In this month’s focus, we’re looking at blogging and Social Media. We suggest ways to start writing a blog, which platform to choose and, of course, why it is important.
First of all, an overview of blogging and social media on 23 Things:
23 Things is a digital education and learning project created by Helen Blowers of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Originally it was designed as a way of encouraging librarians to learn and embrace new technologies. We’ve adapted it to help CHASE students and staff feel more confident in exploring and using digital tools.
We’ve included a couple of our favourite academic blogs for your interest and inspiration:
The Thesis Whisperer is edited by Dr Inger Mewburn, director of research training at The Australian National University. The Thesis Whisperer has contributors from around the world. Visit the About page to find out more.
The Research Whisperer (just like the Thesis Whisperer – but with more money) is dedicated to the topic of doing research in academia. It talks about finding funding, research culture, and building academic track-records.
Dr Nadine Muller is a Senior Lecturer in English Literature & Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University and a BBC New Generation Thinker. She specialises in literary and cultural histories of women, gender, and feminism in Britain from the nineteenth century to the present day.
Student Committee Blog
If you haven’t written a blog before, a way to start could be to write a guest blog for a more established platform. The CHASE Student Committee welcome your contributions.
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Message from CHASE Student Committee:
“ Hi everyone! We hope you are settling into the new academic year and we are looking forward to seeing you all at Encounters this month. The Student Committee runs a blog aimed at displaying the diversity of experiences and talent within CHASE, and to showcase all the exciting happenings across the Consortium. We are seeking CHASE-funded contributors who would be interested in getting involved in producing content on the following:
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‘A day in the life’ – a Q+A style post designed to represent the day to day experiences of PhD candidates across CHASE and how there is no ‘one size fits all’
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‘Getting to know you’ – in a similar style to above but a chance to introduce yourself and your research interests to the cohort and forge new links and networks.
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Alumni/post viva and graduation Q+A – a chance to reflect on your PhD experience
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Posts dealing with diversity in its most intersectional sense – this can revolve around events such as Black History Month, LGBT Month etc (but this is not essential).
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Updates from the different CHASE groups that have been set up such as the Feminist Network, in order to foster a collaborative relationship.
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Informal reviews of theatre shows, exhibitions or ‘things to do’ which might be of broad interest to students across CHASE.
The above is not a prescriptive list and we welcome submissions on a wide topic of themes, providing they meet with our style guide which can be found here: https://www.chasestudents.org.uk/?page_id=10 . We are particularly interested in contributions from students who identify in the following groups: LGBTQ+, BAME, disabled, and neurodiverse.
Here are some examples from Student Committee members who have already written for the blog:
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Ellis Spicer, University of Kent and chair of the committee, reflecting on the last Encounters at Kent this summer: https://www.chasestudents.org.uk/?p=89
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Jack Rutherford, University of Essex, describing the process of setting up the CHASE Diversity Project: https://www.chasestudents.org.uk/?p=95
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Stuart Falconer, Open University, reflecting on a typical day of balancing working on his PhD with, having a family and an excitable Labrador: https://www.chasestudents.org.uk/?p=50
If you would be interested in contributing please send any ideas you may have to chasesc233@gmail.com and follow us on twitter @studentchase to keep updated on the blog and the work the committee does for you.