Prof. Dev: Professional Workshop in Public Scholarship

Deadline: May 30, 2022

ASU’s Melikian Center, in collaboration with ASU’s Narrative Storytelling Initiative, invites up to 10 participants to ASU’s Tempe campus for a three-day, in-person workshop on issues in public scholarship. Applications are invited from early-career scholars and practitioners (including advanced PhD and master’s students and recent graduates) with an interest in taking knowledge public. The workshop will explore different genres of writing, speaking, and publishing to effectively translate in-depth regional knowledge of Russia, Eurasia and East Europe to engage public and policy audiences.

The workshop will be led by ASU faculty affiliated with the Melikian Center including Keith Brown, Melikian Center Director; Candace Rondeaux, New America Fellow and Professor of Practice at the School of Politics and Global Studies; and Steven Beschloss, the director of the Narrative Storytelling Initiative and Professor of Practice at ASU’s Cronkite School of Journalism.

Through their selection to participate in this public scholarship program, participants will have the opportunity to

• develop their own writing projects for public audiences;

• receive briefing and training on working with high schools to introduce region-focused material;

• sample, discuss, and develop possible content ideas for online public programming;

• acquire the skills to develop their own projects of public scholarship and community engagement.

The workshop will emphasize hands-on and case-based learning, drawing especially from ASU faculty experience writing for public audiences; preparing and delivering high school materials on Indigenous Russia; and curating online cultural events, including the “Creative Horizons” series.

We anticipate the workshop will be a direct benefit to participants in helping them recognize and communicate how their skill-sets, earned through graduate study, equip them for a wide range of career pathways. In addition, we hope that engagement with peers in the program, and with materials and approaches underway at ASU, will enhance efforts to support policy-makers and broader, diverse US audiences alike in understanding and responding to the challenges arising out of past and present grievances, antagonisms, and disinformation within Eurasia and East Europe.

Participants are expected to bring at least one idea for taking knowledge public to the workshop; to commit to attending all sessions during the three-day workshop; and to provide an update on outcomes within 3 months of the workshop. Applications are especially encouraged from advanced master’s and pre-doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars from public universities, and especially those from underserved populations, who are interested in contributing directly to public debates beyond the academy, drawing on and translating their own expertise. Non-US citizens are eligible to apply. Travel (within North America), meals, and accommodation will be covered, and participants will receive an honorarium of $250.

Please see attached for more information. 

To apply, please submit

• a cover letter, describing the focus of your research and teaching, and your interest and experience in taking knowledge public;

• a 200-word summary/abstract of a potential article or story idea, podcast or K-12 lesson plan;

• and a short CV/resume (up to one page).

Please submit these documents as a single PDF file named YourLastName_Melikian Public Scholars Program 2022 by email to melikiancenter@asu.edu, with the file name in the subject line.

Applications received by midnight mountain time on Monday May 30 will receive full consideration; offers will be made by the end of June.

For any questions about this initiative, please contact keith_brown@asu.edu.