William Germano is professor of English at Cooper Union in New York. He’s also had a long career in publishing and brings some of that experience to his work as a teacher, in seminars and workshops worldwide and in the college classroom.
Many of us would benefit from frank conversations with other scholars about improper borrowing, otherwise known as plagiarism, but the topic is so hot that most professors avoid discussing it, except in warnings to their undergraduates.
We know The Chicago Manual of Style is big. The new 17th edition weighs in at over three pounds and is 1,146 pages long. Something we hear in emails to our Q&A is “I know it’s in there, but I can’t find it!” So here’s a valuable searching tip:
“Writing, no matter how much we like our project or use various productivity techniques, can trigger all kinds of emotional baggage. . . . Acknowledging—rather than suppressing or talking yourself out of—whatever project-related feelings are coming up helps . . .”
Philip Gerard’s new book is The Art of Creative Research (University of Chicago Press, 2017). He teaches in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Shop Talk invited Gerard to talk about an example of what he means by “creative research.”
Today CMOS talks with Angela Gibson, associate director of scholarly communication and head of book and online publications at the Modern Language Association, about the newest edition of MLA Handbook.
Attending a conference is a major expense. In addition to travel and hotel costs, registration is sometimes hundreds of dollars, and all that dining out and schmoozing at the bar adds up as well. If you’re just starting out, you’re probably watching your budget. But there are some ways to keep costs down, and the benefits might just make it worth your while.
Matt Upson, assistant professor and director of library undergraduate services at Oklahoma State University, and C. Michael Hall (Mike) Hall, a writer, cartoonist, and public speaker, sought a better way to teach these students how to do research. Together with cartoonist Kevin Cannon, they created Information Now: A Graphic Guide to Student Research. It’s the first graphic novel to tackle information literacy and also the first graphic novel published by the University of Chicago Press.
Mary Norris is a copy editor at the New Yorker, where she has worked since 1978. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, she attended Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and earned a master’s in English from the University of Vermont. Her book Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen was published by W. W. Norton on April 6.
Andrew Abbott, the Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, edits the American Journal of Sociology. Abbott has twice chaired the University of Chicago’s Library Board and played a central role in planning the university’s Joe and Rika Mansueto Library. His latest book is Digital Paper . . .
