The Warwick History ‘Post-Doc’ club is an informal social/discussion group of former Warwick History Research Students, meeting periodically online and in-person to maintain contact and encourage mutual support for ongoing research and careers. This group is open to all, including those not pursuing post-doc projects or academic careers.

The idea is to meet up from time-to-time virtually and at occasional in-person gatherings in Warwick/London and elsewhere. The structure of the group is flexible and ad-hoc but may include formal workshop settings with occasional guest speakers in rooms on campus as well as socials in pubs or restaurants.

We hope that, as the group grows, it will evolve to reflect ideas from members, but the broad purpose is to keep in touch with each other and the department, provide mutual support in a similar way to the PGR Work-Progress Sessions and give participants an opportunity to float partly formed research ideas, as well as reflecting on the wider relevance of our historical research to contemporary society.

As times goes on we may organise workshops on engagement and impact and possibly even produce an occasional blog or newsletter. Communication will be via an opt-in Google group which may also provide a platform to float ideas between meetings.

2024 Sessions

Past Meetings:

• Weds. 21 February 17:00 "Turning a PhD into a monograph"

Report of Launch meeting

The first meeting of the club was held on Zoom on 24^thJanuary 2024. After a brief introduction from Dave Steele about the aims of the club, each participant spent a few minutes reporting on their current activities, their experiences since completing their doctorates, and details of any publications. It became clear that, amongst this particular group, there has been a very wide range of experiences. Some participants had only recently completed, whilst others completed some years ago; some had secured permanent positions and/or been published, whilst others were finding it more of a challenge; and one participant was now returning to research after a break. After these reports there was a very lively and supportive discussion. One major theme that emerged was the issue of ‘Getting Published’ and particularly the challenge of turning a thesis into a monograph. This will, therefore, be the theme of the next meeting and we will be inviting some colleagues who have been successful in meeting this challenge. The meeting will be held on Zoom on at 17:00 on Wednesday 21^stFebruary 2024.

David Fletcher

For further information email:PostDocClub@gmail.com

Contacts:

David Fletcher

Dave Steele

Recurring link for zoom meetings:https://bit.ly/POST-DOC-CLUB