The field of higher ed is struggling to define its relationship to social media. We have all read high profile stories of offers and tenure denied because of online posts. At the same time, there is clear motivation for scholars to engage with public audiences and grow their reputations through social media. What are the risks, rewards, and ways to begin being an extremely (or selectively) online academic?

Join Rachel Deblinger to discuss the many uses of social media across the academy, ranging from institutional accounts to the benefits of self-promotion to the possible consequences of political speech. As the public health crisis has moved most of our communications online, this session will also give participants an opportunity to reflect on our complex relationships with social media as both a source of anxiety and space to alleviate feelings of isolation.

Rachel Deblinger is the Director of the Modern Endangered Archives Program at the UCLA Library. This new granting program funds the digitization and preservation of at-risk cultural heritage materials from around the world and makes all material openly accessible online. Deblinger was previously the Research Program Manager at The Humanities Institute and is the Founding Director of the UC Santa Cruz Digital Scholarship Commons.

Deblinger completed her doctorate in History at UCLA in 2014 and is currently writing a book manuscript titled, “Saving Our Survivors: How American Jews learned about the Holocaust.” Her research focuses on early postwar Holocaust narratives, media technology, and the efforts of Jewish communal organizations to aid survivors in Europe.

About the PhD+ Workshop Series
Please join us for the fourth year of PhD+ Workshops, hosted by the Humanities Institute. We meet monthly, over lunch, to discuss possible career paths for PhDs, internship possibilities, grants/fellowships, work/life balance, elements of style, online identity issues, and much, much more.

Please RSVP for the Zoom link: