I had a meeting with Herb this morning to talk about all sort of things (the conference I went to, my conference idea, the chance to lead a program in Ukenzagapia, etc). He said that organizing a conference or symposium can be a great way to make connections and get your name out there. It's great networking and doesn't necessarily have to be a thankless job. I'm encouraged that he thinks it could be a good idea.
BUT... He pointed out that it can't interfere with my field work. He said that when you've got a difficult dissertation, it can be tempting to work on easier side projects but ultimately you'd got to do the diss. I need to be careful that I don't do that. As Jon reminded me, I've got a lot of irons in the fire and I can't ignore the biggest one of all.
I asked Herb if we can have regular meetings from now until the end of the semester. He said yes. Every Thursday morning. I think this will be a good thing for me.
2 comments:
After I saw your comment about how restricted the scope of your hypothesized conference would be, I totally think you can do it as a student. But Jon and Herb make a good point.
Maybe you should make a list of all the non-diss-related opportunities you have and prioritize them by potential impact and expected time commitment.
Hmm, I like that idea. Pretty soon I'm going to post some self-reflective questions that I'm challenging myself to answer. I should fit the cost/benefit analysis you've suggested in there.
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