New Work in Digital Humanities

Archival Kismet: Lessons in Launching An Online Conference


Listen Later

What is the feeling of archival kismet? And how can we reimagine the format of academic conferences to better support scholars? This episode explores:

  • The complex feelings of finding unexpected things in an archive.
  • Why using conference presentations as openings for scholarly conversations is important.
  • How Dr. Thompson founded an online conference during the pandemic, and her future plans for Archival Kismet.
  • What can make online conferences more inclusive and inexpensive.
  • Tips for feeling comfortable presenting online, even when things go wrong.

  • Our guest is: Dr. Courtney Thompson, who is an associate history professor at Mississippi State University, and the founder of Archival Kismet online conferences. Her research and teaching interests are centered in the history of nineteenth-century American medicine; medical humanities; history of the mind and body; history of women, gender, and sexuality; feminist science studies; history of emotions; visual culture; science and crime; psychiatry and mental illness.

    Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender.

    Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:

    • The Archival Kismet Conference page
    • This podcast on making the most of an academic conference
    • This podcast on getting started on your research
    • The Chronicle of Higher Ed article “How to Make the Most of a Virtual Conference
    • The Chronicle of Higher Ed article “How To Cope With Presentation Anxiety
    • The Research Companion: A Practical Guide, by Petra Boynton
    • The Art of Creative Research, by Philip Gerald
    • How to Read a History Book: The Hidden History of History, by Marshall Poe
    • Where Research Begins, by Thomas Mullaney and Christopher Rea


      Welcome to The Academic Life! On the Academic Life channel we embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Find us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.

      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

      Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/digital-humanities

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      New Work in Digital HumanitiesBy New Books Network

      • 5
      • 5
      • 5
      • 5
      • 5

      5

      3 ratings


      More shows like New Work in Digital Humanities

      View all
      The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

      The New Yorker Radio Hour

      6,778 Listeners

      Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

      Global News Podcast

      7,728 Listeners

      In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

      In Our Time

      5,471 Listeners

      New Books in Critical Theory by Marshall Poe

      New Books in Critical Theory

      147 Listeners

      Pod Save America by Crooked Media

      Pod Save America

      87,421 Listeners

      Lovett or Leave It by Crooked Media

      Lovett or Leave It

      25,118 Listeners

      Why Theory by Why Theory

      Why Theory

      587 Listeners

      Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

      Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

      7,077 Listeners

      TrueAnon by TrueAnon

      TrueAnon

      3,315 Listeners

      PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy by Plasticpills

      PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy

      115 Listeners

      Tech Won't Save Us by Paris Marx

      Tech Won't Save Us

      560 Listeners

      The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

      The Ezra Klein Show

      16,076 Listeners

      Gone Medieval by History Hit

      Gone Medieval

      1,831 Listeners

      Culture Study Podcast by Anne Helen Petersen

      Culture Study Podcast

      699 Listeners