Crossing the bar: Public Engagement and Humanities Research

Crossing the bar: Public Engagement and Humanities Research (http://humanitiesandpublicengagement.wordpress.com)

Applications are invited from Humanities postgraduate and early career researchers across the North West to take part in this AHRC-funded initiative, which will explore practical methods of finding ways of engaging the public with your research – an increasingly important consideration for researchers entering an academic marketplace which expects research to create impact.

The project will take the form of two workshops. The first, to be held at Keele University on Friday May 17th 2013, will address the idea of “Connected Communities”. At this event, invited community partners (Staffordshire Archive Service, Englesea Brook Museum, the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum and the New Vic Theatre) will explain their experiences of the nature of collaborative relationships, suggesting ways of establishing meaningful contact with local research institutions, prompting discussions of how such a working-relationship can be sustained and how it can develop the long-term prospects of both researcher and community partners.

Developing from this, the second workshop, to be held at Liverpool University on September 27th  2013, will address the “Care for the Future” theme. Talks from Gladstone’s Library, the Reader Organisation, the Prince's Trust and the Wordsworth Trust will explore the variety of contexts in which Humanities researchers might interact with it, from digitisation projects which preserve and make accessible a resource, to uses of reading which seek to enhance health and well-being.
The workshops will be supplemented by a blog, which will enable participants to discuss their experiences of seeking public engagement opportunities throughout the time between the workshops. Each participant will be asked to write a short post to contribute to this blog.

To apply, please send a letter of support from your supervisor, a brief outline of your research project, and a brief (500 word) description as to how you see your project being utilised in a public engagement collaboration to j.e.taylor@keele.ac.uk and k.astbury@liverpool.ac.uk by Friday March 29th 2013.