Well, it’s back to the grind in a few days. UNH gets a late start: September 4. But I’m a busy little beaver already. Here’s a detailed view of my upcoming year:

• Dissertation. Obviously, this is job 1. Succinctly, my dissertation focuses on student self-assessment in writing courses. Less succinctly, it focuses on the complex learning theories, accumulated educational histories and pseudohistories, institution-specific demands, constraints, conflicts, fears, stereotypes, methodological quandaries and implementational concerns surrounding a writing teacher’s decision to shift the burden of assessment toward a student, even incrementally. It’ll also discuss the impact of the “digital age”: specifically, the way digital writing has disturbed the definition of who is qualified to evaluate writing, as well as the way such writing influences, intersects with and competes with current definitions of composition and academic writing. I’d like to talk about even less succinctly, but for that to happen, I’d basically just have to insert my prospectus here. Let’s wait until I actually finish writing that.

  They say that the best dissertation is a finished one. This might be the case, but perhaps it’s less so for a person who is gearing up for a less-than-traditionally-scholarly post-PhD career, and who will probably use the dissertation process as the primary engine for the majority of his scholarly output (hint: I’m talking about myself here). Although I’ll have a coherent, focused prospectus in a couple of months, I’m likely to spend the next year or so with almost nothing in dissertation format. Instead, it’ll be a bunch of short, scattered snippets and examinations loosely associated with the main topic. The actual print dissertation will be distilled fairly late in the process. Yeah, my committee will give me crap for this—but I’ve decided that, unlike my MA, I’m pretty much going to finish up this degree the way I want to.

  Committee: Tom Newkirk (UNH), Bill Condon (Washington State), Elliott Gruner (Plymouth State), Lisa Miller (UNH). Member #5 TBD.

• Research. I’m the Coordinator of Assessment Research Projects for the UNH University Writing Program (yes, that’s right, the CARP). This means I’m responsible for the longitudinal study, Four Years of Writing, which after two years of piloting, finally begins this semester. However, PhD student/phenom Jim Webber is actually administering the study on a day-to-day basis (this year follows UNH-bound high school seniors, and he’s a bit more qualified to talk about high school). My job is to continue promoting the study, as well as pilot assessment research projects that will ride the coattails of the interviewing process that we’ll begin with UNH undergrads in ‘08-’09.

  I’ve also strengthened my relationship with the Connors Writing Center, and will be helping them with institutional assessment research. As a side project, I’m helping them pilot scheduling software (hmm… Tutortrac or Accutrack?). Finally, I’m co-leading a yearlong series of teaching workshops for Writing Intensive course faculty organized by the Writing Program and Teaching Excellence Program.

• Conferences. Unless I get a phenomenal deal that somehow eliminates the cost of going, I’m skipping 4Cs and most conferences this year. Besides the UNH conference, the next time you see me on a program will be in May, when I go to Computers and Writing at UGA and ELO at WSU-Vancouver.
• Articles. Yes, I am actually gathering stuff together for possible publication. But this isn’t likely to happen until ‘08-’09. Read all about it in next year’s post.
• Teaching. Tech Writing in the fall. A couple new things: I’m incorporating full training in Adobe InDesign. And I’m getting more serious about the concept of usability, incorporating discussions from Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things, which approaches the topic from a CogSci (lite) standpoint.
• Tutoring. I continue to work with Rockingham Community Action. The area of greatest need right now, it seems, is supplemental one-on-one tutoring for students in ESL courses… so that’s what I’ve been doing. I’m working with an Indonesian student on American pronunciation right now (using Ann Cook), and will later help a Russian student with reading skills.
• Freshcomp. When I write more, I blog more. Now that I’m back in writing mode, I’ll post more here. Promise. I know you miss it.
• Radio. Internet radio isn’t out of the woods yet, but the calamitous royalty hike that nearly happened this spring probably won’t end up happening, thanks to some strong write-yer-senator action. So we’ll probably put the beloved Beaver State Radio back on the air, maybe as soon as Labor Day. We’ve got some new music in the library, and some great ideas for new shows.
• Band. The KCs (”the world’s slowest-working band”) continue to write punk/goth/gospel songs roughly in the style of a talentless Nick Cave. My duties are to write, to sing occasionally, to play keyboards occasionally (mostly by ear), to play harmonica, and maybe even to play guitar someday. Seems like a tall order given how busy I am, but this project is moving so slowly I might be Yngwie Malmsteen by the time we get done.
• Music writing. My pal PJ, recently rejuvenated by a long trip to Italy, is now beginning work on a new bi-monthly music magazine. He’s asking several music writers to write short pieces about their 20 favorite acts for the mag, focusing on a favorite CD but not stopping there. I’ve chosen Catherine Wheel, Massive Attack, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Grandaddy, Elliott Smith, Mercury Rev, Sigur Rós, Scott Walker, Doves, Elbow, Ride, Sparklehorse, Tanya Donelly (Belly), Aimee Mann, Leftfield, Underworld, Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs/Twilight Singers), Curve, Portishead. I’ll blog these pieces as I write them.
• Concerts. Underworld, in what might be their first and last New England concert ever. Besides that, no plans. It’s been a light year, hasn’t it? A lot of my faves will release CDs in late ‘07/early ‘08, so I might be catching some tours in the spring.
• Trippin’. I’ve got one of those free flight vouchers, which I think I’m going to use for a gratuitous, non-academic Spring Break trip. Not sure where yet. And I’ll probably attach a Cascade Mountains expedition to my trip to Vancouver in May.