And Now for Something Different: Alt-Ac and the Conference at the End of the World

Introducing Alt-Ac UK

This month I wanted to shine some light on ‘alternative academia’ – more specifically Alt-Ac UK, the all-embracing faculty for rogue academics. I’m extremely pleased to be part of this alongside some of my excellent ECR comrades. As for what Alt-Ac is, the mission statement from our website says it best:

“We value openness in research and education and seek to increase the public impact of academic research by facilitating access beyond the traditional academic institution. We promote participatory research that lives beyond academic disciplinary boundaries, and presenting research findings in truly accessible ways.”

In short, Alt-Ac bridges the gap between academia and wider publics, promoting scholars’ abilities to both enrich and contribute to public life, whilst heightening public understanding of our shared world.

There are several plans in the works for Alt-Ac, but to kick things off we are hosting an online conference on July 14 2020. ‘The Conference at the End of the World’ is an interdisciplinary event that spans the humanities and social sciences, and its digital nature aims to overcome the challenges posed by social distancing and the environmental impacts of international conferences. The CFP is live now.

“The best academic research leads to conversations, not lectures”