HWS News
11 March 2021 • Service Virtual Symposium for Scholarly Publishing
A recent HWS workshop and symposium brought international scholars together to share publishing insights and develop their scholarly programs.
Publishing academic work is not an easy endeavor; the barriers seem high, especiallyfor new scholars. This semester, HWS faculty, the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning (CCESL) and editors of the three journals of the Community Development Society hosted a virtual symposium and publishing workshop to help new scholars publish their work and seasoned scholars learn more about the CDS journals.
Over two days, more than three dozen scholars shared publishing insights and developed their scholarly programs focused on community engagement.
Co-sponsored by the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium and Campus Compact of NY & PA, the symposium agenda was envisioned and facilitated by Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies Craig Talmage, CCESL Director Katie Flowers, Associate Professor of Psychology Brien Ashdown, and co-editors from the CDS journals (Talmage, who is the CCESL faculty advisor, is also an editor of the journal Community Development).
Community development philosophies, epistemologies and contexts vary widely among post-secondary education programs across the United States. Talmage explains that given the multidisciplinary and context-dependent nature of the field, curricula and pedagogical practices have not been compared, contrasted or debated in any systematic way until recently. Currently, there remains no agreed upon or clearly articulated foundation for community development education, which provided an opportunity for interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration during the symposium.
"As one of the co-editors of the journals of the Community Development Society, I was thrilled to host the inaugural Virtual Symposium and Publishing Workshop. Our colleagues shared invaluable insights to help de-mystify the publishing process," says Talmage, who notes that the the cohort convened at this symposium will ultimately lead to a special edition of CDS.
Anna Sims Bartel co-editor of The Scholar as Human and coordinator of Cornell University's faculty fellows program served as the symposium's keynote speaker, highlighting inclusive pathways to publishing as well as the epistemological and pedagogical importance of contributing to the field of community engagement and development.
In addition to coaching and networking sessions, workshops led by community development scholars focused on topics including:
- global community development and engagement (Ashdown);
- local development and society (Rhonda Phillips of Purdue University and Norman Walzer of Northern Illinois University);
- writing about community development theory and education (Bryan and Kristina Hains of the University of Kentucky);
- publishing educational projects and teaching resources (Ashdown);
- translating technical reports into research/practice articles (Talmage);
- and translating theses and dissertations into academic pieces (Phillips).
Maha Mahalingam from Arizona State University shared that "The sessions were informative, extremely useful and helped us all to feel connected with a community of scholars with similar interests."
Participants received a certificate noting their completion of the professional development opportunity. The group plans to reconvene in Geneva when funding and safety guidelines allow.
Learn more about service and civic engagement at HWS and community development in higher-ed.