Dissertation Chapter Workshops

RIDGS Dissertation Chapter Workshop Program Information and Call for Proposals

The RIDGS Dissertation Chapter Workshop program is dedicated to providing RIDGS-oriented graduate students with the opportunity to intensively workshop one of their dissertation chapters with a panel of scholars whose expertise closely matches the topic of the chapter and who are able to provide the highest quality feedback. RIDGS will organize a 90-minute presentation and workshop of your chapter and fund two faculty members of your choice to participate as discussants and provide written and oral feedback.

Here’s how it works:

1. Submit your proposal to ridgs@umn.edu using this proposal form. The proposal must be 1-2 pages long, formatted as a single PDF, and include the following information:
   • Background. Give a brief overview of the research project and place it in the context of the relevant research in Critical and Comparative Race, Indigeneity, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
   • Describe what you hope to gain from a chapter workshop and give a ~30 day time span of when you would like it to be. The workshop will take place on one day, but the time span is necessary for working with people’s schedules.
   • Propose and rank by preference at least five potential discussants, and briefly explain why and how their input would benefit your work. The discussants could be from any university in the United States. If you feel that the best possible discussants are outside the United States or work outside of formal academia, please contact RIDGS and we’ll see what we can do. Please keep in mind that the earlier you submit your application, the more likely your preferred discussants will be able to participate. Only two discussants will participate in the workshop, but five names are required since some will likely be unable.
   • Name a specific community and/or provide a list of at least ten people who could be invited to the workshop as an audience to provide additional feedback and ask questions. More people can be added later.
   • Provide an abstract of your dissertation as a whole and the chapter’s role in the dissertation. This can be similar to the overview provided in requirement 1. This abstract would appear in promotional materials.
   • A two-page or shorter curriculum vitae.
   • An (unofficial) University of Minnesota graduate transcript. 
     • ​​​​​​​There is no deadline for applications, and they are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. However, applications must be submitted at least two months before the first day of the preferred 30-day timeframe (i.e., if the desired timeframe for the workshop is April 15 – May 15, the application must be submitted before February 15) and RIDGS is only able to fund and organize a limited number of workshops per semester. If RIDGS has already met its limit for the semester, or if your application lacks sufficient detail or feasibility, you may be asked to reapply later or revise.
2. Work with your dissertation advisor on your parts of the workshop. The workshop will be virtual and structured like this:
   • 5 minutes – RIDGS Introduction to the Event
   • 10 minutes – Student’s advisor introduces the discussants and the student
   • 15 minutes – Student presents a brief overview of their dissertation as a whole, and a more in-depth overview of the chapter being workshopped
   • 40 minutes – Discussant comments
   • 10 minutes – Student responds to the comments
   • 15-20 minutes – Q&A with the audience, moderated by student’s advisor or RIDGS staff
3. Send your completed chapter draft to RIDGS at least three weeks before the workshop so that the discussants have ample time to read it and leave comments.
4. Do the workshop!
5. Use the discussants’ commentary (the workshop will be recorded) and written feedback to edit your chapter. The discussants’ will be paid honoraria for their time and expertise.
6. Do a short interview with RIDGS about your work a little while later so we can write an article about you for the RIDGS website.