Phi Alpha Theta

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I'm sure you know by now that Coastal's chapter of Phi Alpha Theta is hosting this year's Carolinas' Regional Phi Alpha Theta Conference on 9-10 April, 2010. A "Call for Papers" was issued earlier with an abstract submission deadline of 31 January. This is to let you know that the deadline for submitting a paper abstract has been pushed back to 1 March.

History is a literary discipline, as many of your professors have stressed throughout your years at CCU. Writing is the primary means by which historians convey historical knowledge, and learning how to conduct historical research and to write effectively are the fundamental goals of HIST 250 and HIST 498 classes (and HIST 300 for a few of you). You have already demonstrated your skills in writing in one or both of those courses, and you have undoubtedly performed well in your upper division history classes of which many were writing intensive, evidenced by your membership in PAT. Some of you currently plan on applying for and attending graduate studies in History; some of you will make that decision later. In either case, delivering a scholarly paper at the PAT regional conference will be viewed favorably by those who review graduate school applications. Moreover, writing and presenting a paper will give you greater insight into the process of and expectations of graduate study in history. This is an opportunity for you. Dr. Navin and I strongly encourage you to submit a proposal/abstract for presentation at this year's PAT regional conference. We assume you have in your files a paper that you've written that you are particularly proud of or scored well on--one roughly 10-12 pages in length. Draft a short abstract (summary) of the paper (including principal theme) and send that to Dr. Navin asap. Then, make revisions to your paper, in consultation with the professor to whom you originally submitted it. A 10-12 page paper translates into about a 15 minute oral presentation. Many graduate school admissions offices require applicants to submit a writing sample with their documents; this revised paper, presented at the PAT conference, would be a likely item to include as a writing sample with your application, and having given a paper at a regional conference will be considered favorably by graduate admissions at your targeted graduate schools.

You have sufficient time to revise your work. Join your colleagues at the conference and there deliver your paper. CCU's chapter, as Dr. Navin has most likely told you, does very well each year, frequently with CCU students receiving awards for their papers. And, as the host institution, we especially hope to have a strong turn out by our chapter members.

If you have any questions or concerns, please talk with me or Dr. Navin.

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