Expanding Publishing Beyond Academia
Traditionally, research communication in academia is often done through publishing journal articles or book chapters using the established academic jargon. Furthermore, English has been and continues to be the most common language used in academia, thereby creating a potential language barrier for scholars whose first language is not English. Because research findings and implications are often only disseminated within the academic community, they are not easily accessible to the general public who could potentially benefit the most. In communicating our research for lay audiences, publishing beyond academia refers to the distribution of knowledge outside of a particular circle (in this case, grad students and scholars). The channels in which we distribute such knowledge are very important and should not be limited to journals, academic books, and professional conferences, but rather can come in a variety of formats (e.g., podcasts, videos, forums, blog posts, and mainstream publications) and in multiple languages and modalities. Publishing beyond academia can be beneficial for researchers so that our findings can answer the “so what” question that is fundamental to all studies. Furthermore, publishing beyond academia is needed to increase researchers’ visibility outside of their conventional academic circles, thereby promoting interdisciplinary or trans-disciplinary thinking. This can be accomplished through various means, such as through ‘knowledge brokers’ (e.g., journalists).
From a practical perspective, research communication for lay audiences should be (i) important for people to know in terms of practical implications, (ii) presented in accessible format (lay English or the audience’s language), and (iii) of a reasonably manageable length, for example, a short book, a blog post, or a 1- to 2-hour workshop. Of equal importance is being able to communicate complex research in a way that is understood by the target audience, as well as being conscious of what is considered “layperson language” to them.
In this webinar series, we will hear from scholars who have had success in getting their research recognized in unconventional ways, as well as from those who have witnessed real changes due to academic research. Our speakers will also share tips on how they were able to convey their messages effectively for general audiences.
Multiʻōlelo Webinar Speakers 2022
12:00-1:15 PM HST / Thursday, 31 March 2022
BILD Team
The Belonging, Identity, Language and Diversity (BILD) Group: Critical Sociolinguistics Reach out from Montreal to a Wider World
12:00-1:15 PM HST / Thursday, 07 April 2022
DR. Ryuko Kubota
Engaging with Public Scholarship: Idea Sharing for Knowledge Mobilization
9:00-10:15 AM HST / Friday, 15 April 2022
DR. Sin Wang Chong
Open Scholarship in TESOL: The Case of TESOLgraphics
7:00-8:15 PM HST / Thursday, 28 April 2022
DR. FRiederike Lüpke
Squaring the languag.e.ing circle: language-independent literacy models overcoming the dichotomy between language-based and languaging literacies
* Each webinar will take place at different times to accommodate speakers/participants from various time zones. * We have limited capacity for each webinar (300 participants), thus please register early to make sure you can attend the live webinars .
Webinar Organizers
- Kristen Urada <kurada @ hawaii.edu> General coordinator
- Anna Mendoza <annamend @ hku.hk> Speaker coordinator
- Huy Phung <phunghuy @ hawaii.edu> Web/Graphic Designer
- The MO Team <molelo@hawaii.edu>
Multiʻōlelo 