Workshops will be hosted on Thursday morning. Times to be announced. 

Pre-conference workshop: Mentorship

The AAIS & AATI will pair mid-career and senior colleagues with members who are still completing their graduate studies or are newly on the job market. This workshop is connected to a broader AAIS pilot initiative surrounding mentorship. Interested participants will send their names, contact info, areas/interests and appropriate category by March 1, 2019 to Monica Seger(AAIS mentorship facilitator) and Michael Lettieri(AATI mentoship facilitator). Mentors and mentees will be paired and placed in contact with each other one week prior to the conference. The 60-minute workshop will allow time for all involved in the pilot initiative, as well as anyone else more generally interested,to discuss mentorship strategies, goals, benefits to the field, etc. Mentorship pairs will be encouraged to arrange a one-on-one coffee date at some point during the conference where they can discuss subsequent follow-up and next steps.

--Facilitated by Monica Seger and Michael Lettieri

Pre-conference workshop: Diversity and Inclusion

How might we recalibrate curriculum in Italian Studies so that it seems less removed from students’ everyday, North American lives all the while remaining culturally contextualized? As we think about future constituencies of students of Italian, how might we addressperceptions of Italian as, for example, Eurocentric, heteronormative, and patriarchal? Many programs have already adopted curriculum that highlights different braids of diversity and inclusion within the IS curriculum. Our objective in this workshop is to facilitate discussion about diversity and inclusivity in curriculum at all levels of IS (including graduate programs and exam bibliographies). The workshop’s format is developing. Some formats being considered include: collecting and making available syllabi and/or curriculum before the conference so as to facilitate discussion in Tucson, creating a (password-protected) repository on the association websites for curriculum, possibly establishing a curriculum working group. Stay tuned to the conference website for additional details.

Co-facilitated and -sponsored by the Jewish Studies Caucus, the Queer Studies Caucus, and the Women’s Studies Caucus of the AAIS.

--Facilitated by Beppe Cavatorta and Ellen Nerenberg

Pre-conference workshop: AP Italian 2020: novità e aggiornamenti

This workshop will be led by three colleagues with considerable experience with the AP exam. Focus will be on changes to be implemented beginning in 2020. The workshop also features a hand-on component.

--Facilitated by Antonietta Di Pietro, Silvia Giorgini Althoen, and Federica Santini

Pre-conference workshop: Dissertations in Progress

The format for the workshop is in development, but may call for participants to circulate drafts of their work ahead of time for comment at the conference. Participants will identify themselves to facilitators no later than Feb 25.

--Facilitators will be announced soon. Stay tuned and consult the conference webpage: https://aaisaati2020.uark.edu/ 

Pre-conference workshop: Career Diversity and Professional Development

This workshop explores the wide range of fulfilling careers and professional contexts available to those with advanced degree in the humanities. Hands-on and collaborative in nature, the session blends specific skill-building exercises and tips with broader discussions about humanistic expertise, professional identity, and transitioning between different work environments. Chiefly geared toward graduate students, faculty members are more than welcome. Conversations will continue with informal follow-up hours on Fri. and Sat.

--Facilitated by Brian DeGrazia, PhD, Asst. Dir. of Programs and Career Services Coordinator, Modern Language Association