Academic conferences can feel mysterious, overwhelming, or even intimidating, especially if you’re navigating them for the first time. What counts as a panel? How do you decide whether to give a paper, present a poster, or organize a roundtable? What about networking, funding, and figuring out how to get the most out of the experience?

Join us for a practical and supportive panel that breaks down the hidden rules of academic conferences. Our speakers will share their own experiences: what worked, what didn’t, and what they wish they had known earlier!

Whether you’re preparing to attend your first conference or looking to feel more confident and connected at the next one, this session will give you strategies, tips, and reassurance from people who have been there.

This event is open to anyone curious about navigating the world of academic conferences with more ease and confidence.

Register now here, and feel free to pre-submit questions for our panelists!

Featured panelists

• Christine Davidson is an Assistant Professor and archaeologist at Trent University, Canada. She is a first-generation university graduate and has been a presenter at several international conferences. She is an avid lover of dogs and gardening.
• Johanna Kaiser earned her Ph.D. in Classical Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022 and is currently a lecturer at both the University of Pennsylvania and Howard University. As the first in her family to attend college and pursue higher education, she is familiar with the challenges that first-generation students often encounter. She has presented her research at several international conferences and will present and chair a panel at the upcoming meeting of the Society for Classical Studies in San Francisco.
• Kaitlin Smith is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Her current research investigates women’s classical reception(s) in the nineteenth century. Her broader research interests include classical reception in literature, portrayals of women in antiquity, Greek tragedy, and English Romanticism.