Discuss and analyse academic bios

Discuss and analyse academic bios

What things do you need to take into account when deciding on what to include in an academic bio?

What details would you include in academic bios, e.g. in one or more of these places?

• With a paper you are publishing in a (paper or online) journal
• With a description of a talk you are giving, e.g. at a conference
• On your LinkedIn page
• On your university’s website
• In the email accompanying an application, e.g. for funding or to give a conference talk
• On a class website (to share with your fellow classmates)
• On the “About” page of your blog (if your blog is at least partly connected to your studies)
• The summary section of your CV (= resumé)
• Any other places you might need to include an academic bio

What things might you exclude in some of those places?

Rank these things in importance. Things in brackets can be ranked differently if you like.

• Achievements (academic and/ or non-academic)
• Aims/ Ambitions/ Plans
• Attendance at events
• Awards, e.g. scholarships
• Education
• Funding
• Hobbies/ Free time activities
• Influences/ inspiration (books, people, theories, etc)
• Languages
• Memberships, e.g. of professional organisations
• Name
• Nice things which have been said or written about you
• Overseas experience/ travels
• Practical implications of your research
• Presenting at events
• Publications
• Qualifications
• Reasons for your research interests, e.g. some details about your personal background, or a moment when it struck you
• Relationships (professional and/ or personal)
• Research (past, present and/ or future)
• Teaching experience
• Things you are applying for/ waiting to hear about
• Volunteering
• Work

Are there any things which aren’t in the list above which might be suitable?

 

What are the purposes of an academic bio? Who might read it? What purpose might they have and what impression might you want to have on them?

Which of these purposes is likely to be most important in the near future for you?

• Attracting people to a university, department, research group etc that you belong to
• Attracting people to your lecture/ talk, e.g. at a conference
• Convincing people to read something that you have written
• Getting a job/ a research position
• Making people more interested in your ideas by giving them a human face
• Meeting people with similar interests, i.e. making useful contacts
• Publicising something, e.g. a journal you are involved in or a group blog you write for
• Showing that you fit in/ that you belong

How can you do the important things that you decided on with your bio?

 

Academic bios style discussion

Is first person (“I…”) or third person (“She/ He…”) usually more suitable in academic bios that you might have to write? What might the exceptions be?

How formal is your academic bio likely to have to be? What are the characteristics of language of that level of formality?

Analyse the academic biographies

Discuss each of the academic bios that you are given, for instance looking at:

• Formality
• Humour
• Probable location/ Where it might be seen
• Probable purpose
• Probable readers
• How interesting it is

What is the topic of each paragraph?

What kinds of details are included in each paragraph?

What are the similarities and differences between the different academic bios?

Which of those academic bios might be most and least suitable for you? In what situations?