No abstract

In 2008, Wake Forest University's Z. Smith Reynolds Library expanded its program of basiclevel information literacy courses to include an array of advanced courses devoted to specific discipline areas. As part of this initiative, two reference librarians, a rare-books curator, and a cataloger, all of whom double as subject specialists in literature, the arts, religion, and music, respectively, were asked to form a team charged with developing and teaching a credit-bearing elective course covering the humanities as a whole. This article describes how a diverse set of professional backgrounds was leveraged to develop LIB250: Humanities Research Sources and Strategies; the experience of teaching the course in the Spring semesters of 2009 and 2010; and ideas for improving the course.

In order to fulfill our mission, theological librarians need to anticipate research needs of graduate students and faculty whose work often entails asking new questions, forming new connections, and seeking new avenues of inquiry that may lie beyond our subject expertise. What low-cost sources and tools are available that allow librarians to monitor research trends in relevant disciplines and thereby prepare ourselves to support those pursuing emerging research trajectories? How do we form the connections with current and incoming graduate students and new faculty that will enable us to anticipate their research needs? Experienced public services librarians will facilitate a conversation to address these and related questions. This session is sponsored by the Public Services Interest Group (PSIG).

For two years, I co-taught the research portion of both introductory and advanced research and writing courses at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity, along with their academic skills instructor. When my co-instructor left the University in Fall 2018, I was asked to continue teaching the introductory course on my own. While I felt confident in teaching about research, I had never taught writing in a formal way. In this presentation summary, I discuss the student learning objectives and course syllabus, as well as ideas for writing-focused course readings, assignments, classroom exercises, and lecture topics. Finally, I explain how changes to the major course project were inspired by ideas shared during a 2019 Atla Annual session.

In Fall 2016, the Wake Forest University School of Divinity offered a for-credit academic research and writing course for the first time as a way to address concerns regarding the academic preparedness of incoming students.  As the subject specialist for the School of Divinity, the author co-taught Introduction to Research and Writing with the School's Academic Skills Counselor, who led the writing portion of the class.  As a result of our experience teaching the class, and in consultation with the academic dean, we decided that a two-tier research and writing course structure would best serve the needs of our student population. In Fall 2017, we taught the second-tier course, Advanced Research and Writing, which was targeted to students who intended to pursue doctoral work, or who were in the midst of research-intensive independent studies or senior projects.  This presentation summary will focus on the syllabus and course structure, including assignments and learning objectives, as well as lessons learned as we look towards the future of the course.