Regardless of major or areas of interest, whether in the humanities or the sciences, sharing one’s work with others is an exciting and important part of the learning process. In the Honors Program, students have the opportunity to share their work with their peers, professors and advisors, both in-class and when creating their scholarship project. Not only does presenting one’s work give one valuable feedback through dialogue with others, it also can serve as an experience which can help build confidence.
Depending on the venue, presenting might take on different modalities: reading a research paper or a literary work, showing a video/film, or performing a theatrical or musical performance. Indeed, perhaps some of the most interesting presentations take place at the intersection of different disciplines, combining various approaches and methods together to create new and unique processes, results, and effects. Consider how science and the arts, science and religious studies, or philosophy and performance might be combined or reimagined in new ways.
One major hurdle students face is finding a venue for their work. Although many professional conferences, in particular academic conferences, focus on work written/performed by graduate students and professors alike, there are few symposia/conferences/events which encourage undergraduate students to apply and participate. At La Sierra, there is the annual Research Emphasis Week during spring quarter, which accepts both poster and paper presentations from a variety of disciplines. On a national level, there are organizations such as the National Symposium for Undergraduate Research as well as the Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium. (I was recently given the opportunity to present at the Macksey Symposium, and would recommend that any student looking for a highly interdisciplinary venue to share their work should apply. Despite the fact that it is more or less a humanities conference, science and business majors should also consider applying as well.) Another resource that students have are their professors, who can give advice about which research conferences and organizations are worth applying to, as well as write a letter of recommendation if required.
Finally, another factor to take into consideration is whether or not a presentation venue will be held in-person or virtually. The advantage of presenting virtually is that many more attendees can be present, including from different regions and time zones. (However, having presented at several virtual conferences, as well as in-person conferences, I have found that there is less time for Q&A, dialogue and networking online than at an in-person conference. This factor is particularly important to consider beforehand, since many projects cannot easily be fit into a five or ten minute “lab report” style presentation.) The disadvantage of in-person conferences, on the other hand, is that they may require travel, including associated expenses. It is worth speaking to the department chair or advisor to see if conference fees and travel expenses can be reimbursed. Regardless, sharing a piece of academic work and receiving feedback, as well as giving feedback on other presenters, can be a fun, but also challenging, learning experience.
— Loren Klim (Class of 2022, Philosophy & English Minor)