The deadline to apply for the 2023 Summer Writing Group has passed.
The Association for Jewish Studies is pleased to again offer an online summer writing group in 2023 oriented towards women, transgender, and non-binary scholars of Jewish Studies. This program will be run by Sarah Abrevaya Stein, Professor of History, the Director of the Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies, and the Viterbi Family Chair in Mediterranean Jewish Studies at UCLA.
Participants will meet online for 6 weeks during June and July. All group sessions will take place via Zoom for an hour on Mondays at 10 AM PST/1 PM EST on June 19, June 26, July 10, July 17, July 24, and July 31. Smaller group meetings will be held for one hour after the large group meeting, with a short break between (aka 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM PST / 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST). Please do not apply if those meeting times do not fit your schedule.
Studies have shown that across the disciplines a significant gender gap exists in publishing: women, transgender, and non-binary scholars publish less than their cis-male counterparts.1 The gendered publication gap expands for high-ranking journals with dire consequences: women, transgender, and non-binary scholars are not only less likely to be cited, but also they are given less credit for the work they create.2 This makes women, transgender, and non-binary scholars less successful when it comes to advancement, hiring, and tenure, and contributes to the “leaky pipeline.”3
To address this gap in publishing, the AJS has implemented a summer writing program designed specifically to provide extra support and encouragement for women, transgender, and non-binary scholars, with the goal of boosting submission rates.
Overall, the goal of this group will attend to some of the key problems that cause women and LGBTQ+ scholars to submit fewer articles by (1) connecting people with mentors, (2) forging connections, (3) providing a supportive environment, (4) keeping people from feeling isolated, (5) breaking the cycle in which people respond to criticism by filing their work in a drawer and never looking at it again, and (6) building people’s publication skill sets.
The AJS, in conjunction with the Gender Justice Caucus, will provide a copy of Wendy Belcher’s Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks to each participant. Please note that this group is open to you even if your goal is not to finish a journal article (but to focus on, for example, the fine-tuning of a chapter, book prospectus, or any other genre of scholarly writing).
Whatever your goal, we will use full group meetings to review/discuss Belcher’s chapters two at a time; commit to our own individual work schedules; exchange practical tips for setting goals, time management, strategic planning and more.
In small group sessions, participants will meet virtually with three to four other people and exchange draft work, in tandem with Belcher’s writing timeline. The goal of these smaller groups is to read each other’s work, give supportive feedback, and learn from each other’s triumphs and pitfalls.
• Applicants must be current AJS members for the 2023 membership year (January – December 2023).
• People at all stages of their career are welcome.
• If you participated in a previous AJS summer writing group, you are eligible to reapply. Preference will be given to new participants.
Applicants should submit:
• 1) a current CV
• 2) the application form with contact information
• 3) a paragraph explaining why you would like to participate in the summer writing group and how it will advance your writing projects and publication agenda
• 4) confirmation that you can meet at the designated times.
Application Deadline: Friday, March 31, 2023
