How can I keep up with my research if I pursue an “alt-ac” career?
How would I do research without access to my institution’s library databases and subscriptions?
Where can I find like-minded scholars who share my interests if I’m not pursuing higher education as a career?
What does it look like to work with non-academic publishers?
In short, what does it take to be an “independent” scholar?
In the wake of Covid-19’s impact, many have asked the above questions as they face a future where academic austerity threatens to become the “new normal.” While not all scholars seek academic positions, those who do often wonder what it takes to continue producing rigorous and satisfying research apart from the university setting.
RSVP has long supported independent researchers of all kinds whose interests intersect with the wide world and long history of Victorian periodicals. Join us on 21 May at 6 p.m. UK / 1 p.m. EST for our last RSVP Digital Salon of the spring on “Doing Research as an Independent Scholar.”
Register for this event here. Registration is free and open to the public. You do not need to be a member of RSVP to attend.
Get Your Questions About Independent Scholarship Answered
During this more informal Q&A session, our panelists will answer your questions live and offer their insights on how to do research when one is not affiliated with a university. Our panelists include:
Judith Flanders
Judith Flanders is a journalist and highly acclaimed author of both fiction and non-fiction. In addition to her Sam Clair Mysteries series, she writes regularly about history, theatre, dance, and the contemporary arts for the Sunday Telegraph, Wall Street Journal, Spectator, TLS, and theartsdesk.com. Her most recent non-fiction book, A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order (2020), traces the history of using alphabetical order as a sorting system.
Helen Rappaport
Helen Rappaport is an international best-selling author, media consultant, and freelance historian who specialises in the period 1837-1918 in Britain and Russia. Her forthcoming books include a history of Russian emigration to Paris after the revolution in the US and a biography of Mary Seacole in the UK, both due out Spring 2022.
Marie Léger-St-Jean
Marie Léger-St-Jean is an independent scholar and digital humanist based in Montréal, where she edits Price One Penny: A Database of Cheap Literature, 1837-1860. Her research focuses on early Victorian fiction published in penny weekly numbers and its role as a nexus in a Western transmedia popular culture.
Patrick Leary
Patrick Leary is a former president and long-time member of RSVP. He is the founder/manager of the VICTORIA listserv, and he curates the Victoria Research Web, a treasure trove of Victorian research resources old and new. He also is the author of The Punch Brotherhood (2010), a prize-winning study of how oral culture shaped this iconic Victorian periodical.
Register and Submit Your Questions Now
Registration for this free event is open to all. You need not be a member of RSVP to attend and participate. And we highly encourage audience participation for this event! Our panelists are here to answer your questions about being an independent scholar.
If desired, you can submit a question ahead of time. We will share your questions with the panelists in advance. We hope to see you there!
General questions about this or future Digital Salon events may be directed to our Vice President, Fionnuala Dillane.