Thursday, September 5, 2013

Should I Try to Publish as a Master's-level Student? - Le Donne

Yesterday a friend of mine emailed with this question:
How important is publication at the master's level? I have a few colleagues that are worried about it. Is that something I should pursue?
I don't always turn my emails into blog posts. But when I do. I ask permission first.

A bit of background: My friend is entering a top U.S. program with interest in New Testament studies. I assume that his question stems from conversations he's had with his peers, meaning other MA-level students.

I have a few thoughts on this and they're not all pushing in the same direction.  I'll try to argue in the affirmative first and then in the negative. This order should tell you where I'll probably lean in the end.

Toward a "yes, try to publish at the master's level" answer:

1) It's never a bad idea to publish a well-argued essay in a respected journal.  I recently supervised a master's level thesis that was eventually condensed into an essay for a peer-reviewed journal.  In fact, both examiners (myself included) insisted that this student publish his ideas.  It was a freakishly good master's thesis.

2) It's a good idea to get some early exposure to the way the world of publishing works.  If you hope to make a career of publishing, you might as well learn how.

3) Sometimes a few journal rejections will be the best education you get on your chosen topic.  Good rejections come with detailed critiques of your essay and (if heeded) these criticisms can become a checklist to strengthen your thesis.  You might also learn that your idea is not worth pursuing.  No shame in that.

4) It might (might) help with your application to PhD programs.  Publishing books, Huffpo articles, essays in volumes, etc. probably will not help (and might hurt) your chances. Publishing an article or two in Biblica or other journals of a similar ilk probably won't hurt.  Book reviews in good journals are a good idea - but be fair always and kind wherever you can.

Toward a "no, don't try to publish at the master's level" answer:

A) It is very rare that something you wrote when you were at the master's level will be something that you're proud of your whole life.  If I could punch my MA thesis-writing self in the face... I probably wouldn't - because I'm a pacifist - but I might flash a very aggressive peace sign and then write him a strongly worded facsimile.

B) Too many publications, too early in your career can hurt your job chances later on. This is going to seem anathema to many of my older colleagues, but it is the reality of the present job market.  I have a friend (typical of many, many of my colleagues) who has landed nine book contracts, five essays in top-tier journals, served on SBL steering committees, won grants, post-docs, etc. and he couldn't land a lectureship in six years on the job market.  This might sound like a cautionary tale, but it's not. It's just the real world.  At one point this guy decided to get some CV help from a scholar of senior standing. Her advice to him was that his CV was much too strong to be considered by many hiring committees.  She told him that if his CV came across her desk, she'd throw it away.  Better to be a young scholar with one or two journal articles and tons of potential (who will rank low in the pecking order of the department) than an established scholar, with a CV ready for tenure review.  This is not how all hiring committees think, but many do.  My friend was lucky enough to land a job outside the field of his study, but not every person is so lucky.  On a personal note, I have often seen junior colleagues land really plum jobs with nothing but a contract to publish their PhD dissertation (i.e. without a single original idea in print). Knowing the right people, having the right profile, having the right topic at the right time... these factors are much more important than any publications you might have.

C) Pedagogically speaking, it might be just as good to submit essays to regional conferences and acquire professional feedback from these venues.  Presenting a portion of your eventual thesis at an SBL meeting is good practice and can provide you with good lines on your CV.  Moreover, you can incorporate this feedback and (hopefully) change your mind on a few things here and there. Once your words are in print, that nasty little ego-devil will whisper in your ear, "You better stand by your ideas." Once that demon has possessed you, you'll be that much less receptive to new ideas at the PhD level. Perhaps not.  Some of us hold our intellectual property more loosely than others.  But my experience is that this is not something that folks learn until they are quite securely stationed within the guild. 

D) Vanity, vanity! All is vanity!

In sum, there are probably dozens of things that will serve you better than publishing when you're at the MA level.  Learn German and Modern Hebrew.  Watch the 1975 film "The Man Who Would Be King". See if somebody will let you kiss them on the lips once or twice.  Read every word attributed to Homer.  These are just a few ideas.

-anthony


16 comments:

  1. B) is really helpful to know! A point in the "yes" column is that a publication might help with external funding; in Canada the big gov't funding package is the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council scholarships and I remember being told that a journal article may increase chances of success.

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  2. "D) Vanity, vanity! All is vanity!"

    If only I could stamp this into my mind with an ink that would not erase!

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  3. Dr. Le Donne,

    Thank you for this post! I am currently applying for a PhD in Old Testament. I have three academic references, but I decided to ask for one more. I asked the editor/professor of a commentary that I do research for. He asked to see my CV. His response was, "It's a little small. What have you published?" I have presented at regional conferences for SBL and ETS. I didn't think journals would take a submission from a student in a master's program. I had one of my prof's tell me not to worry about publishing. Your post was very encouraging. I am learning German right now, which I am glad you think is a better way to spend my time.

    Thanks,

    Philip

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  4. Does what you have to say apply to an M.Th. graduate? (90 hour program)

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  5. I don't claim to have any magic formula, gOthamite. Like I said above, I have encouraged MA-level students to publish in the past. I'm not sure how helpful my advice was then or now.

    -anthony

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  6. A great post! More kissing and less concerted efforts at publishing would serve many would-be scholars well.

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  7. I am a firm believer that a Masters-level student (across the board--MA, MDiv, MTh) should not TRY to publish. There will be the occasional student for whom that happens. But students should not seek it out, and they should not consider themselves failures if it doesn't happen. They should work on their coursework, read everything they can get their hands on, and attend SBL.

    One of the things you learn once you do start publishing a little is that you, in fact, know hardly anything. You knew even less when you were a Masters student, you're just not aware of the profound depths of your ignorance.

    Again, there are exceptions and I too have encouraged some Masters students to submit their papers for publication. But even here I think it's better for a student to let it happen through faculty or mentor encouragement rather than try to seek it out.

    And I'd say learning Latin is better than learning modern Hebrew at this point for a NT scholar, but we could debate that another day.

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  8. From Jeremy Hutton via Facebook: Nicely balanced list here. I can't speak to NT, per se, or to your friend with "too many" publications. But I would suggest that one thing driving the concern is that many Ph.D. applications actually ASK you to list publications (thus implying that one OUGHT to have publications applying to such programs). Your readers should remember that, most often, this is the university's form, and that this datum is not usually one that is taken most seriously by the faculty members making the selection.

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  9. More Homer is the way to go. Along with the languages. Kissing can't hurt either, but don't let that be a distraction.

    Great column.

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    1. Thanks Stan,

      But I wouldn't want to live a world where kissing wasn't a distraction.

      -anthony

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  10. I'm unable to pursue a PhD for about another 8 years, though I've completed a MA in Theology. I've considered becoming a freelance writer for the sake of some extra income. Obviously, freelance is nowhere near the level of a professional journal . . . but I'm wondering whether your advice would be the same for someone in my position?

    Thanks!

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    1. If you can make money by writing, then you've figured out a magic trick that eludes most scholars. Some of the best academic books out there don't bring in any income whatsoever.

      I should also add: it should be the quality of the content that matters. If it's great stuff, it shouldn't matter what letters are behind your name.

      -anthony

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    2. Thank you for the reply!

      I'm concerned about shooting myself in the foot - I've toyed with the idea of a pen name . . .

      So far as what would be published: I have solid leads in a few areas (freelance would be small things like Christianity Today and some secular publications; also a lead on a pastoral theology book somewhat similar to Timothy Keller's works; and then a fiction book as well).

      I know this may seem a bit out there - but I would appreciate it if you would share you thoughts (I promise to stop after this).

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  11. "The Man Who Would Be King" is incredible.

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  12. I appreciate this invaluable advice.

    I have one question: I've written two books for "popular" audiences (a historical fact that I cannot change!). Are you saying it might be better to not include this in my CV?

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  13. probably will not help (and might hurt) your chances. UK Dissertation Writers 

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