Session 2: William A. Gleason, Hughes-Rogers Professor of English and American Studies, Writing Transparently

Whatever your field and aspirations, your success as graduate students and shapers of society depends on your capacity to make your research relatable for the widest possible audience. And to do this, you must reveal the human qualities—curiosity, resolve, enthusiasm—that make your work possible, as well as the ramifications—the ripples extending outward from your lab benches and library carrels—that are of greater interest to non-specialists than the intricacies of the work itself. In other words, you must be able to explain, concisely and persuasively, why your research matters, both to you and to others.

Tell Me More is a six-part series of 90-minute dinner conversations for graduate students who wish to heighten their professional impact by conveying the personal and social significance of their research to those who do not share their expertise. Meeting monthly in the Joseph Henry House from 6:00-7:30 p.m. between January and June, 2020, you will have an opportunity to converse with distinguished members of Princeton’s faculty who can help you engage successfully with an audience that transcends the boundaries of your disciplines and the academy itself. Hosted by John S. Weeren, founding director of Princeton Writes, this initiative is jointly sponsored by the Graduate School, the Humanities Council, and Princeton Writes.