RiAH at 10: On The Importance Of Book Links
Paul Putz
All this #10thAnniversay stuff has made me sentimental, so I went back and looked at my first RiAH blog post. It was posted in May 2013, and it involved a discussion of Kanye West, Jesus, and Paul Harvey's and Ed Blum's book The Color of Christ. Its sole redeeming quality, so far as I can tell, was that it included a link to the Amazon page for The Color of Christ. The lesson: post links to other people's books and they might let you write for their blog.
For me the best part of RiAH has been the people who come with it, the online network of scholars who write, read, or comment on the blog. Even unknown grad students like me can find a place at the table. Most of the conference panels in which I've participated and the research ideas I've pursued (including my switch in dissertation topics) have been influenced in some way by people I've connected with because of RiAH. While I'm lucky that my home institution provides a supportive environment for grad students, the academic world outside Baylor has felt like a warm and inviting place largely because of people I've met through RiAH.
It's also thanks to RiAH that other scholars in the field have any clue who I am. They may not know what I research, but they sometimes have a vague sense that I might be the person who compiles lists of new and forthcoming books for RiAH. Apparently the lesson I learned from my first post, that linking to other people's books can bring goodwill, has stuck with me.
I started writing for RiAH the summer before I entered the PhD program at Baylor. It's now the summer before my last year, and here I am. RiAH has been one of the constants of my PhD experience, and all for the good. Thanks to Paul Harvey for starting this thing and thanks to him and everyone else for making it a welcoming space for grad students to explore ideas, develop their voice, and become more comfortable in the strange world of academia.
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| Paul Harvey signing books for one of the members of his fan club |
For me the best part of RiAH has been the people who come with it, the online network of scholars who write, read, or comment on the blog. Even unknown grad students like me can find a place at the table. Most of the conference panels in which I've participated and the research ideas I've pursued (including my switch in dissertation topics) have been influenced in some way by people I've connected with because of RiAH. While I'm lucky that my home institution provides a supportive environment for grad students, the academic world outside Baylor has felt like a warm and inviting place largely because of people I've met through RiAH.
It's also thanks to RiAH that other scholars in the field have any clue who I am. They may not know what I research, but they sometimes have a vague sense that I might be the person who compiles lists of new and forthcoming books for RiAH. Apparently the lesson I learned from my first post, that linking to other people's books can bring goodwill, has stuck with me.
I started writing for RiAH the summer before I entered the PhD program at Baylor. It's now the summer before my last year, and here I am. RiAH has been one of the constants of my PhD experience, and all for the good. Thanks to Paul Harvey for starting this thing and thanks to him and everyone else for making it a welcoming space for grad students to explore ideas, develop their voice, and become more comfortable in the strange world of academia.
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