Dissertation Nepantla and Beyond

Nepantla is a Nahuatl term that describes an in between and unknown space of time and change: To me that sound a lot like the Dissertation.

For a more thorough explanation of Nepantla, I suggest the work of the late Chicana scholar Gloria Anzaldua. Needless to say, when I came across Nepantla written in a proposal review this afternoon, it was akin to a gust of fresh air or a cool glass of water...I got it, I understood, others reading may not, but it spoke to me in a profound way. Although I have not compromised my identity for academia it is resilience that is required to get through.

Over the course of my doctoral program I have written and presented at countless conferences. Never, had I volunteered to review. So, it felt odd not knowing if I was reviewing the work of a doctoral student or well known scholar. Either way the same thing that worked for one good proposal applied to them all.

Conference Proposal Writing Tips:
Do follow all proposal application directions
Do clearly label the sections of the proposal
Do use the appropriate style guide
Do include a citation section as current as possible
Do select the most effective presentation format

Because I had written proposals previously I was familiar with the format. Nonetheless it was still difficult to reject a proposal. The one I did reject had a good topic but almost too difficult to focus on and did not adhere to the proposal writing tips I mentioned above.

257 days of Nepantla to go...