Author Archives: froharddourlent

As you know, our department will be hiring a new department Head before the end of the year. There are many opportunities for graduate students to be involved in this process and I think it is crucial that we make our voices heard – department Heads have a strong influence on the direction of the department and what is (or isn’t) considered a priority, which can have a direct and important impact on our experience as graduate students.

I (Hélène) will be acting as graduate student representative on the Search Committee, and as such, I want to gather feedback from as many graduate students as possible to be able to best represent our interests on this committee. It doesn’t matter if you’ve only been in the department for a few months, or are just a few months away from graduating – your opinion is extremely valuable to me, and I think everyone has something to contribute to the process. The more of us actively participate in this process, the more the voice of graduate students is likely to be taken seriously, and to be taken into account.

So please go and fill out this survey on the criteria that you think should be used, and what leadership qualities that you want to see in our next Head of Sociology. Survey answers will obviously remain anonymous.

It is likely that the GSCS will put together a statement regarding this matter as well as regarding the departmental review; if you want to be involved, I encourage you to attend our next meeting. Once the Search Committee puts together a short list of candidates, they will most likely be asked to do a job talk for the whole department, and I will try and secure some time for the candidate(s) to speak specifically to graduate students.

If you have any questions or comments about this process, you can email me at helenefd [at] gmail.com. I always welcome feedback! :)

September is behind us, funding applications are (mostly) all done with, it’s time to… work some more! Oh, the glamour of the grad student life. In the midst of everything, next week is a busy one for the GSCS! There are two events coming up:

• Thanksgiving Networking Lunch: The Department is organizing its first annual Thanksgiving Networking Lunch! Take a break from your academics and introduce yourself to colleagues around you, and enjoy some turkey and non-turkey sandwiches, cookies and drinks.  Tuesday Oct 11^th, 12:30-2:00 in the Lino Lounge (that’s the faculty/grad lounge near the photocopy room). The expectation is that everyone should attend, so this will be a great opportunity for grad students to introduce themselves to faculty and other students – something that doesn’t happen too often, what with our busy lives!
• GSCS meeting: We will be having our monthly-ish admin meeting on Wednesday, October 12th in room 2107. The meeting is open to anyone, so if you want to know what’s happening with your student council, give us some feedback, or make suggestions  for future events, you are more than welcome to attend! Among other things, we will be hearing updates from our reps at faculty meetings and the GSS and discussing a recent meeting with Dr. Guppy.

That’s it, the new school year is really here! Two events to celebrate (?):

• Back-to-school drinks at Mahoney’s & Sons
  On Tuesday, September 13 at 4:30pm, we will gather at Mahoney’s & Sons on campus. This will be a great opportunity for current students who have been traveling all over during the summer to catch up, for new students to have more of a chance to get to know everyone a little better, and for everyone to chat and have a good time. We scheduled this event so that students who are taking SOCI-500 with Dr. Neil Gross can head over to Mahoney’s after class – a good way to relax!-
• GSCS elections
  Like every year, the Grad Student Council is holding elections to choose a new executive. We will meet on September 14, at 10am (location TBA) for this occasion. (This is just before the TA workshop, for those concerned.) If you are interested in joining the GSCS executive or helping out in some way, you can check out the list of positions. Feel free to join us even if you don’t think you can take on any specific positions, as there are lots of ways that you can get involved in smaller ways.

Thanks to all of you who attended the GSCS meeting this week – it was a fantastic meeting and I’m excited for the year ahead! We are planning on having a welcome back pub night and elections on the second week of class, so look out for announcements about both events very soon.

You should have all already received the email, but it’s nice to keep track of what’s happening in the department here, so I am reposting the agenda for this Tuesday – the first day back to school. (Can you believe it? I can’t.)

12:00-2:00 Networking Lunch (with faculty, staff, students) (Faculty/Grad Lounge)
2:00-3:30 Guest Speaker Mitchell Stevens from Stanford University “Preserving Knowledge” (207)
3:30-5:00 Sociological Jeopardy (207)
5:00-7:00 Department BBQ! (Lower level courtyard)

Looking forward to see you there!

The summer is a time where we all like to scatter all over the world, which means the GSCS hasn’t had a chance to get together in a few months! This is about to change, however, as we’re going to meet next week.

The meeting is going to be on Thursday, September 1 at 11am in room 2107 (the defense room).

This is an informal meeting to start off the year, so we’ll be talking about the direction that the GSCS should take this year, what events we want to prioritize, how we can welcoming new students, what executive positions need to be filled, etc. This is not a meeting to elect the new executive. Elections will be held on the second week of school, once all new students have had a chance to be introduced to the GSCS and we have had a chance to post full descriptions of all the positions.

If you cannot attend but have ideas for next year and are interested in being involved with the Council, just let Hélène know in an email (helenefd [at] gmail).

Join us this Thursday for Springboards – Rachael Sullivan is presenting on “Remaking the University campus: Queer Politics of ‘safe’ and ‘positive’ spaces”.

See you at noon in ANSO 139!

If you are facebook-inclined, here is a small reminder that you can find us there. I’m trying to remember to update more often!