microphonesAs the year draws to a close, we at the IHR are looking forward to January’s research training programme, starting almost as soon as term begins with Public Speaking for Historians. Run by Dr Eliza Filby from KCL and Charlotte Endcott, a professional actor, this extremely interactive one-day workshop will blend acting techniques with academic practice and show how to communicate confidently, concisely and effectively in lectures, conference presentations, job interviews and all the many other contexts in which we need to put our views across. When this course ran for the first time last year, participant feedback was the ecstatically enthusiastic we have ever received!

Starting soon afterwards is  An Introduction to Oral History, the IHR’s long-running and very popular guide to undertaking historical research by interview. Taught in ten weekly sessions by Dr Anna Davin from the History Workshop, this is a comprehensive outline of how to set about oral history research for those just starting out: it covers both the nuts and bolts of recording methods and more complex questions of ethics, questionnaire composition and how to get the most from respondents.

We still have one or two places left on the next running of our flagship archival course, Methods & Sources for Historical Research, which will be happening from 26-30 January. This intensive course consists of a day of lectures on how to find and use primary source material in archives, museums and other repositories, followed by four days of visits, where students will learn about a wide range of archives and the opportunity to talk in detail to archivists and curators about their own research.

Full details of courses and instructions on how to apply can be found at: http://www.history.ac.uk/research-training.