Podcasting for humanities scholars

Podcasting has become a common form of storytelling in the digital and social media age. More than reporting or delivering a lecture or essay, podcasts are simple ways for expert voices to offer commentary on the increasingly complicated world we live in. Podcasting is a great way for humanities scholars to synthesize research into accessible language for listeners who come from a range of backgrounds and build academic networks.

Each year the National Humanities Center (NHC) in collaboration with the Digital Humanities Center at San Diego State University provides “Podcasting the Humanities: Creating Digital Stories for the Public” a virtual institute for graduate students, faculty, and staff engaged in the humanities.

Screen shot of four women on a Zoom meeting. Peg Freas Gearhart is on the upper left panel. She is a white woman wearing glasses. She has shoulder-length auburn hair.Oregon Humanities Center’s (OHC) Communications Coordinator Peg Freas Gearhart attended the virtual NHC podcasting institute June 12–16, 2023. As part of the registration fee, NHC provided a professional microphone and headset. Peg attended workshops on best practices in scholarly podcasting, recording and editing, and podcast pedagogy. She also participated in discussions about how digital humanities scholarship might be included in tenure-review criteria. With her cohort of colleagues from other universities, Peg created a podcast called “Sustenance: Stories at the Intersection of Culture, Health, and Memory.” According to Peg, “It was an intense week but I gained many valuable skills. I can imagine how podcasting will elevate the humanities at the UO.”

The NHC offers the podcasting institute to graduate students each winter and faculty and staff each summer. The OHC plans to sponsor one participant for each institute. Information will be available in upcoming newsletters about how to participate in this exciting opportunity.