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Stanford
Public Humanities
School of Humanities and Sciences
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For Graduate Students

 

The Public Humanities Initiative facilitates a path to public engagement and publication for Stanford graduate students interested in writing for a wide popular audience. We prepare students to publish both scholarly articles for the academic community and compelling commentary for the general reader, in nonfiction forms including but not limited to criticism, op-eds, magazine reportage, popular history and science, first-person essays, blogs, podcasts, and books. 

As a new generation interprets our culture through digital media as well as print, and as Stanford scholars contribute actively to that conversation, PubHum produces graduate student authors who are equipped and excited to publish a wide range of writing in both traditional and new media.

In this effort to introduce young thinkers to the rich tradition of public writing, and to provide them with a broad and dynamic view of their career possibilities, PubHum offers graduate students across disciplines the following opportunities:

  • Pitching and Publishing in Popular Media, a one-unit spring-quarter course on freelance humanities writing, taught by Associate Director for Student Programs Laura Goode.
  • Advanced Pitching and Publishing, a one-unit, application-only summer intensive for graduate students at work on popular book-length projects.
  • The Public Knowledge Toolkit Series: A zoom lunchtime series offering scholars the opportunity to to learn about a valuable under-discussed element of how academic research and knowledge production can meet a public audience.
  • A variety of opportunities for hands-on apprentice experiences in humanities news writing, mentored by Stanford staff and faculty.
  • What Is A Public Intellectual Today? is the flagship event series of the Public Humanities Initiative. WAPIT hosts public interviews with acclaimed intellectuals within and beyond Stanford who represent a variety of career stages and areas of humanistic focus. These events explore the writing process, make acclaimed authors available for questions and dialogue, and provide accessible insights to help all writers improve our craft.

For any questions, please email Laura Goode,  Associate Director for Student Programs, at legoode [at] stanford.edu (legoode[at]stanford[dot]edu).