I mocked up this blog quickly just as a proof of concept. The goal of something like this would be to get more engagement with the local community, alumni, and parents who will be able to attend and participate in Zoom talks, discussions, and workshops involving CofC faculty and students. The events would be geared more for a popular audience than an academic audience. As for talks, I can imagine several formats: (a) faculty members give the talks, other faculty members provide commentary, (b) faculty members give the talks, students provide commentary, (c) students give the talks, faculty provide commentary, and (d) students give the talks, other students provide commentary. As I noted above, we can also host roundtable discussions, workshops, etc.
The talks could be held on Zoom and could also be livestreamed on a YouTube channel. The recorded events would be made available on the blog. Readings for these events could be made available on the blog in advance (if needed). The College can advertise locally (e.g., The City Paper, retirement communities, local community-based outreach groups, etc.) and nationally/internationally (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) The College can also invite alumni who would have the chance to stay connected to former professors, academic research, the classroom, etc.). This would also give parents a chance to have a learning experience with faculty and students.
My vision for this is modelled on the group I recently created called The Agency & Responsibility Research Group
I started ARRG last fall and it has been a huge success. By using social media, I have been able to attract an international audience of scholars, graduate students undergraduates, and interested members from the public. If the College was interested in developing something like this, I would be happy to help.
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