Sana is a fifth-year PhD student in the Department of French of Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Her dissertation, entitled “The Islamic State of Contemporary Literature in France and the Maghreb” aims to determine how the rise of Islamism and the revival of Islam in general, in different countries like France, Algeria, Tunisia impacts differently the imagination of contemporary writers and how their novels reflect, reshape, and recycle the “social discourse.”
Sana participated in the Teaching module through the PhD Plus Program. While deepening her knowledge, Sana is trying to get ready for a faculty position with a focus on both teaching and research. Since her research looks at multiple regions around the world, she hopes to enhance the international profile and reputation of her future institution.
Q: Why did you apply for the PhD Plus Liaisons Program?
A: I believe that PhD Plus is an excellent initiative to prepare PhD students for career success. I have wanted to make the most out of the full range of valuable tools it provides to be more prepared to serve society’s needs and engage in academia.
Q: What are you doing as a PhD Plus Liaison in the context of your department and “Teaching” area of focus?
A: I have been working with Naomi Worth, another PhD Plus Liaison in the Religious Studies Department, on a teaching workshop focussed on “Identifying implicit biases and stereotypes threat to increase student engagement in classroom discussions.” We wanted to understand how implicit biases and stereotype threats hold students back from classroom participation. Based on case studies and techniques like “Theatre of the Oppressed,” we developed strategies to help overcome our own and our participants’ implicit biases.
Q: What professional skills are you developing as a PhD Plus Liaison?
A: I am honing my methodological skills and increasing knowledge in preparation for the professoriate. Today having a PhD is not enough to secure a job and to succeed. I need to acquire communication and organization skills to convey ideas effectively in oral presentations.
ABOUT PHD PLUS LIAISONS PROGRAM
The primary role of the PhD Plus Liaisons is to bring the professional training provided by the broader program into specific disciplinary/departmental contexts and to communicate the needs of specific departments and disciplines back to the broader program. Liaisons communicate with students and faculty in their home departments about their peers’ professional development needs, helping to gather departmental feedback to be used for the development and improvement of the program and conferring with liaisons in other departments across the University of Virginia. In addition to supporting their fellow graduate students and informing the continued evolution of the PhD Plus Program, Liaisons themselves benefit from sustained access to training, mentorship, and support in a professional focus of their choosing.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Over the following months, PhD+ Liaison highlights will provide an opportunity to get to know the Liaisons for Academic Year 2019-2020. Learn more about these PhD student leaders, why they decided to participate in PhD Plus Liaisons program, their professional development goals, and how they are collaborating with the PhD Plus program and their departments.
We will open the Call for 2020-2021 Applications for the Liaisons Program in Spring 2020.