Participants in this interactive online workshop, sponsored by the Royal Historical Society and History UK, will develop their understanding of key issues relating to teaching History in higher education, from innovations in teaching and learning and curriculum design to teaching seminar groups and giving lectures. It will take place online, using Microsoft Teams.
The event is aimed both at those new to teaching History in higher education (i.e., about to begin or recently started), as well as those who may have experience with some elements of teaching but wish to develop their thoughts on other aspects (e.g., designing a module). Engaging in conversations with colleagues and critically reflecting on teaching practice is beneficial not only for individual teaching and career development, but also as part of applications and teaching recognition – for instance, for AdvanceHE Fellowships. We welcome applicants from beyond the UK, although elements of the event will be tailored specifically to UK HE contexts.
The workshop will be delivered by a group of experienced and innovative teachers of History in HE. Participants should be prepared to engage actively in the sessions, as the workshop will be structured around group discussions – such as responding to a set scenario, discussing an outline syllabus for a module you wish to propose, etc.
History UK is seeking two early career historians (PhD or post-doc) for short-term fellowships to contribute to their History and Disability project (co-funded by the RHS).
History UK Disability and History Project
The History UK EDI report [https://www.history-uk.ac.uk/history-uk-history-pedagogy-and-edi-project-report/] identified that disability is often not foregrounded in University EDI initiatives and was an area demanding further attention. The number of staff and students declaring disabilities is increasing and the awarding gaps for disabled students are significant. The Covid-19 pandemic and the wider mental health crisis in higher education highlighted the challenges faced. It also led to an intense interest from the student body in the histories of medicine, health and disability. The HUK Disability History Project has 2 complementary strands examining a) experiences of disabled students and staff in history departments in HEIs and b) the teaching and studying of disability history in UKHE. The aim is to generate evidence-based recommendations and produce a sector-wide report in the style of previous HUK reports. The project is jointly funded by the Royal Historical Society.
The HUK research fellows will contribute to the shaping of the project, conduct desk-based research (of websites, blog posts, social media for relevant case studies, reports or practical guides and relevant peer-reviewed literature), present clear and concise summaries of their findings, facilitate survey work and focus groups. The research fellows will be expected to undertake 40 hours of work each during the project. Work can largely be undertaken flexibly at times that suit the researchers, except for some scheduled events. Researchers will begin work on the project during June 2024 and conclude in October 2024 (timescale subject to change). The renumeration for the fellowship is fixed at £750 per researcher.
Person specification:
An early career historian (PhD or post-doc)
An interest in disability, history and pedagogy
Excellent research skills
Excellent communication skills
Ability to work independently and with minimal supervision
Excellent organisation and project management skills
Attention to detail
Experience of surveys and focus groups
Due to the nature of the project, we are particularly interested to receive applications from people researching/teaching disability history and/or who consider themselves a disabled historian.
To apply: Send a short CV (1-2 pages) and cover letter to the project lead Dr Sarah holland (sarah.holland@nottingham.ac.uk)
In the cover letter you should explain why you are interested in the role, how you meet the person specification, and what you will bring to the project.
The deadline for applications is Friday 17 May 2024 at 5 pm.
Collaborations between schools and universities are important to both sectors and can take many different forms. Colleagues at schools and universities have experience and expertise which benefit each other and strengthen partnerships. This forum aims to explore different ways of collaborating, what does and doesn’t work and a range of different case studies.
We are joined by Dr Sarah Longair (University of Lincoln), David Ingledew (Education/Teaching Training), Sam Jones (Bolder Academy) and Dr Natasha Hodgson (Nottingham Trent University).
Our speakers will present a short introduction to their work and perspectives on collaborations between schools and universities. This includes perspectives from university academics, school teachers and teacher education. We will find out more about specific projects and the collaborations they have fostered, as well as discuss what has worked and why. There will be plenty of time to ask questions and discuss collaborations.
This forum is linked to the History UK Collaborating with Schools Project led by a small working group.
Dr Simon Peplow is the new ECR representative on the History UK Steering Committee. He is currently Lecturer in History (Education and Scholarship) at the University of Exeter, and tweets as @simpep.
In this blog post, Simon sets out his views on how he sees this role and his plans for the coming year.
As another teaching term begins, I return to my busy calendar having actually been able to have some ‘downtime’ over the Christmas break, away from the usual teaching/marking/research pressures – albeit this being enforced downtime, due to developing a particularly nasty cold. Debate has raged (on Twitter, as it often does) over the hours that academics work, and whether you are ‘failing’ at academia if you either work on evenings/weekends or maintain a strict 9–5 working week. However, the point I wish to make here is simply that the ability to take some time off, safe in the knowledge that a job (and salary!) awaits our return, is for many of us not something we are able to enjoy during the summer months.
Having completed my History PhD at the University of Exeter in 2015, I have since remained here on short-term teaching contracts. While I have been, in many ways, fortunate that such opportunities were available, the pressures (both financial and psychological) of fractional temporary contracts and the inability to plan further than the short-term is something with which I have battled. An increasing amount of my time has been spent on job applications, chasing potential funding opportunities, and being unsure what the next academic year will look like until just weeks (or even days) before it begins.
Prior to commencing my PhD, the one issue that I was repeatedly warned about was that it was a lonely existence; that the duration of my PhD years would be spent alone in empty libraries or dusty archives, only occasionally seeing others when we periodically emerged blinking into the light for a monthly research seminar or supervision meeting. Fortunately for me personally, the PhD experience was far from that, being a generally enjoyable period – with the usual intellectual/other challenges – and I consider many of those whom I met during those years to be among my closest friends.
However, I am aware that my positive PhD experience is not necessarily the case for others. I was reminded of my privileged position in this sense when reading Laura Sefton’s recent excellent comments on mental health and academic structures, demonstrating the often unacknowledged pressures of PhD study and the need for academia to become a more ‘accessible, inclusionary, and caring space’. Unfortunately, in my experience, many of the same pressures exist when transitioning into a more precarious ‘floating’ ECR position, when you might even have lost access to some of the support systems that previously existed.
The History UK plenary and AGM in November 2017 focused on collaboration, and that is very much the spirit in which I see this ECR representative role. As I have previously noted in discussion of the ‘Academic Boot Camp’ event, it is all too easy to see academia as a competition against peers in the race to obtain a permanent job, and to consider yourself a ‘failure’ if one is not forthcoming. However, it is of vital importance that PhDs/ECRs/academics of all levels support each other where possible, and it is often through bodies such as History UK that such support can really make a difference. Indeed, in the last year, History UK has organised another instalment of the Academic Boot Camp to help equip PhDs/ECRs for the job market, further New to Teaching events have provided invaluable advice and support for those beginning or developing a university teaching profile, and other events and activities have supported historians at all stages of their careers.
It is in this vein that I hope to use my role to provide helpful advice and support for history PhDs/ECRs in the coming year. This will involve writing blogs and encouraging friends and colleagues to contribute posts and advice on a range of topics, such as balancing teaching and research, finishing the PhD, creating and obtaining a position on postdoc projects, the benefits of engaging with the public through research, and the many options available outside of academia. This is, of course, in addition to acting as a voice for PhDs/ECRs in History UK meetings and discussions – and I please encourage anyone to get in contact with any thoughts or suggestions. Due to a variety of factors, the pressures on academics at all levels are arguably higher than ever before – but, as always, the best way to get through them is with the help of support networks that can be provided by bodies such as this one.
Simon Peplow is the new ECR representative on the History UK Steering Committee. His AHRC funded PhD was on the 1980/81 disturbances in England, examining the perception and role of public inquiries and local Defence Committees. He is currently Lecturer in History (Education and Scholarship) at the University of Exeter. Simon tweets as @simpep.
In May 2017, History UK ran the second instalment of their ‘academic boot camp’, which provided valuable interview experience for PhD students and Early Career Researchers (ECRs). A number of academics had kindly donated their Saturday so that around twenty of us, who had been shortlisted for an imaginary lectureship and subsequently travelled various distances to the Institute of Historical Research, could participate in and observe interviews and presentations, receiving detailed feedback and advice.
Charlotte Faucher detailed the first event of this type last year, including the range of questions she was asked, and some advice given on how to respond. My experience of this aspect of the workshop wasn’t hugely different, other than facing questions regarding how I might contribute an impact case study – emphasising the importance of effectively demonstrating the public significance of research. So, rather than simply repeating her thoughts, I will focus more on the presentation aspect – both of participants, and Dr Sara Wolfson’s ‘10 tips for getting an academic job’.
Participants were asked to produce a short presentation on ‘How Does your Research inform your Teaching Practices’? This type of question is standard for job interviews, inviting introductions to research, what applicants can offer in terms of teaching, and what form such teaching might take. Unfortunately, due to suffering from a cold, my own presentation could have gone better…but learning to adapt to things outside your control is itself an important lesson! Academics and other participants provided written feedback for each presentation, with recurrent themes appearing to be regarding structure, relation to the question posed, and ensuring that historians of other periods/topics can appreciate what is significant about your work.
After the traditional academic coffee break, interviews and presentations were followed by Sara Wolfson’s tips for securing an academic job, which included targeting conferences to increase your profile, obtaining funding to organise conferences/workshops, and the benefits (and potential risks!) of an active twitter profile. Having provided advice articles for jobs.ac.uk, Sara was also awarded the Times Higher Education’s ‘Most Innovative Teacher of the Year’ 2016, and her presentation included the importance of maintaining high-quality teaching; refreshing for those of us uncomfortable with advice obtained elsewhere essentially suggesting ‘putting the least amount of effort possible into teaching and focus on building your CV’. Whilst implementation of the Teaching Excellent Framework (TEF) has been at best controversial, universities should certainly consider teaching ability more so than they have in some previous cases.
Sara’s presentation was followed by discussions where other academics also provided suggestions and answered questions, and both sessions were extremely helpful. The main takeaway from these discussions was that there are many different pathways to obtaining jobs, both inside and outside of academia, and you must follow whichever you believe best. As Charlotte concluded about last year’s event, the knowledge that there are many different paths to success is indeed a reassuring reminder and key value of this workshop.
A subsequent pub trip and meal for those who could make it was only slightly ruined by my having to rush off mid-food to catch a train. This ‘networking’ (a word I personally hate) aspect was just as useful as the rest of the day in reminding that, whilst at times it may feel like you are the only one struggling with the difficulties of late/post-PhD life, this is most definitely not the case. Whilst we are conditioned to believe that ECRs are in constant competition for jobs, academia has been criticised for its tendency to ‘eat our young’ – and we shouldn’t be adding to that.
The value of this workshop has been echoed by those who attended it, variously described as ‘super useful’, ‘a great day’, and ‘very helpful’. It personally helped me to obtain a number of interviews this summer, as well as preparing me for what to expect when it came to actually arriving at various different university campuses on interview days!
Dion Georgiou described the value of the 2016 academic boot camp event.
The main training required by post-PhDs appears to be the ability to ‘hang on in there’. It is all too easy to be disheartened by a lack of success in job applications, particularly in the early days whilst often receiving the standard response that your application hasn’t been taken further and, ‘due to the high number of applications received’, no feedback will be provided. Ben Mechen recently explored the precarious nature of PGRs/ECRs, considering how such a position could affect the kinds of history we write. The lack of job security is one of the main reasons for more-than-qualified colleagues to move outside of academia, and will undoubtedly continue to be the case in a world where there are far too many excellent applicants for the jobs available.
For those determined to obtain an academic job; whilst it may appear to be a particularly bad time to be coming out of a PhD, it is important events such as this Boot Camp – and the confidence and relationships that can be obtained through attending – that, to continue the military theme, prepares PhDs/ECRs for the battles to come.
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