MOVEMENT II · WEEK 10

Individual
Meetings Week

WEEK 10  ·  CRDM 790  ·  Spring 2027
Format: No full group session — individual check-ins with instructor
Milestone due: Committee Confirmation — 15% of final grade
Activity: Prospectus Seed Writing (async) + individual meeting
UDL COMPLIANT
CRDM 790 · Spring 2027 Week 10 · Movement II
Session Map

This Week's Arc

📅 Format
  • No full group session this week
  • Individual check-ins with instructor — 20–30 minutes each
  • Sign up for a slot via Moodle (link posted in course shell)
  • Come prepared; these meetings are working sessions, not status reports
◆ Milestone Due
  • Committee Confirmation — 15% of final grade
  • Email confirmation from your chair is sufficient
  • Or: written plan with named faculty + realistic timeline
  • Submit via Moodle or email instructor directly
✏️ Before Your Meeting
  • Complete the Prospectus Seed Writing (300–500 words — see Slide 5)
  • Review your Week 8 exam list with feedback in hand
  • Identify your one most unresolved question
  • Bring this writing to your check-in — we will read it together
✦ Use This Week To
  • Confirm committee contact (follow up on your Week 9 emails)
  • Revise exam list from Week 8 peer and instructor feedback
  • Begin prospectus framing — what problem does this dissertation address?
  • Rest. Read something for pleasure.
CRDM 790 · Spring 2027 Week 10 · Milestone
15% of Final Grade

Committee Confirmation

What Counts as Confirmation
  • An email from your chair (or co-chairs) confirming they have agreed to serve — forward this to instructor
  • A written plan naming all committee members, their roles, and a realistic timeline for completing assembly if members have not yet confirmed
  • If you are on a non-academic track: name the people (professional mentors, faculty contacts) who will support candidacy and explain how
How to Submit
  • Upload to Moodle (Committee Confirmation dropbox), or
  • Email directly to instructor at kkcole2@ncsu.edu with subject line: CRDM 790 Committee Confirmation – [Your Name]
  • Due by the time of your individual meeting, or by end of Week 10
Running Into Obstacles?

Flag them now — do not wait. Faculty go silent, timelines shift, advisors move institutions. The earlier you name the obstacle, the more options you have. Bring the specific sticking point to your individual meeting.

Grading Note

This milestone is graded on completeness and evidence of genuine progress — not on having a fully assembled committee. A thoughtful written plan with named faculty and an honest timeline demonstrates the work.

Movement II Milestones
M2 · Draft Exam List (Week 8) 25%
M3 · Committee Confirmation (this week) 15%
M4 · Dissertation Prospectus (Week 14) 40%
CRDM 790 · Spring 2027 Week 10 · Individual Meeting
For Your 20–30 Minute Meeting

Reflection Prompts

1
What has changed since Week 1? Compare where you were in your scholarly identity statement to where you are now. What shifted — and what surprised you? Not "I learned a lot." What specifically changed in how you understand your project or your field?
2
Where is your exam list still unresolved? What conversation is happening on your list that you haven't been able to articulate yet? Bring the list. Mark the texts you're least sure about. Name the gap you keep circling.
3
What is the central problem your dissertation addresses — in one sentence? Not your topic. The problem. The thing that is wrong or unknown or contested that your work intervenes in. This is hard. That's why we're doing it here, together, before you write it alone.
4
What does your committee assembly reveal about your project? Who you are asking — and who you haven't approached — tells you something about what kind of dissertation you're imagining. What does it reveal about who you think should be reading your work?
5
What are you most afraid of about the prospectus? Name the specific fear. Not "failing" — what do you think you will discover when you try to write the whole argument down? The fear is usually diagnostic. It often points to the thing you most need to work on.
Click a prompt to reveal · or press Enter
CRDM 790 · Spring 2027 Week 10 · Async Activity
Before Your Meeting · 300–500 Words

Prospectus Seed Writing

The Prompt
"The problem my dissertation addresses is           , and it matters because           ."
What to Write
  • Start with the sentence above — then keep going
  • Write the argument you're trying to make, the thinkers you're in conversation with, the method you're reaching for
  • Write toward the shape of a prospectus introduction — you are not writing the prospectus yet, you are writing toward it
  • Aim for 300–500 words. Stop when you get there even if you're not done
The Rules
  • Do not edit as you write. Write fast and messy
  • Do not reread until you reach the word count
  • Do not open your exam list while you're writing
  • Write it the day before your meeting — not a week in advance
After Your Meeting

Revise exactly one sentence from your seed writing based on what you discussed. Just one. Send the revised sentence to instructor by email. This is your bridge into Movement III.

Why This Works

The prospectus requires you to know what you're arguing before you've finished researching. Seed writing practices the cognitive move of claiming an argument in advance of certainty. This is the central intellectual skill of doctoral writing — and it only develops through practice, not through waiting until you're ready.

CRDM 790 · Spring 2027 Movement II · Weeks 6–10
What We Built Together

Movement II Recap

Week 6
Primitive Accumulation
Silvia Federici
Whose labor built your field? The canon as enclosure — what was taken, from whom, in order to make "knowledge" possible.
Canon Audit
Week 7
Hauntology
Fisher · Derrida
What does your field mourn? The specters of futures that never arrived — and how the past structures what feels possible now.
3-Min Presentations
Week 8
Exam List Workshop
Haraway
Situated knowledges — who gets to claim to know, from where, and what your list reveals about whose knowledge you trust.
M2 Due · 25%
Week 9
Committee as Intellectual Community
Kelsky
Not bureaucracy — intellectual relationship. Who will challenge your work productively? What do you owe them?
Email Workshop
Week 10
Individual Meetings
You + Instructor
The problem you are trying to address. One sentence. Then 300–500 words toward the answer.
M3 Due · 15%
Movement II: What do I know, and who helps me know it? — You have answered this question. Now Movement III asks: What do I build?
CRDM 790 · Spring 2027 Looking Ahead · Movement III
After Spring Break · Weeks 11–15

Movement III: Now What?

Week 11
Marcuse · One-Dimensional Man
The one-dimensional dissertation — when our arguments flatten into what is already sayable. Imagination as a scholarly problem.
Week 12
Ghosh · The Great Derangement
Scale, catastrophe, and the limits of scholarly address. The "So What?" Gauntlet: what does it matter if your dissertation succeeds?
Week 13
Alt-Ac & Beyond · Guest Lecturers
Three versions of your future: academic, adjacent, and outside. What your dissertation means in each context.
Week 14
Prospectus Workshop
Full draft due — workshopped in class. This is the main event of the semester.
M4 · 40%
Week 15
Presentations + Week 1 Return
Brief presentations on prospectus arguments. Your Week 1 card returned — read it, then write a response.
CRDM 790 · Spring 2027 Week 10 → Spring Break
Before You Go

Rest. Return.

◆
Submit Before Break

Committee Confirmation — 15% of final grade — due by end of Week 10 via Moodle or email. If you are running into obstacles, send a note now rather than after break.

✉️
Send Your Revised Sentence

After your individual meeting, revise one sentence from your Prospectus Seed Writing and email it to instructor. Subject line: CRDM 790 Seed Revision – [Your Name]. This is your connection into Movement III.

📖
Read Something for Pleasure

Not for your exam list. Not to annotate. A novel, a collection of essays, a book you've been meaning to read for years. The imagination that moves your dissertation needs to be fed, not only directed.

🌱
When You Return: Movement III Begins

Week 11 opens with Marcuse — we turn toward imagination, drafting, and the central question of the semester: what does it mean to make an argument that matters? Come back rested. The prospectus is waiting.

"The problem my dissertation addresses is ___, and it matters because ___."

BRING THIS SENTENCE BACK WITH YOU

CRDM 790 · Movement II · Week 10

Individual Meetings Week

No full group session — individual check-ins with instructor. Come prepared. These are working sessions.

Format: individual check-ins (20–30 min each) ◆ Milestone 3 due this week

This Week’s Arc

📅 Format

No full group session. Individual check-ins with instructor — 20–30 minutes each. Sign up for a slot via Moodle. Come prepared; these meetings are working sessions, not status reports.

◆ Milestone Due

Committee Confirmation — 15% of final grade. Email confirmation from your chair is sufficient. Or: written plan with named faculty + realistic timeline. Submit via Moodle or email.

✏️ Before Your Meeting

Complete the Prospectus Seed Writing (300–500 words — see below). Review your Week 8 exam list with feedback. Identify your one most unresolved question. Bring this writing — you will read it together.

✦ Use This Week To

Confirm committee contact. Revise exam list from Week 8 feedback. Begin prospectus framing. Rest. Read something for pleasure.

Milestone 3 — Committee Confirmation

15% of final grade · Due by your individual meeting or end of Week 10
What counts as confirmation
  • Option A: An email from your chair (or co-chairs) confirming they have agreed to serve — forward this to instructor
  • Option B: A written plan naming all committee members, their roles, and a realistic timeline for completing assembly if members have not yet confirmed
  • Non-academic track: Name the people (professional mentors, faculty contacts) who will support candidacy and explain how
How to submit
  • Google Drive — M3 subfolder (full details)
  • Moodle — Committee Confirmation dropbox
  • Email directly: kkcole2@ncsu.edu with subject “CRDM 790 Committee Confirmation – [Your Name]”
  • Bring documentation to your individual meeting
Running into obstacles?
Flag them now — do not wait. Faculty go silent, timelines shift, advisors move institutions. The earlier you name the obstacle, the more options you have.

Bring the specific sticking point to your individual meeting. This milestone is graded on completeness and evidence of genuine progress — not on having a fully assembled committee.

Movement II milestones
  • M2 · Draft Exam List (Week 8) — 25%
  • M3 · Committee Confirmation (this week) — 15%
  • M4 · Dissertation Prospectus (Week 14 draft / Week 15+1 final) — 40%

Reflection Prompts for Your Meeting

For your 20–30 minute individual meeting
1
What has changed since Week 1? Compare where you were in your scholarly identity statement to where you are now. What shifted — and what surprised you?
Not “I learned a lot.” What specifically changed in how you understand your project or your field?
2
Where is your exam list still unresolved? What conversation is happening on your list that you haven’t been able to articulate yet?
Bring the list. Mark the texts you’re least sure about. Name the gap you keep circling.
3
What is the central problem your dissertation addresses — in one sentence? Not your topic. The problem. The thing that is wrong or unknown or contested that your work intervenes in.
This is hard. That’s why we’re doing it here, together, before you write it alone.
4
What does your committee assembly reveal about your project? Who you are asking — and who you haven’t approached — tells you something about what kind of dissertation you’re imagining.
5
What are you most afraid of about the prospectus? Name the specific fear. Not “failing” — what do you think you will discover when you try to write the whole argument down?
The fear is usually diagnostic. It often points to the thing you most need to work on.

Prospectus Seed Writing

Before Your Meeting · 300–500 Words · Write fast and messy
The Prompt
“The problem my dissertation addresses is ___, and it matters because ___.”

Start with that sentence — then keep going. Write the argument you’re trying to make, the thinkers you’re in conversation with, the method you’re reaching for. Aim for 300–500 words. Stop when you get there even if you’re not done.

The rules

Do not edit as you write. Do not reread until you reach the word count. Do not open your exam list while writing. Write it the day before your meeting — not a week in advance.

Why this works

The prospectus requires you to claim an argument before you’ve finished researching. Seed writing practices that cognitive move. This is the central intellectual skill of doctoral writing — it only develops through practice, not through waiting until you’re ready.

After your meeting
Revise exactly one sentence from your seed writing based on what you discussed. Just one. Email the revised sentence to instructor. Subject: “CRDM 790 Seed Revision – [Your Name].” This is your bridge into Movement III.

Movement II Recap

What we built together · Weeks 6–10
Week 6
Primitive Accumulation — Federici
Whose labor built your field? The canon as enclosure — what was taken, from whom, to make “knowledge” possible. Canon Audit.
Week 7
Hauntology — Fisher · Derrida
What does your field mourn? The specters of futures that never arrived. 3-minute presentations.
Week 8
Exam List Workshop — Haraway
Situated knowledges: who gets to claim to know, from where, and what your list reveals. ◆ M2 Due (25%).
Week 9
Committee as Intellectual Community — Kelsky
Not bureaucracy — intellectual relationship. Who will challenge your work productively? Email Workshop.
Week 10
Individual Meetings
The problem you are trying to address. One sentence. Then 300–500 words toward the answer. ◆ M3 Due (15%).

Rest. Return.

Submit before break
  • Committee Confirmation — 15% of final grade — due by end of Week 10
  • If running into obstacles, send a note now rather than after break
Send your revised sentence
  • After your individual meeting, revise one sentence from your Prospectus Seed Writing and email it. Subject: “CRDM 790 Seed Revision – [Your Name].” This is your connection into Movement III.
Read something for pleasure
Not for your exam list.

Not to annotate. A novel, a collection of essays, a book you’ve been meaning to read for years. The imagination that moves your dissertation needs to be fed, not only directed.

Movement III begins — Week 11

Marcuse — imagination, drafting, and the central question of the semester: what does it mean to make an argument that matters? Come back rested. The prospectus is waiting.

“The problem my dissertation addresses is ___, and it matters because ___.”

Bring this sentence back with you.