Thread by @adlewis

“Humanities Commons as the Map of an (Evolving) Academic Career” by @adlewis, Instructor for @MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS #HCTwitterConf19

Thanks to @annetiquate @caitduffy49 & @humcommons for this opportunity!

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons Hello! My name is A. David Lewis, and I’m an instructor at @mcphs in Boston, MA. On @humcommons, I am @religioncomics – and that’s part of the problem…
hcommons.org/members/religi… #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics That is, I do work in religion and comics (aka #GraphicReligion), and the group of scholars that I co-founded, SacredAndSequential.org, has its own Twitter account…which is @religioncomics. Same as my HC name. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics The problem isn’t HC. I could petition to change my user name. (Or have had the foresight to brand myself more consistently.) The issue, which I think others likely share, is that @religioncomics is PART of who I am and what I do - but not the whole of it. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics As is the case with many people who work in or adjacent to the Humanities, my research and projects are in no ONE thing, no solitary field. One day, it will be #GraphicReligion, the next it will be Health Humanities, and the next it will be #GraphicMedicine. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics (More on #GraphicMedicine via @GraphicMedicine or my @YouTube lectures playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=…) #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube I think that part of the issue here is a misunderstanding of what HC itself is. It’s not some artificial networking site like LinkedIn. It’s not a messaging platform like Twitter. And it’s NOT a scholarly profiteering space like Academia. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube Of course, it’s not a CV either. HC has a spot for that, sure, but seeing this site as that alone is like only using an iPhone as your watch. It’s there, it has that info, but you’d be ignoring so much other functionality. And it doesn’t solve my problem. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube It’d take even more time parsing my CV than browsing HC to understand the whole of my academic career. HC’s “About” section may be useful for one’s Vita but that, again, reduces the site to more like a Wiki than what I think it really is… #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube That is, look at the “Academic Interests” section on HC. It might give a sense of my ‘variety’ – alphabetical, like a book index. Of course, it hooks me in to others with similar interests, so it’s functional, too. ("You're like me...") #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube But, as a group, my “Academic Interests” may also be confusing. What’s the Religion Comics guy doing with cancer narratives? Or composition? Or eschatololgy? (Ok, that last one makes sense if you know what eschatology is.) #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube Of course, I could prune it accordingly. Like an index, it’s in alphabetical order…but that seems self-defeating. These are the span of topics that interest me, that connect me to other HC . scholars. It’s no index because I’m no book. HC is not my jacket cover. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube No, at its most robust, most versatile, and, specifically, its most navigable, HC explains and details my evolving career narrative - from starting in English Literature to specializing in Religious Studies to expanding into Health Humanities - as a map. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube (Sorry, had to. Kids in my household.) #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube It is an account of my journey. My Education is where I set anchor. My CORE Deposits is where I’ve buried treasure (even fool’s gold). My Memberships account for my crew. And my Academic Interests are the course headings I’ve sailed. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube It does not require any sophisticated tool to use HC as a map of an academic’s routes through fields and disciplines. All it requires is a mindset. The page may be static, but the scholar behind it is not. We change daily. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube So, in conclusion, I am adding to my HC profile and its materials with this question in mind: What will serve as helpful markers for my peers, for employers, and for other researchers in triangulating my position? #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube The challenge, then, is to deliver such information that engages their own analysis of my contributions differently. Instead of viewing it through either a microscope or a telescope, either an odometer or a compass – #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube – Embrace your inner astrolabe as you read HC profiles such as my own. It is a map of where I’ve been, what I’ve seen, and, with a network of stars to help guide us, where we have yet to go. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube Thank you. #HCTwitterConf19

@MCPHS_HCB @MCPHS @annetiquate @caitduffy49 @humcommons @religioncomics @GraphicMedicine @YouTube I would be delighted to take any questions if people would like to send them my way. Any thoughts? #HCTwitterConf19