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Scholarly Communications

The scholarly communications and publishing ecosystem, including: formats of academic literature (journals, monographs, edited collections), research impact, grants, copyright, Open Access, and public scholarship.

Public Scholarship

Public scholarship is broadly defined as research, teaching, and learning that has an impact for publics beyond the university. It exemplifies impactful research, teaching, and creative practice that focuses on issues of public concern. It is useful to and developed in concert with diverse audiences beyond the university. - UC Davis Public Scholarship and Engagement

Public scholarship, synonymous with "non-academic writing" or "public writing," is written for the general public. Public scholarship is published quickly and can be written by anyone. Its language is informal, casual, and may contain slang. It can focus on any general topic. Its purpose is to inform, entertain or persuade the readers. By engaging in public scholarship, you add your voice to today's cultural discourse through a wider audience: the general public. However, when you publish to a wider audience, there is risk involved. You could make yourself a target, not only for other authors in your field, but for public criticism as well. There can be other articles written in response to yours that could be potentially harmful for your career.

Venn diagram image description in link below.

Public scholarship includes formats like

  • Newspapers and magazine commentary and letters to the editor
  • Book reviews
  • Radio or podcasting
  • TV, documentaries, and web-based video
  • Blogs or newsletters
  • Memoirs
  • Novels
  • Nonfiction books written for a non-academic audience

Popular/Mass Media Outlets

Where to publish?

Think: What are the primary magazines in your field?