Radio broadcasting has a long and distinguished tradition of public history programming and innovation. The development and release of Web 2.0 has allowed a new range of communication channels appear that Historians, Archaeologists and the Heritage Sector have quickly adapted for communicating the past. The rise of the podcast in recent years has widened the diversity of listenership and provided opportunity for different voices to be heard. Alongside this rise in popularity social media applications have become common-place and heritage institutions, historians and podcast makers all deploy them to actively engage with the public.

This module seeks to equip students with a practical skillset to enable them to produce radio programmes or podcasts that are informative and accurate, but also entertaining and engaging. While also teaching them to review and critique how these technologies are being used. Over the module students will learn how to devise, research, record, structure, edit and present radio programmes to professional standard. Importantly, the very transferable skills students acquire on this course can be used to create a wide range of other aural and audio projects.

They will also spend time setting up social media channels and consider how to produce and tailor content to each platform, consider what “voice” and content is appropriate, and how they might be able to use these channels to communicate history.

As part of this module students will be encouraged to setup professional social media profiles and work in small groups to produce a five-minute audio guide. The course is assessed in two parts: the first assignment is a critical review of a podcast or radio programme which will set the ground work for completely the major piece of assessment: to create a half-hour podcast or radio documentary. No previous knowledge or expertise of recording or editing is required and students often really enjoy this highly practical component of the MA in Public History programme.