Photo: WBZ NewsRadio / James Rojas
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — As the popularity of podcasts soar, Boston College is repeating history over the sound waves with a new studio on campus.
On the third floor of Stokes Hall, is a podcasting studio with brand new microphones, headphones, and a soundboard that is open for a history course at the school. BC Associate Professor of History Dana Sajdi says she created the course that will allow students to tell stories in history with researched context.
"Given the era of 'fake news' and how history is being politicized in particular ways, I think it's our responsibility to speak to the public, coming from rigorous research and make ourselves relevant," Sajdi told WBZ's James Rojas.
The podcasting course aims to educate the public, bringing what Sajdi calls "a democracy of knowledge," to the consumer's ears. The class is a popular choice for students too, as the waiting list has become double the size of the actual course.
History PhD student Abigail Hill says she likes the idea of returning to how stories originally circulated via word of mouth, with the added context and research of the modern day.
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"What really drew me to podcasting is this idea of how do we communicate outside of academia and try figuring out how to make our own research relevant," Hills said.
The podcast comes in addition to BC's previous work with the Ottoman History Podcast, which was an effort for their course "Podcasting the Ottomans."
"History is sort of, again, kind of usually written off as luddites or technology-averse, right? But to see the History Department is leading the way in terms of technological knowledge transmission is really cool to see," said Eric Grube, PhD candidate.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasNews) reports.
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