience
Complete workshop survey

Workshop Directions
Specific instructions for the workshop may be revised up until a few days prior to the start of the workshop. Please refer back to this document a day or two before the workshop begins for the most up-to-date information.

Friday, May 17—Sunday, May 19

Register with HASTAC. (If you are already a HASTAC user, skip this step.) You can register by clicking the gold button at the top of the HASTAC homepage titled “Join HASTAC.” Follow the registration steps outlined on the user account page.

After you’ve created an account and have logged in, visit the Feminist Scholars Digital Workshop group page. Click the gold button on the right-hand side of the page which says “Join Group.” Once you click this button, you will be automatically added to the workshop group.

Once you have completed the above steps, you are ready to introduce yourself to the group. To post your introduction, click the “post content” button on the right hand side of the page. Next, click “blog entry.” You can type your introduction into the body of your post or copy/paste it from another document. (Tip: If you copy/paste your introduction from another document, paste it as plain text. You can do this by selecting the “paste as plain text” button in the option bar at the top of the blog entry text box.)

In your introduction, explain your research project, the kind of feedback you are looking for, and what you’d like to get out of the workshop. As you describe your project, remember that you'll likely be explaining it to individuals outside your area of expertise or discipline. Include your contact information (email, twitter, etc.) in your introduction, level of professional/academic experience, and any other information you would like workshop participants to know about you. Please also indicate whether or not you have previous workshop experience as well as your level of familiarity with/knowledge of feminist scholarship. (Individuals with previous workshop experience may be selected by the workshop organizers to serve as group leaders).

Post your introduction no later than 12:00 PM EST on Sunday to secure a spot in the workshop. If you post after this day/time, you will not be able to participate in the workshop.

Read the other participants’ introductions. Feel free to comment or ask questions.

By 6:00 PM EST on Sunday, a note will be posted to the workshop forum which outlines reading groups. Groups will be no larger than four participants and will reflect diverse disciplinary interests, experiences, and practices. One member per group will serve as the group leader. (See information outlined below for additional information on group leaders)

Monday, May 20—Thursday, May 23

Exchange drafts, manuscripts, proposals, etc. for feedback and peer review. You have several options for exchanging documents:

- Email documents to group members.
- Copy/past documents into a blog post in the workshop forum and give/receive feedback using the “comments” feature. (Tip: to create a blog post, follow the same steps as you did when creating your introduction.) If you share your work in the forum, be aware that it may be publicly visible.
- Create google docs for sharing and peer review. (Tip: you can control who has access to google docs by manipulating the privacy features under the “share” button.)

Groups should review 1 manuscript per day. Please review the guidelines for manuscripts and peer review (see below) for additional information.

If group members are interested, group leaders can coordinate online meeting times via Google hangout or Skype to discuss projects.

Note: Remember you can tweet about your peer review sessions and experiences using the hashtag (#) FSDW13.

Friday, May 24

Wrap-up peer review.

Post a blog entry/summary to main workshop forum describing what you learned from the workshop, how it was or was not helpful, what you hope to do with the feedback you received, etc. Feel free to comment on any other aspect of the workshop that interests you.

Please note that participants’ feedback will be curated and archived for public viewing on the HASTAC website. If you do not want your feedback visible to members outside of the workshop, clearly indicate this in your summary. Here’s an example of what the collection will look like.

Fill out the workshop survey.

Complete all activities by 5:00 PM EST.

Guidelines for Manuscripts & Peer Review

Manuscript Guidelines

Due to time constraints, please limit the length of manuscripts to no longer than 30 single-spaced pages. For longer pieces (i.e. dissertations, books) consider sharing key passages or excerpts. If you are sharing a webtext or digital project, consider how much of your project readers can feasibly review and respond to in one day.

If you do not have a manuscript but would like to receive feedback on a project idea, consider sharing a list of questions you would like addressed. You might also share an outline of your project or a write-up which explains the project, its purpose, target audience, etc.

Share manuscripts using Word or Google documents. Other file formats may make it difficult for participants to read and comment on your work. You can also use the blog post feature in the workshop forum for sharing and responding to materials.

Guidelines for Writers

Prior to sharing your work, explain to readers your research project, the kind of feedback you are looking for, and what you’d like to get out of the workshop. Keep in mind that readers are likely from disciplinary backgrounds different from your own and represent varying levels of experience and expertise.

It may also be helpful to share with reviewers what you are not looking for—i.e. grammar correction, feedback on formatting, style, etc.

Guidelines for Readers

Use a respectful tone when giving feedback. It’s fine to be critical, but do so in a supportive and constructive way. Remember that communication online can be perceived differently than in face-to-face settings.

Give advice on higher order concerns first. For instance, you might point to areas in the text where the writer’s ideas are unclear or confusing.

Give feedback on lower order concerns last. This includes feedback on grammar usage, punctuation, spelling, style, format, etc.

Provide feedback that reflects your perspective. You may not be familiar with the writer’s area of expertise or discipline, but your perspective is still valuable.

Offer a balanced combination of constructive criticism and positive feedback.

Guidelines for Group Leaders
Group leaders are responsible for helping manage the exchange of manuscripts and for facilitating the peer review process. Leaders are also a resource for group members to go to with questions or concerns regarding peer review. Roles of group leaders include:

Ensuring that peer feedback is supportive and constructive.

Managing time to ensure that groups respond to 1 manuscript per day.

Answering general questions or concerns about the peer review process. (All other questions should be directed to Lori Beth De Hertogh at lori.dehertogh@wsu.edu or Jacob Friedman at jacob.friedman@wsu.edu)

If group members decide to meet via Skype or Google hangout, the group leader will be responsible for coordinating meeting venues/times.

2 comments

AWE! This is what HASTAC is for!

Cathy Davidson

I am watching this Feminist Scholars Digital Workshop unfold and I am in awe. The whole point of an open network is to have affordances on the site, and a sense of community, that welcomes scholars to take the idea of online peer collaboration . . . and run with it! You have done that brilliantly. Thank you. This is exciting, inspiring, and a marvelous example for others to follow.