Celebrating Women's Experiences and Making Women's History through Podcasting
Online and on-campus
March 1 through 31, 2021
Celebrating Women's Experiences and Making Women's History through Podcasting
Online and on-campus
March 1 through 31, 2021
Best Student Podcast
Sean Witter, "Women in Gaming"
Katie Jones, "Women Facing Drug Abuse: A Personal Story" (runner up)
Best Collaborative Podcast
Paola Cubides, Elizabeth Curtis, and Iliana Mehmeti, "Cross-culture Women"
Joelle Lambert and McKenzie Teter, "Dirty Girls Literary Magazine" (runners up)
Most Bingeable Podcast
Lana Read and Brian Dobbins, "Beyond Garnet"
Eva White, "Mia" (runner up)
Click on the podcasts menu to listen to all of the submissions to PodFest '21!
Do you have a story to share that connects to a larger social, political, or cultural issue impacting women? Are you interested in exploring issues that highlight women’s experiences both historically and in the 21st century? Would you like to participate in the making of women’s history?
IU Kokomo’s first annual podcasting festival will be held in March 2021 to coincide with Women’s History Month. To honor and celebrate the many contributions, stories, and struggles of women, we invite podcast submissions of 10- to 15-minutes that promote women’s diverse experiences throughout history. Together, these sonic stories will open up a space in which to tell, perform, and most importantly, make women’s history. All podcasts will be archived on the festival website and the top podcasts from each category will be featured in a special issue of Field, IU Kokomo’s literary and nonfiction journal.
Our goal is to create a space to celebrate women's stories and the cultural, social, and political issues that impact them; our desire is for these unique stories to be shared, heard, and felt. Through this podcast festival, we hope to provide opportunities for self-empowerment and a greater awareness of the issues impacting women in our society.
Regardless of gender identification, all students, staff, faculty, and alumni are invited to create and submit brief, 10- to 15-minute podcast projects and/or individual podcast episodes that explore women’s stories, experiences, and issues. Entries should feature a personal narrative (or a shared narrative) that connects to a larger cultural, social, or political issue that uniquely impacts women in society. Instructors are also encouraged to modify these basic requirements as they see fit for class assignments. Group submissions are welcome!
Given these broad guidelines, the possibilities for podcast topics are vast and diverse. Possible topics for exploration may include (but are certainly not limited to) the following:
Interested? Did we get your attention?
Great! Submissions are due by Friday, March 5, 2021. Click on the Submissions menu for more information.
I want to get involved, but I know either nothing or next-to-nothing about how to get started with podcasting. What should I do?
Great question! Over the last decade, podcasting has emerged as a fun and easy way for people to share their experiences, stories, and ideas with the world. It is by far the easiest way to develop content for the web and social media. While some podcasts are fancy and include polished interviews with famous people and clever sound effects and music, they certainly don’t have to be. In fact, a podcast, at its core, is just an audio recording with some thought and planning put into the process ahead of time.
Starting in January 2021, we will offer a series of virtual workshops led by faculty, staff, and alumni to help people get started with podcasting. We are calling this series "Podcasting 101" because no prior expertise is required. In the meantime, here are several online resources and step-by-step guides to get you started with everything from planning to execution:
I am a faculty member who would like to encourage my students to get involved with podcasting. Are there sample assignments and in-class activities I can view to get started?
Definitely! Here are a few sample assignments that are sure to spark ideas:
What will the festival look like? Will the event be in-person or online? Will there be awards?
PodFest '21 will include a series of both in-person and online events throughout March 2021, culminating in a final awards ceremony on March 31, 2021. For detailed information, check the "Event Schedule" menu at the top of the page (full schedule will be released on March 1, 2021). There will be panel discussions, listen-ins, interviews, Q&A sessions with podcasters, an awards ceremony, and more!
Who can participate in PodFest '21?
This event is open and free of charge to all IU Kokomo students, staff, faculty, and alumni, as well as community members.
Will there be T-shirts? Commemorative swag? Koozies?
Yes! Stay tuned for details.
Kate Aguilar, Coordinator of Student Life and Campus Diversity (kaguilar@iu.edu)
Jim Coby, Assistant Professor of English (jcoby@iu.edu)
Paul Cook, Associate Professor of English (paulcook@iu.edu)
Erin F. Doss, Assistant Professor of Communication Arts (efdoss@iu.edu)
Meg Galasso, Information Services Librarian and Archivist (galasso@iu.edu)
Quiana Preston, Academic Advisor (qpreston@iu.edu)