Helping Washington University scholars reach broad, public audiences
Christopher Schaberg Director of Public Scholarship
The Program in Public Scholarship has established itself as a dynamic resource for scholars in Arts & Sciences and across campus at large. The heart and soul of our program consists of the one-on-one meetings we have with scholars wherein we brainstorm ideas and strategies for public impact based on each expert’s unique work. We also host biweekly workshops and seminars on practical topics, such as crafting effective book proposals, writing for high-visibility outlets like The Conversation, and podcasting.
It’s imperative now more than ever that universities demonstrate their relevance, importance, and social value. Public scholarship offers a way for scholars to do just that by highlighting how our work matters in the ‘real world’.
Adia Harvey Wingfield, Initiative Co-Director Professor of Sociology
Today’s scholars often want to see their work achieve impact beyond the academy. The Program in Public Scholarship helps faculty and students master new ways to create that impact.
Ian Bogost, Initiative Co-Director Professor of Computer Sciences and Engineering
Ways we support WashU scholars:
• By identitying appropriate public audiences and ways to reach them
• By brainstorming projects at all stages, from the earliest ideas to marketing and publicity efforts
• By creating Mentored Professional Experiences for graduate students across disciplines
• By bringing public scholars, editors, and publishing
• professionals to campus to share wisdom, tips, and guidance
• By offering workshops and seminars on focused subjects—from pitching stories to working with editors— so that our public scholars can develop a robust toolbox
Our program aims to support scholars’ public-facing work across a variety of mediums. This year, I guided our program in establishing how we can best support scholars’ interest in podcasting and Substack, among other platforms, and I look forward to helping further develop our capacity across multiple digital formats in the years to come.
Liz Wolfson Media Specialist
Public Scholarship Programming & Events
An Overview of Our Programming + Events
Programs and events aimed at the WashU and broader St. Louis communities enable us to raise awareness of the breadth of scholarly activities that public scholarship encompasses, provide our scholars with models of excellence in public scholarship, and collaborate with campus partners to show public scholarship in action.
Rethinking Tenure & Promotion Assessment in the Humanities: A Blueprint for Transformation and Innovation
The Program in Public Scholarship collaborated with the Center for the Humanities on a full-day event that explored new directions in university tenure and promotion standards. Featuring experts from the Modern Language Association, the American Council of Learned Societies, and peer institutions, as well as a range of WashU scholars, a series of panels discussed the challenges and opportunities around rethinking how tenure and promotion are earned in the humanities, with public scholarship as a guiding component. Out of this event came a publication in Inside Higher Ed, co-authored by Director of Public Scholarship Christopher Schaberg and Director of the Center for the Humanities Stephanie Kirk.
Ecology Now! Art + Humanities in the Anthropocene
Our program facilitated collaboration between units across the university to promote a number of converging speaker events on environmental studies topics. Participants included experts from from the Modern Language Association, the American Council of Learned Societies, and peer institutions, as well as a range of WashU scholars. This distinguished group took part in a series of panels to discuss the challenges and opportunities around rethinking how tenure and promotion are earned in the humanities, with public scholarship as a guiding component.” The series culminated with a visit from environmental philosopher and public scholar Timothy Morton of Rice University, who presented his new book, Hell: In Search of a Christian Ecology.
Editor Roundtable:
Academic Trade and Crossover Book Publishing
The Program brought three experienced book editors from university presses who convened on a virtual panel to discuss opportunities and challenges of crossover and trade publishing with WashU scholars.
The Program in Public Scholarship was instrumental for my understanding of the public reach of my first academic manuscript.
Raven Maragh-Lloyd
Assistant Professor of African and AfricanAmerican Studies and Film and Media Studies
I had the opportunity to present my research at the Rethinking Tenure symposium, allowing me to share my insights and perspective as a junior scholar with a broader audience. Currently, I am in the process of submitting a book proposal, and the Director of Public Scholarship has become my go-to advisor for questions and guidance beyond my departmental resources. His deep understanding of the publication process, his encouragement, and his ingenious ideas with words have significantly eased my journey of research and publication. I truly cannot imagine navigating these milestones without his support.
Jianqing Chen
Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages & Cultures
Association of University Presses webinar “Public scholarship: Strategies for amplifying an academic publication’s impact beyond the academy”
Director Christopher Schaberg and media specialist Liz Wolfson were invited to present practical lessons from the Program in Public Scholarship to a virtual audience of editors, publishers, and scholars.
Workshops and Seminars
The Program in Public Scholarship offers biweekly workshops and seminars throughout the academic year on fundamental skills and practical approaches to public scholarship. These events are a cornerstone of our efforts to expand scholars’ technical skills in the field of public scholarship and provide an opportunity for practice and feedback.
Sample workshops and seminars
What Makes a Good Book Cover
The cover of your book does not have to represent everything in your book; it merely has to sell your book. We talk about how to work with publishers to achieve an effective cover—even if it’s not the one you had in mind.
Do I Need an Agent?
Sometimes public scholarship can benefit from the expertise of an agent. Learn how agents work, and when it might be good timing to approach one for representation.
Getting
it
Done: Tactics for Finishing Your Book
Heading into the summer with lots of revisions or writing to do, and a deadline looming? We offer pragmatic advice and guidance to make real progress on your book.
Pitch like a Pro
A pithy pitch is the haiku of public scholarship— but often the gateway to getting longer work published.
15 Workshops held during the 2023-2024 academic year
Writing for the Conversation
“Academic rigor, journalistic flair”: this Creative Commons-licensed online news organization is an invaluable tool for emerging and established public scholars alike.
Mastering the Clear Tenure Statement
When distilling your research program, it can help to think of this as a public text: accessible, concise, and easy to follow.
Get Rejected!
It’s often taboo to talk openly about rejections. But rejections come with the territory of doing public scholarship. Learn to handle rejections and why they are an important part of the process.
From Book to Zine
Turn your academic monograph into a zine! This creative workshop will help you home in on the most salient and translatable parts of your research and present them in a succinct visual format.
8
Different schools represented
While I had done some journalistic and op-ed publishing in the past, I always found it cumbersome because there was no support in my prior institution to aid in this process. There is lots of discussion about the need to bridge the academic and public sphere, but scholars are not trained to do the vital work of showing the relevance of our research for broader publics. Without the scaffolding that the Program in Public Scholarship provides, it would be difficult for me to write as often as I would like to for non-academic audiences; alas, for many others in the academy, it would be impossible.
Jonathan Judaken Professor of Jewish, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
Social Media
Dos and Don’ts
Social media platforms can help public scholarship take off—but they come with risks. We discuss strategies and tactics for how to use social media to aid and enhance public scholarship.
How to Land an OpEd
Learn what makes this common genre different from an essay, argument, or article, and how to publish one.
Crafting an Effective Book Proposal
A notoriously tricky and time-consuming format, we demystify the process and break it down into manageable steps.
Storytelling Tips for Academics
Harness the power of narrative to animate your research and bring your academic work to life for general readers.
How to Give a Book Talk
Explore a variety of approaches for how to make a book talk more than a basic reading or overwhelming slide deck.
What is an Audience?
Public scholarship starts with identifying appropriate and realistic audiences who can benefit from academic research.
72 Departments and programs represented
Podcasting for Academics
We discuss best practices for why and when to start a podcast, as well as how to be an effective podcast guest.
Interview Tips & Tactics
Whether for a ten-second spot or an hour-long discussion, ace your next public scholarly interview.
186 Attendees
Overview of Our Work
with
This year, our program accelerated WashU’s partnership with The Conversation, a non-profit, online news platform whose tagline is “Academic rigor, journalistic flair.” Because The Conversation only publishes work by scholars associated with an accredited university or college, its editors are experienced working with academic writers, making it an excellent resource for scholars who are new to writing for non-expert audiences as well as those already engaged in this work.
The Conversation publishes under a Creative Commons license, meaning other news outlets are able to republish stories from the site at no cost. The readership for a single Conversation article thus has the potential to be significantly larger than one published with a traditional online publication.
It was a bit nerve-wracking to write my piece for The Conversation, but I’m grateful to the Program for encouraging me to dip a first toe into the public scholarship arena.
Joanna Dee Das Associate Professor of Dance, and author of “What live theater can learn from Branson, Missouri” (published Oct. 6, 2023)
Conversation, by the numbers (July 2023-July 2024)
Historian Nancy Berg’s article on her course on the art of apologies.
Mathematician John McCarthy’s article on the game SET and disordered collections.
Sociologist AdiaHarveyWingfield’s article on why DEI is still important.
Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Support
CREATES
Graduate Cohort in Public Scholarship
Overview
The Graduate Cohort in Public Scholarship was designed to equip doctoral students with practical tools that will help them better disseminate their work and communicate the importance of their research to broad public audiences. Participants will gain real-world experiences that will run parallel to and be supportive of each student’s individual disciplinary research program. The cohort experience offers a comprehensive program in public scholarship, featuring a graduate seminar, engaging activities, and valuable resources to support students’ involvement in public-facing projects.
Graduate cohort by the numbers:
9 Departments Represented
Jey Sushil is a PhD student in Comparative Literature in the track for international writers. Working with the Program in Public Scholarship, he published an essay at Belt Magazine and developed a book proposal based on his dissertation.
76 Anthropology; Chemistry; Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences; English; French Language and Literature; Music; Philosophy; PhilosophyNeuroscience-Psychology; and Sociology
Matriculated PhD Students Registered
23 Applicants who Expressed Interest
Additional graduate student opportunities: Mentored Professional Experience (MPEs) and grad student working group
For graduate students past their first year, the Program in Public Scholarship will offer two new opportunities designed to meet grad students’ particular professional and intellectual needs. For those interested in working one-onone with a Program staff member on a specific project, we will offer several Mentored Professional Experience positions. For those seeking more general opportunities to learn about public scholarship and develop public-facing projects in community, we will offer a graduate student working group, which will meet periodically to collectively workshop ideas to incorporate public scholarship into their research trajectories.
Danielle Williams , PhD, is a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Philosophy-NeurosciencePsychology program, and published a piece at The Conversation about her work on the history of artificial intelligence.
Public Scholarly Books and Podcasting
Object Lessons: Public scholarship in action
Object Lessons is a short book series published by Bloomsbury and distributed internationally. This general audience publishing venture offers hands-on editorial assistant opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. Founding series coeditors Ian Bogost and Christopher Schaberg are housed at WashU and curate the series out of the Program in Public Scholarship.
Being an Object Lessons Editorial Assistant has given me realworld experience in the publishing industry. I communicate directly with authors and evaluate projects that extend beyond the realm of academia. Because of the Program in Public Scholarship, I am better prepared and more excited to enter the professional world of publishing.
Campbell Sharpe English major and Object Lessons Editorial Assistant
Podcasting
OBJECT LESSONS
“Podcasting for Academics” workshop
Media Specialist Liz Wolfson and Laura Perry (Assistant Director, Center for the Humanities), co-led a workshop designed to introduce scholars to the podcast form, production strategies, and the many ways to approach a podcast. The workshop will be followed up next year with a recording and editing seminar.
Our program helps place faculty with new books as guests on the New Books Network, a public education podcast consortium with a monthly audience of 500,000 listeners.
Our program provides resources for scholars seeking to make their expertise accessible via podcast, a format that has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past several years. By connecting scholars with recording resources on campus, helping them with guest spots, and assisting with planning and production, we support public scholarship in formats that extend beyond the written word.
Ian Bogost, “How to Keep Time”
In fall 2023, Program in Public Scholarship co-lead Ian Bogost co-hosted this six-episode series for The Atlantic’s podcast channel, examining our relationship with time and what we can do to reclaim it.
Keith Hengen, “SleepResetstheBrain’sOperatingSystem”
Biologist Keith Hengen utilized program support to record a guest spot for NPR podcast The Academic Minute, discussing his research on why our brains need sleep.
Program in Public Scholarship
“Though short, at roughly 25,000 words apiece, these books are anything but slight.” — New Statesman Explore the hidden lives of ordinary things
Arts & Sciences Public Scholarship Prize
In April 2024, the Program in Public Scholarship announced the two inaugural recipients of the Arts & Sciences Public Scholarship Prize: Dr. Rebecca J. Lester (Anthropology), for her trade book on Dissociative Identity Disorder, Coming Undone: One Woman, Twelve Personalities, and the Myth at the Heart of ‘Mental Health’ and Dr. Abram Van Engen (English), for work to expand and amplify his podcast “Poetry for All.”
The prize awarded both Dr. Lester and Dr. Van Engen with $5,000 of research funds to enhance their work; an additional $2,500 will be awarded to the recipients upon successful completion of their projects. These high-profile projects promise to promote a culture of public scholarship for which Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis is swiftly becoming a leader. The Program received a robust pool of strong applications, reflecting the excellent public-facing work being done at our university.
The Public Scholarship Prize will allow us to hire a graduate student worker, who can help us expand and manage the multimedia community-engaged aspects of our podcast. In addition to extending the podcast’s reach through new marketing strategies, the prize will allow us to launch a regular newsletter and add teaching resources to a burgeoning website. In short, the prize enables us to expand into new ways of reaching a public audience with the power of poetry.
Abram Van Engen
Professor of English
Poetry For All introduces listeners to great poems and how they work. Each episode, cohosts Abram Van Engen and Joanne Diaz model conversations that open the world of poetry for anyone who wants to explore. Currently, each episode is downloaded an average of 2,000 times within the first month of posting, and the show has received more than 150,000 downloads to date.
The Public Scholarship Prize will enable me to hire a research assistant to help organize information about Dissociative Identity Disorder from the Victorian Era to the TikTok age, which will provide essential context for the story I am telling in the book. Being awarded the Prize has energized my writing, and working with the staff in the Program on Public Scholarship will be invaluable in developing the project.
Rebecca Lester Professor of Anthropology
Coming Undone: One Woman, Twelve Personalities, and the Myth at the Heart of “Mental Health”
Coming Undone: One Woman, Twelve Personalities, and the Myth at the Heart of “Mental Health” brings readers inside one of the most sensational and controversial mental disorders in American psychiatry: Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. Written by an anthropologist/clinician, Coming Undone details the incredible true story of a young woman named Ella diagnosed with DID and the therapy that helped her survive.
Faculty Public Scholars
The Program of Public Scholarship has been instrumental to my development of academic and public-facing work. Through workshops, events, and individual consultations, the program has provided invaluable support that has made a significant difference in my scholarly output— more than any other initiative or program at WashU, they have helped me take my work in new and exciting directions. I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to benefit from this program.
Gabi Kirilloff Assistant Professor of English
I worked with Chris Schaberg on an article for Slate: Future Tense. Chris was a tremendous help to make the piece readable, interesting, and appealing to the general public; and initially sold the piece to the Slate editor. This was the first time I wrote or talked about the mission publically, so I was very nervous about it. The purpose of the piece was to get the word out, and it was very effective. Many colleagues and friends of mine told me they saw it on their news feed and thought it was a great read. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (the lab I’m working with to implement the mission) also thought it was outstanding. The article was the first giant leap for our team to sell this mission to the public and the science community, and it was a huge success.
Ryan Ogliore
Associate Professor of Physics
RyanOgliore’s article on the Io mission, at Slate
Gabi Kirilloff’s article on Fallout 3, at Forbes
The Program in Public Scholarship has done a fabulous job in mentoring me in the myriad ways of sharing my scientific research and ideas with a broad audience.
Jonathan Losos Professor of Biology
Part of the Band
Public scholarship and social media converge
One day in the winter of 2024, one of Julia Walker’s students informed her that Matty Healy (@trumanblack), lead singer of British pop band the 1975, had shared a snapshot of her book, Expressionism and Modernism in the American Theatre: Bodies, Voices, Words, as an Instagram story. The Program in Public Scholarship was curious about this appearance of scholarship on social media—an academic book potentially seen by Healy’s 1.6 million followers. Why had Healy shared this image? Prof. Walker described the book’s cover, and put the project into context for us:
The cover image is a 1923 production of Elmer Rice’s expressionist play “The Adding Machine,” which shows the main character caught in the keys of an oversized adding machine. This was a new form of technology at the time and figured in the popular imagination similarly to how A.I. does today—as a threat to human labor. This book sparked the questions that I continue to ask in my research today. I am fascinated by how different registers of signification make meaning in the performing arts. Matty Healy is a very interesting avant-garde artist himself, so if my book manages to suggest a useful technique for him to use in his own art, I’d be extremely gratified to know that!
Julia Walker Professor of English and Drama
Jonathan Losos’s article on the future of cats, at Slate
One of the signature initiatives of the Arts & Sciences Strategic Plan, the Program in Public Scholarship was launched in July 2023 under the leadership of Feng Sheng Hu, the Richard G. Engelsmann Dean of Arts & Sciences; Deanna Barch, vice dean of research; and Ebba Segerberg, associate dean.
