Short Course : Take Your Research Public

Save the Dates : June-July 2024

Join experts from  Manchester Centre for Public Histories + Heritage (MCPHH) and beyond on a practical course to develop your academic historical work into formats suitable for wider publics.

Led by Professor Catherine Fletcher, this free five-session course features a range of experts from the world of public history.

Guest speakers include:
– Dr Kate Wiles, editor of the History Today
– Dr Owen Rees, Birmingham Newman University, founder of badancient.com
– Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, from the You’re Dead To Me podcast 

Running online over four Tuesdays from 4-25 June (10-3 each day), with a final in-person event on 2 July, it will introduce you to essential techniques in communicating history to wider audiences.

The course will cover a range of different formats:
– short-form writing (for magazines and online)
– long-form writing (trade books)
– podcasts and radio
– social media
– engagement with the GLAM sector (Galleries, Libraries and Museums).

The final day, in-person in Manchester, will be your opportunity to present your own work. We have bursaries available for participants without access to institutional funding.

By the end of the five sessions, you should have a good understanding of what is expected in these different contexts, some practical ideas of where to take your own work next, plus useful tips on money and career strategies.

This course is free and aimed at academic researchers (from mid-PhD onwards), with little or no experience of this type of writing. It is essential that you have an existing piece of academic research (e.g., a close-to-final thesis chapter, article, or book chapter) that you would like to translate to other contexts. You do not have to be studying History provided that your work has a historical element.

How to Apply

Register for Take Your Research Public

The deadline is Friday 26 April 2024.
Successful applicants will be notified in early May.

Notes for applicants:
Public history environments differ significantly from country to country. This course focuses on the UK context, and will be most useful if you currently work here or plan to do so in the near future.

We do not cover historical fiction. If your main interest is in this area, a short course in creative writing will probably be more useful.