Listing one's dissertation committee on the CV?

In our June "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

Should junior TT faculty, who are trying to do things such as get another TT job or secure a book contract with a good academic press, list their dissertation committee members on their CV?

Karen Kelsky advises against it because by her lights it makes one seem much more like a junior scholar or maybe even a graduate student.

But, on the other hand, both search committees and academic press suffer from prestige bias. So, one might think that if one's dissertation committee is very famous, one should include them on one's CV.

Interesting question! I would have thought the obvious answer here is, "Yes", for basically the prestige-related reasons (if you have particularly well-known committee members listed on the first page, that could catch someone's eye). But Kelsky's reasoning sort of makes sense as well, and I've heard similar things from others in the profession (i.e. you want to 'look like an equal' rather than someone who sees themselves still as a 'junior' scholar).

Any readers in the know have any thoughts on this?

Comments

[booker]

I would not list your dissertation committee if you are submitting a book proposal or manuscript to a good press. It does look like that is your "big" accomplishment - working with those people. From my experience with one of the big two presses, they want to see that you have published in the area in good places (journals), and that you have a thoughtful project - the referees will help them assess that.
Where prestige bias kicks in with book publishing is with respect to your affiliation NOW - if you are an MIT faculty member, you can easily get a contract.

[Daniel Weltman]

This is probably the wrong way to think about it, since prudence should probably be the sole driving force behind these sorts of decisions, but I list my committee on the CV because I like to see other people's committees on their CVs (just because I find it interesting to know what sorts of people are advising what sorts of dissertation topics) and so I want to provide that service to people who read my CV.

Whether or not this helps me, I suspect the impact in one direction or another is pretty minimal: that is, if it's a prestige boost, it's tiny, and if it makes me look less professional, it's by an infinitesimal amount. So, small potatoes all around, at least from the prudential standpoint. So the other-regarding motive wins out.