From the Other Side of the Desk: A Conversation with Randall Halle about Advising, Careers, and IDPs

Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down with the Klaus W. Jonas Professor of German Film and Cultural Studies, Randall Halle, to discuss IDPs and approaches to student advising in the changing landscape of academia. Halle is a familiar face to any student who has taken courses in Cultural Studies, Film and Media Studies, or the German Department. Indeed, his work and career sit at the intersection of these three disciplines and, as a result, he has mentored a diverse graduate student population and is an ideal person with whom to discuss advising strategies. While IDPs are of great use to students at all stages of their graduate education, they are also a non-judgmental, hands-off way for faculty to encourage their students to think deeply about their skills, values, and interests.  From an advisor standpoint, Halle uses IDPs as a tool for getting to know advisees, for better understanding their broader priorities and aspirations, and for goal setting.

When I arrived in his office in the Cathedral of Learning, a fourth-floor corner that overlooks Fifth Avenue, I was early. An hour early, to be precise. Halle had been in California when we scheduled our discussion, so the automatic time zone change had warped iCal’s input. Although I offered to return at our scheduled time, Halle was flexible, patient, and non-judgmental, a glimpse into his approach to graduate student advising. Yet his answer to my first question, about his research, showed the direct, no frills approach that he is known for. Halle describes himself as a scholar of German Studies. Full stop. And his self-identification as a single-discipline scholar, despite his breadth of expertise, is informed by the moment in which he finished his degree. “Queer Theory,” as would be approached in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies program in 2019, did not exist in the 90s. To research these topics, students went through satellite departments such as languages, where students could study whatever material they wanted, as long as it remained in the department’s language.

This interdisciplinarity not only prepared him to teach Cultural Studies seminars, which, as he describes it, was “one of the most pleasurable experiences I’ve had” but also to coach graduate students in a variety of disciplines. As for his approach to mentorship with a varied student body, “you have to figure out who they are… [even in a German department] we were not speaking a common language at all. What are you interested in? How do you express yourself?... you’re in a program that’s disciplining you, but you are also filled with the energy to transform the discipline. If you do what the discipline teaches, you need to draw from other disciplines.” This student-centered approach is not only what has made him so popular among graduate students, it is also one of the key mentorship strategies that experts say is essential to changing the stigmas surrounding graduate student career outcomes.

Graduate school was hardly a cake walk for Halle and he’s all too familiar with the current uncertainties of the academic job market. “I try to be honest about the struggles I’ve had – writing the dissertation was really challenging. There are people who were smarter than me who didn’t finish. That I got a job and someone else didn’t is chance. I try to remember that I’m lucky to have this position.” By being upfront about with students that it was a combination of hard work and chance that brought Halle to where he is today, it reminds students that there are forces out of their control: sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you worked, there simply aren’t job postings for your sub-field. The years immediately following the completion of his PhD were tough, “I had a miserable time after I finished my PhD and I was on the job market for three years and had nothing… After three years I said, “I give up.” I found a satisfying non-academic job.”

Yet when an advertisement for a one-year position at the University of Rochester was posted for a scholar of Queer Theory, German, and Film, Halle was skeptical. In fact, the final push came from Halle’s husband, who printed the materials, had Halle sign them, and sent them in. “I got an interview and I went kicking and scream – I had a job that I loved. The environment was fun and the people were really great… [but] I will never have a chance to do this again so I’m going to do anything and everything I want.” His creative, boundaries-pushing attitude propelled Halle to transform the University of Rochester’s German Department into a more interdisciplinary environment where he eventually earned tenure. Several years later, when Pitt posted the Klaus W. Jonas Professor of German Film and Cultural Studies endowed chair position, he got the job and molded the Film and Media Studies and Cultural Studies programs into what they are today.

For Halle, IDPs are essential tool for mentorship not only because they help guide students towards a variety of possible paths but also because they provide a framework for advisors to evaluate progress and goal-setting. Many advisors are required to file yearly reports on their advisees and IDPs clarify a student’s development beyond the number of pages written or conference talks presented. “The key is to say to students when they come in for advising sessions, ‘the goal here is for you to recognize all the options that are available to you for your PhD. One of the primary goals [may be] for you to be an academic but have you thought about how to pursue other career options?’” IDPs offers a benchmark for students and advisors to stop and reflect on how they have changed professionally and personally.

As for non-academic mentorship and experiences that help students narrow their career paths, Halle couldn’t stress enough the value of experiences outside of the classroom or library, such as internships or field work. “It’s important to use experiences to invigorate dissertation projects,” Halle said. Such invigoration is especially the case for students of film and media studies, for whom an opportunity in a museum, film festival, or production company offers an unparalleled look into their field of study (for an example, check out Ben Ogrodnik’s Student Spotlight). By networking and building communities, students encounter highly-trained and skilled humanists who have a variety of positions in the wider world.

What advice would Halle give a student who is reluctant to speak with his or her advisor about non-academic career paths? “I think in the long run, it is important for your career and for your future that you be able to encourage your advisor. If you know it’s the right thing to do, you need to be able to convince them. You need to figure out how to articulate it better. It’s not just the advisor, — you have to become confident in the project.” Halle continued that these powers of persuasion were also crucial for other settings, academic or not: talking with publishers, pitching a conference panel, or organizing a project. Find your supporters, practice articulating your ideas with them, and, finally, “do not allow [yourself] to be intimidated by colleagues.” 

I’ll conclude with one final piece of helpful advice. When I had nodded in agreement about the challenges of a writing a dissertation, I asked how he coached himself through it. “Write one page a day,” he said. “What about imposter syndrome?” I asked. “Writing can be pleasurable… remain curious.”

Thank you again, Professor Halle, for your openness, candor, and willingness to meet with me. We, the graduate student population, are grateful to have your support!