Today, I am highlighting the CLEAF Junior Faculty Workshop, which took place at George Washington earlier this month.  Applicants submitted unpublished papers in the fall, and if accepted were invited to attend the workshop in February.  Each paper was assigned 2 readers who specialize in the subject matter of the paper. The experts ranged from senior legal scholars, to interdisciplinary scholars, to lawyers in the field.  The 2-day workshop dedicated an hour to each paper, soliciting the formal comments of the assigned readers and a discussion from the larger group.

If time is money, the 2 days at the workshop were a great investment.  I had the opportunity to connect, personally and professionally with both junior and senior scholars in the field in a way that felt more comfortable and more productive than in other foras.   For me, it also provided tailored feedback on my project (which I am now furiously incorporating), and it also forced me to spend 2 days thinking about scholarship in terms of publication goals, audience goals, forms of proof, preference of presentation and other aspects of writing that never seem to get the attention they deserve when I am puzzling through how to present a persuasive argument in written form.  

Part of the obstacles of calls for papers is whether or not you have a project in the pipeline.  For junior scholars (i.e., folks who are going up for tenure next year or more junior), seriously consider participating in this workshop next year.  It would be the perfect polish on a piece in advance of the spring 2015 submission cycle complete with fancy vanity note additions and confidence-boosting vetting.

The list of presenters, papers, and readers is available  Download GW Junior Faculty Workshop 2014 Schedule1.

-Anne Tucker