National Council on Public History

emily sullivan, history associates incorporated

Proposal Type

Either structured conversation or traditional panel

Seeking

• Seeking Additional Presenters
• Seeking Specific Expertise
• Seeking General Feedback and Interest

Related Topics

• Digital
• Public Engagement
• Teaching and Training

Abstract

History can be a challenging field to break into, but there are many ways to get involved with the field and keep your resume fresh even if you’re struggling to find your dream job. Blogging, vlogging, and podcasts are just some examples of ways grad students, recent graduates, and other professionals looking for something new can stretch their historical muscle and prove how dedicated they are to their craft. History as a hobby also helps keep the field fresh and interesting for those already in it, providing an outlet for historical ideas or research that might not work in a traditional journal article or thesis. Finally, these venues provide a perfect platform for reaching a broad public audience eager to learn from your research.

Description

This idea was inspired by my experience trying to find work after undergrad. I turned to blogging about historical recipes and food to stay fresh and involved in history in some way while working elsewhere and then continued it in grad school as a fun hobby. In September, I’ll have been contributing to it for six years! My employer specifically cited the blog as a reason I was hired because it highlighted my writing style, abilities as a researcher, and showed I was really passionate about the field to continue doing historical work in my free time. I thought a discussion focusing on how to get started on a project like this, find an audience, sell it as a cool resume bullet point, what kind of opportunities there are out there to keep the historical juices flowing, and how to network with other people who do similar work might be helpful for folks who are finding themselves discouraged by job hunting or just looking for something fun to do with topics they’re interested in exploring outside of a thesis or book project. The resume building aspect was the original inspiration, but I do think it could be valuable to talk about how these projects can help combat burn out when working on a larger project like a thesis or just a fun way to meet other history geeks!

I have one co-presenter in mind who specializes in genealogy and can speak to how that has helped her professionally and personally. We’re hoping to find other presenters with experience doing historical blogging, vlogging, podcasts, reenactment, historical costuming, etc. who could speak about how their hobbies have helped them find an audience for their research and network with other experts in the field. Depending on interest, I think it could do well as a structured discussion to open the floor a little more to questions about getting your work out there, but a traditional panel discussing your projects specifically could also be really worthwhile.

Any thoughts or suggestions about how to tailor the presentation or directions to take it in would also be appreciated!

If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly: Emily Sullivan, [email protected]

All feedback and offers of assistance should be submitted by July 1, 2019. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.

Discussion