Upcoming workshop to give tips to academics for writing for popular audiences

Many academics, especially once tenured, are very interested in bringing their research findings to public conversations, to journalists and to policy makers. Unfortunately, many people were never taught how to write clearly, effectively and cogently in graduate school, nor are they encouraged to do so in academic journals. 

In the upcoming workshop (opens in a new window), Writing for a Popular Audience: A Workshop for Academics, Barbara J. Risman, Ph.D. (opens in a new window), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina Beaufort Deborah J. Cohan, Ph.D. (opens in a new window), provide practical strategies for translating research, theory and academic concepts so they are understandable and meaningful for a popular audience. 

They will also offer tips and tricks for finding the right outlet for your work and getting noticed. The virtual workshop, sponsored by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, is open to faculty, staff and graduate students.

Together, Risman and Cohan present as “The Writing Guides,” (opens in a new window) public scholars who write both for other social scientists and the public at large and focus on assisting others to “reach their potential as writers.” 

Risman is a prolific author with six books, a textbook in its third edition, and over two dozen journal articles in venues including American Sociological Review, Gender & Society, and Journal of Marriage and the Family.  She has written for the popular press with editorials in papers such as Chicago Tribune and The Raleigh News and Observer. She is often quoted as an expert about gender, families, and sexuality in places such as The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and The Economist. She is a writer for Psychology Today. 

Cohan is a writer for Psychology Today and a frequent contributor to Inside Higher Ed and The Good Men Project. Cohan’s work has appeared in the Modern Love column of The New York Times, Ms. Magazine, Teen Vogue, Newsweek, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Utne Reader. Regularly featured as an expert for national media on a range of issues, Cohan has been cited in: CNN, MSN, BuzzFeed, US News & World Report, Elite Daily, The Washington Post, Real Simple, Parents, Good Housekeeping, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Brides, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, TODAY, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

The workshop will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:20 p.m., Tuesday, April 8, via Teams (opens in a new window). 

You can register here for the workshop. (opens in a new window)