Get Involved * Write for the Public
Partner with us
We prioritize out-of-the-box thinking — new ways of connecting people and new formats for sharing knowledge.
Propose a Partnership
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Write for the Public
The Forum for Scholars and Publics welcomes ideas from faculty, staff, students, and community members about potential programs on which we might collaborate. Reach out at scholarspublics@duke.edu with your ideas. Under "Planning Guidelines" below, we have guidance for best practices for engaging public programs.
We also have compiled resources for those who are seeking to share their ideas in written or video format.
Write for the public
Below are resources for those who are interested in writing/creating for public outlets that focus on scholarly research. This is obviously not exhaustive, but represents some of the publications and publicly-available training we often find ourselves exploring and that highlight humanities and interpretive social sciences research.
For people interested in honing their skills writing op-eds for news outlets, Duke Communications provides excellent guidance. The outlets listed below are for longer form text and video explorations of scholarly topics, developed with thoughtful, non-specialist audiences in mind.
While we have provided links to submission guidelines for some outlets, please note that the best guidance is to read, read, read. Become familiar with the writing (or video) the publication has selected in the past. And remember: editors are your friends!
Beyond the Ivory Tower - Templeton Foundation-funded project based at Northeastern University that provides in-person workshops and online resources for those seeking to write for the public
Sapiens – for Anthropology
JSTOR Daily – submission guidelines
The Point (philosophy-inspired writing) – submission guidelines
IN-PERSON PROGRAMS
While we don’t require formal proposals and requests for co-sponsorship, below are questions that often come up when discussing partnerships. We encourage potential partners to bring projects to us in the advanced stages of organization as well as new ideas that you would like to develop in collaboration with us.
Topic and Format
Can you provide a short paragraph describing the topic and activities you anticipate the program involving?
Date and Time
What date or dates are you proposing?
Participants and Collaborators
Do you have or are you seeking other partners at Duke or elsewhere? How do you envision everyone working together? Do other partnerships present any particular constraints or requirements? What is each partner contributing in terms of resources and participants?
Fit for Duke and the Forum
If you are proposing a visitor, how does the visitor’s work connect to scholarly projects at Duke? Are they comfortable engaging with a range of non-specialist scholars, professionals, and community members as part of their activities here? Are they comfortable speaking/writing in English? If not, what plans do you have for translation? (We have done several events involving translation, so this may be possible, but it needs to be discussed in advance.)
Possible Reach
How does the project connect to a non-specialist community and what are your thoughts about how to communicate with that community?
Potential Cost
What is the anticipated budget for the program?
Out-of-Box Thinking
Are you excited about the possibilities of unconventional formats and willing to engage in creative thinking about how to put your program together? We thrive on partnerships and brainstorming with colleagues about ways to do public scholarship in interesting and effective ways.
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