Mira Xenia Schwerda
Thank you so much for working with us. All presentations published on the Khamseen website go through a detailed peer-review and editing process. This document is intended to guide you through the various phases, from preparing your contribution to its official launch.
Phase 1 – Preparation
Please read through your Welcome Letter, which introduces you to Khamseen and explains the guidelines for our presentations. The next document to look at is our Audio and Video Recording Tools Guide, which provides advice on how to record your presentation. Finally, please read through the Image Caption Guidelines carefully before compiling your PowerPoint.
Phase 2 – Creating the Presentation
Now the real work begins. Please create your PowerPoint (make sure to leave empty space on the lower horizontal of all of your PP slides; closed captions will be inserted there after recording!) and write your presentation as a polished script. After that, and prior to recording, please send the PP presentation, your script as a Word document, and your image captions as a Word document to your Khamseen point person as well as to Christiane Gruber (cjgruber@umich.edu) and Mira Xenia Schwerda (schwerda@umich.edu). Your materials will go through a first review and editing process, after which you will receive all documents with edits and feedback as well as suggestions for changes. Please apply those first round of edits and send the second draft of your script and PP back to us.
Phase 3 – Peer Review and Editing
Your second drafts will now go through a collective Khamseen peer review process. Our team will be in touch with suggestions on how to make your presentation even better. Your Khamseen point person will send you the collated team edits and suggestions, including all figure captions. Please apply the edits and contact your point person if you have any questions. After that you are ready to start recording!
Phase 4 – Recording
You are now ready to record. It might be a good idea to read through the Audio and Video Recording Tools Guide once more. Please make sure to find a quiet room and to indicate the changing of slides in your lecture notes. If your recording is going great but you trip on a word or sentence, then please don’t worry. Just pause for a few seconds and then start the sentence anew. We will edit out the mistake later, during the production phase.
Once complete, please send your recording to your Khamseen point person together with your Signed Image Disclaimer. Please also send us a Word document that includes 5-8 “Further Readings” (i.e., a bibliography), related Khamseen presentations, and, in case you have produced a Khamseen Glossary term, then 3-8 “Related Terms.” Please check all topic and term presentations on our website, and we are here to help and make suggestions as well. Please make sure to send us the final Word document version of your presentation script, which we will need for closed captioning, and the final version of your PP, which we might need in post-production.
We will review your recording and will be in touch with feedback. In some cases, this will only involve post-recording edits; in other cases, a new recording will be requested. If you re-record your presentation, please send to us the revised PowerPoint and script together with the new recording.
Phase 5 – Getting Ready for Publication
Your presentation is looking great and is now ready to be published! At this point, please send a high-quality headshot and a short professional biography (max. 100 words) as a Word document to your point person, so that we can feature you among our contributors on the Khamseen website. Please also send to your point person a high-resolution key image from your presentation so that it can be used as a thumbnail as well as a presentation synopsis (max. 100 words) as a Word document. If you’re unsure about the synopsis, take a look at existing examples on our website.
Thank you so much for your contribution and please get ready for your Khamseen spotlight! Your point person will let you know when your presentation will be published on our website and announced on all our social media.
Quick Checklist
Phase 1 – Preparation
- Read through your Welcome Letter
- Take a look at our Production Guides
- Read the Image Caption Guidelines carefully before compiling your PowerPoint
Phase 2 – Creating the Presentation
- Create your PowerPoint presentation (leave space for closed captions!)
- Compile your image captions as a Word document while making the PowerPoint
- Write your presentation script, flagging Slides 1, 2, etc., as a Word document
- Send all three to your Khamseen point person as well as to Christiane Gruber (cjgruber@umich.edu) and Mira Xenia Schwerda (schwerda@umich.edu).
Phase 3 – Peer Review and Editing
- Having received the first of round edits, please apply these edits to your PowerPoint and your presentation script. Send the second draft of each file back to us.
- Your presentation will now go through peer review, and suggestions and edits will be sent to you. Please apply this second round of edits and send the final drafts of your script and PP to us.
Phase 4 – Recording
- Record your presentation
- Compile a list of Further Readings as a Word document
- For a Term presentation, compile a list of Related Terms as a Word document
- Fill out, sign, scan, and return your Disclaimer
- Send your recording, together with your signed disclaimer, a Word document of Further Readings, and, if a glossary term definition, Related Terms
- Also send us your final PowerPoint together with the final Word document of your presentation script, which we will need for closed captioning.
- If needed, re-record your presentation. Please send it to us together with the updated version of your script and PP.
Phase 5 – Getting Ready for Publication
- Select and send a high-quality headshot.
- Write and send a short professional biography (max. 100 words)
- Select a key image in high resolution that can be used as a presentation thumbnail.
- Write a synopsis (max. 100 words) for your presentation
- Send your headshot, key image, biography, synopsis, and social media handles
Citation:
Mira Xenia Schwerda, “The Ultimate Khamseen Checklist,” Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online, published 26 November 2022; revised 19 September 2024.