I just found out today that I’ll have an “apprentice” next semester to help me with writing about June 4, 1989. Ms. Kristin May, one of our brightest undergraduate history majors, will be paid by the University to work as my apprentice with the understanding that she will not only do her own research as part of my larger project, but that she will be writing a portion of whatever comes out of the project–at present my intention is a short book for classroom use on the events of June 4.
These sorts of undergraduate-faculty member research/writing collaborations have been going on for years at liberal arts colleges and teaching-intensive universities, and are finally becoming more common at research universities. It’s about time. Once upon a time it may have made sense for faculty members in history to limit their collaborative research to advanced graduate students, because access to archives was so difficult. But that argument no longer works, given that so much information is now available at the click of a mouse.
This is my first foray into collaborative research and writing with a student and I am excited about it. I’m not sure what the final product will be like, but I do know that Kristin and I will both learn a lot from working together. In particular, I am really looking forward to having my writing subjected to one of my students rather than the other way around. Since the book is intended for the classroom market, having a student be part of the writing process seems essential. I’ll let you know how it turns out…
“Once upon a time it may have made sense for faculty members in history to limit their collaborative research to advanced graduate students, because access to archives was so difficult. But that argument no longer works, given that so much information is now available at the click of a mouse.”
Interesting news, but these two sentences make no sense to me. Since when does the mere fact of having access to sources make for useful collaboration?