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Chicago Field Studies Graduate Assistant Needs for Academic Year 2021–22

August 9, 2021

The Chicago Field Studies Program seeks PhD candidates in years three through seven to teach one of their 300-level seminars for one quarter of GA-ship, in Fall, Winter, and/or Spring of AY 2021–22.

Current course openings include “CFS 393: Field Studies in the Modern Workplace,” “CFS 391: Field Studies in Social Justice,” and possibly “CFS 387: Field Studies in Environment, Science & Sustainability.” We welcome all inquiries from candidates interested in these or other CFS courses.  

Chicago Field Studies is the academic internship program in WCAS, serving students from across the university. CFS provides students the opportunity to spend a quarter doing an internship for credit while participating in a weekly 300-level seminar that incorporates readings, discussions, assignments, and more to supplement and scaffold students’ experiential learning. Some CFS seminars fulfull WCAS distribution credits.

CFS teaching offers graduate students the unique learning opportunity of teaching their own courses, gaining experience in interdisciplinary experiential-learning pedagogy, and receiving mentorship from experienced instructors.

Roles and responsibilities: 

  1. Prior to the teaching quarter, develop course syllabus and Canvas site (or similar resources) under the guidance of the CFS Lead Instructor, incorporating program-wide goals and initiatives.
  2. Teach the course as the Instructor of Record & give students quality letter grades.
  3. Course would meet weekly, likely in an evening to accomodate student internship schedules. Instructor would have some choice in determining course day and time.
  4. Courses would take place in person on the Evanston campus, though Zoom may become necessary or optional.
  5. Participate in occasional CFS Instructor cohort meetings and communications, and stay in touch with program staff throughout the teaching quarter, especially to support student needs.

Current or possible course openings:

  1. CFS 398: Field Studies in the Modern Workplace: Designed for students interning in any field, this course typically focuses on the theoretical and historical construction of work—especially “white-collar” work—over the past century or more. Assigned materials might entail political theory of labor, management theory, historiography, sociology, current events, and beyond. Assignments typically include discussion boards, essays, projects, and reflection exercises of various sorts.
  2. CFS 391: Field Studies in Social Justice: Designed for students interning in community organizing positions, service- or advocacy-oriented nonprofits, or other public interest fields, this course helps students explore definitions and frameworks of social justice, often with an emphasis on Chicago-based issues and efforts. Assigned materials typically pull from a range of fields. Assignments might include interviews, research projects, campaign-building exercises, reflection essays, and more.
  3. Field Studies in Environment, Science & Sustainability: Designed for students interning in fields or projects focused on environmental, climate, or conversvationist concerns (broadly defined), this course typically helps students explore formulations of environmentalism and climate solutions, with particular attention to the interplay between different actors (government, for-profit section, grassroots organizations, and more). Assigned materials pull widely from multiple fields. Assignments might include mapping projects, mock grant competitions, reflection essays, internship presentations, and more.

Learning objectives for GA:

Graduate Assistants will learn to:

  • design a robust experiential-learning course around internships, including all course content and assignments.
  • practice creating and maintaining an inclusive learning environment.
  • build teachings skills and regularly incorporate feedback.

Evaluation methods for GA:

Graduate Assistants will

  • Receive direct feedback from students, CFS Advising staff and Lead Instructor
  • CFS Evaluates course and instructor at the end of the quarter, and this information may be useful to adjust course content or instruction for the proceeding quarters. 

Length of time for a single GA-ship: 

  • Prior to teaching quarter: research prior CFS courses (observe CFS courses, review past syllabi), develop course syllabus in communication with CFS Lead Instructor, get final approval on syllabus at least several weeks before start of teaching quarter, build course site or otherwise begin gathering materials
  • During teaching quarter: teach the course! Meet occasionally with Lead Instructor and/or CFS Instructor cohort. 

Weekly time commitment: 

  • Prior to teaching quarter: 2-5 hours total (not weekly) of meeting with CFS Lead Instructor at any time, plus independent course development time as needed
  • During teaching quarter: teach 3 hours weekly, plus independent prep/grading/meeting time as needed

Skills and experience:

  • Required: Previous teaching experience
  • Required: Graduate student in 3rd-7th year of studies
  • Preferred: Non-academic work experience, especially experience working, researching, educating, or interning in fields related to CFS course of interest.

To apply, submit:

  • a cover letter explaining why you are interested, qualified, and competitive for this role;
  • a current CV
  • any relevant CTEC or course evaluations

to:

      James Farr james-farr@northwestern.edu

      Liz McCabe lizmccabe@northwestern.edu

      Karen A Allen karen-allen@northwestern.edu

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