November is a hard month, no? The lovely fall colours are gone; it’s cold and dreary. We’re in that tough part of the semester where students’ enthusiasm wane as their work loads edge higher, mirrored by our own increasing stacks of grading. Here in Edmonton, despite the shortening days, we usually get a few hours of brilliant sun shining on the crisp bright white snow, but this year, we’ve gotten a lot of dreary grey. And then there’s the utterly devastating state of the world right now, (not to mention the fights we’re all having about those world events on Facebook and Twitter). I think I can safely say we’re all in need of a little pick-me-up.
Sooooo: Boast Post! Let’s offer each other a little cheer, and cheer each other up!
You all know how it works by now, right? Do you have something that you’re proud of, or did right? Did someone offer you a piece of praise? Did you finish a dissertation chapter? Have a conference proposal accepted at a competitive conference? Get through a challenging semester of teaching? Did you submit a ton of postdoc/job applications? Get invited to present your research? Tell us! And tell the world on Twitter with the #boastpost hashtag! It can feel a little weird and awkward, but it also feels great to celebrate our accomplishments, and have others celebrate with us.
I have three things to celebrate over the last semester:
1) I have now finished submitting revisions for two articles and one chapter that are forthcoming in the Journal of Modern Periodical Studies, the Victorian Review, and (co-authored with the brilliant Kathryn Holland!) the forthcoming book Reading Modernism with Machines (Palgrave McMillan). It’s thrilling to see the work of the last couple of years come to fruition!
2) I finished drafting my Mona Caird Chapter, and have begun writing THE FINAL CHAPTER of my dissertation! This one is on Henrietta Müller, Olive Schreiner, and the Women’s Penny Paper. I’m really excited to be writing it!
3) I just finished presenting on a fantastic panel at MSA17 on feminist approaches in DH and Modernism, and it was wonderful connecting with other women who work at the intersection of feminism and DH. I also have an upcoming jointly-organized panel at the Victorian Studies Association of Western Canada (VSAWC). Conferences. They’re so fun!
Okay folks, true story: I actually had a hard time keeping it to three things here. I’m kinda shocked. I have been feeling super low about my accomplishments over the last little while. November has really gotten me down. Let me tell you: it feels really great to think through what I’ve accomplished. So: YOUR TURN. Turn off that part of your brain that is telling you it’s gauche or shameless, and boast!
Hook & Eye 
Thanks, Jana. You're right: we needed this. A big congrats to you on what you've accomplished recently–wowza! My three:
– in the last week, I've received my first chapter back from my committee with the most minor of revisions, finished Chapter Two, and started my final chapter. Nearly there!
– I threw my students and fellows a really excellent party featuring Chris Hadfield as a speaker, and it went perfectly after months of planning.
– the workshop on DH and the dissertation that I'm co-facilitating at the MLA in January is item #1 in the program, which is really cool.
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