2019 cohort: Schedule and Assignments
sunday
Welcome Dinner
6:30pm @ 23 Linwood Street
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
Sunday, 16 June
Homework for Monday
Read:
Bond, “Vox Populi”
Cassuto, “How to Go Public, and Why We Must”
Peschong, “Tips for Making the Most of Your Headshots”
Goodwin, “Challenges + Responsibilities for the Public Scholar of Religion”
(optional)
Welcome Dinner
6:30pm @ 23 Linwood St
(please arrive by 6pm)
Sacred Writes’ origin story
Introductions + icebreaker
Shared space group agreements
Monday, 17 June
Homework for Tuesday
Consider:
What are some reasons you might want to write an op-ed? What are some factors holding you back? If you’ve written op-eds previously, how have readers responded? What topics are you best prepared to translate for a general audience?
Complete:
Broaden your expertise exercise (use your dissertation/current project)
Brainstorm 2-3 op-ed topics
Read:
Getting Started
9-11:30am @ Renaissance Park 909
Discussion leaders: Liz & Megan
Land statement
Group agreements
What makes a public?
Your expertise (Liz)
Credibility game
Thinking big: broadening your expertise
LUNCH served @ Renaissance Park 909
(feel free to take it outside if the weather’s nice)
Public Scholarship Then & Now
1-3pm @ Renaissance Park 909
Discussion leader: Evan Derkacz | @evanderkacz
Religion & media: who, what, why, when, where, and how
Outlet overview: Religion Dispatches
Headshots
3-5pm @ locations determined by photographer Alec MacLean, Sutherland Pictures
tuesday, 18 june
Homework for Wednesday
Consider:
What topics do you most want to write about?
Complete:
Choose your op-ed project and draft your lede & outline
Read:
Cottom, “Everything but the Burden”
Goodwin, “#YesAllWomen”
Social Seer, “Anthea Butler gets attacked by Malkin’s Twitch-Mob” (archived)
Check-in
9am @ Renaissance Park 909
Curriculum review
First thoughts on op-eds
Pitches, Nut Grafs, and You
9:30am-11:30am @ Renaissance Park 909
Discussion leader: Kalpana Jain | @kalpanajain
What’s a pitch and how do I write one?
Nut grafs & bolts
Outlet overview: The Conversation
LUNCH served @ Renaissance Park 909
Interview two other cohort members (imagined audience: public profile, viewed by journalists and the general public)
you’ll use the details you learn about these other scholars to write nut grafs for them during today’s writing lab. You’ll also write a nut graf for yourself.
Your Op-Ed, Yourself
1-3pm @ Renaissance Park 909
Discussion leader: Liz
Op-ed project’s 5 core questions
Structure
Strategies for maximum impact
Pitching
Writing Lab
3-5pm @ wherever you like
Write a nut graf for yourself as a public scholar
Write a nut graf for two other scholars based on your lunch interview
Post to Google Drive by 5pm
wednesday, 19 June
Homework for Thursday
Consider:
How might this cohort function as a community of accountability and support for one another in our future public scholarship endeavors? If you’ve done public work, what sort of responses have you received? Are they similar to what others discussed during our afternoon session? Did you receive support or criticism for that work? If you haven’t done public work, are there examples of public scholarship you’ve found particularly compelling or especially concerning? What have you noticed about responses to public scholarship?
Complete:
Draft a brief script introducing yourself as a public scholar
(consult your nut graf)
Read/listen:
Benincasa, “I Speak, Therefore I Freak Out”
Shipman, “Why Scientists Should Publicize Their Findings – For Purely Selfish Reasons”
Remember:
Listen to the links Jeb Sharp sent for your review before our meeting with her.
“Just what is a 'caliphate?’” (PRI, June 2014)
“Americans feared the 'yellow peril' of Chinese immigration,”
(PRI, December 2015)“Martin Luther King Jr. was a mensch,” (PRI, January 2016)
“The global art of head wrapping,” (PRI, October 2017)
“Vatican’s turbulent postwar years,” (PRI, March 2019)
Check-in
9-9:30 am @ Renaissance Park 909
How did your nut graf differ from the one your cohort member wrote for you?
Becoming a Real Boy on the Internet
9:30am-10:30am @ Renaissance Park 909
Discussion leader: Megan
Must we Wikipedia? (spoilers: we must)
And if so, how?
Wikipedia Lab
10:30am-12:30pm @ Renaissance Park 909
Co-create / edit wiki pages for all cohort members
LUNCH served @ Renaissance Park 909
Risks, Responses, & Rallying
1:30-3:30pm @ Renaissance Park 909
Discussion leader: Simran Jeet Singh | @sikhprof
What to expect when you’re expecting hate mail
It’s dangerous to go alone: supporting one another
Writing Lab
3:30-5pm @ your own recognizance
Continue drafting your op-ed
thursday, 20 june
Homework for Friday
Consider:
How does your approach shift when addressing different audiences or engaging different media?
How can you claim your expertise in public? Why does public scholarship on religion matter? How can your expertise contribute to that significance?
Complete:
A full draft of your op-ed
Select an outfit for your on-camera interview
Read/watch:
Mudarri, “Dressing for the Camera”
Review Auburn’s tips for livework
Check-in
9-9:30 am @ Renaissance Park 909
How do you understand being a scholar in public?
What kind of support can you envision needing/wanting in this work?
Live Work Crash Course
9:30-10:30am @ Renaissance Park 909
Discussion leaders: Megan & Liz
Core messaging
Auburn Media: tips for livework
Trade Writing
10:30am-12pm @ Renaissance Park 909
Discussion leader: Sharmila Sen | @_sen_sharmila
How and why to write a scholarly trade book
LUNCH served @ Renaissance Park 909
Conversation with Bob Smietana, Religion News Service | @bobsmietana
On-air Interviews
1:30-3pm @ Snell Library, Room 209 (audio recording studio)
Discussion leader: Jeb Sharp | @jebsharp
Writing Lab
3-5pm @ wherever the wind takes you
Continue drafting your op-ed
friday, 21 june
Homework for Saturday
Consider:
How has your scholarly bio shifted from your initial submission to today’s edits?
Complete:
Check-in
9-9:30 am @ Renaissance Park 909
Has your understanding of “the public” shifted this week? If so, how?
Social Media: Why and How to Even
9:30-11am @ Renaissance Park 909
Discussion leader: Megan
It’s a conversation, not a soapbox or a bullhorn
Pants-on public scholarship: do-s and don’t-s of being (extremely) online
Twitter Bootcamp
11am-12:30pm @ Renaissance Park 909
LUNCH served @ Renaissance Park 909
Putting It Together: Video Interviews
2-6pm @ Sacred Space, 200 Ell Hall, 360 Huntington Ave
Who are you as a public scholar? What are your areas of expertise?
Why does public scholarship on religion matter?
How does your work help move public conversations about religion forward?
Putting It Together: Edits
While you’re not doing your interview, use this time to rewrite the bio you submitted for this workshop, complete any Wikipedia work you have outstanding, and continue to workshop your op-ed.
saturday, 22 june
Check-in
9-9:30 am @ Renaissance Park 909
What are your primary takeaways from our conversations this week?
What other areas of public scholarship would you like to explore?
What’s Next?
9:30-11:30am @ Renaissance Park 909
Discussion leaders: Liz & Megan
Plans for pitching: develop a 1 week, 1 month, 1 year plan
Reminder re: AAR (Friday night?)
Managing up: working your institution
Working your network: how can we support each other in this work moving forward?
LUNCH 12pm @ Café G, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 25 Evans Way
The café is a 10-15 minute walk from Renaissance Park. You’re also welcome to take a Lyft to and from the museum.