So, what exactly is it you’re doing?: Describing the importance of your work to others
Published: 11 May 2023
Hosted by the SGSAH Media, Communications, Film & TV Catalyst, this event will provide an open space to explore the challenges faced by researchers in the Arts and Humanities when articulating the impact of their work to others.
Monday 19th of June
3 - 5pm
Dr Rachael Flynn (University of the West of Scotland)
This event will provide an open space to explore the challenges faced by researchers in the Arts and Humanities when articulating the impact of their work to others. As we engage in cross and inter-disciplinary projects, we can often find ourselves being asked by diverse audience groups to describe how our work, and how we are measuring influence.
From funders to examiners to family members, we are often asked how our work is making an impact and what our research is contributing to. Particularly in the Arts and Humanities, we need to ask ourselves complex questions around the nature of evidence and argument, and how we can critically evaluate and present this as an engaging narrative.
The first part of the event will be discussion-led, with perspectives shared by an expert panel with experience with funders, policymakers, enterprise groups and those involved with REF assessment.
Following this, there will be an opportunity for participants to take part in a workshop, involving members of the afore panel. During the workshop, participants will be provided with a series of provocations to unpack the various ways in which their practice and research demonstrates impact and makes a significant contribution. Participants will be encouraged to think creatively and critically around the wider political, social and economic contexts in which their work belongs.
Participants will leave with an enhanced sense of how they can further explore and explain their own research questions, with a renewed sense of the valuable and original contributions they are making. They will also have a better sense of how to articulate this to the many audiences they will find themselves speaking to during the course of their research.
Who might be interested?
This event is aimed primarily at postgraduate research students in Film/TV, Media, and Communication Studies, and is also open to PhD students in other arts and humanities disciplines. It could be of interest beyond this area, although the focus of the panel will be to speak to the nature of practice-based, qualitative research.
Zoom links will be circulated to registrants prior to the event
First published: 11 May 2023
