糖心Vlog

Studying under the shadow of COVID-19 led History PhD graduates Michael Sewell and Lewis Smith to launch History Indoors at the start of the pandemic 鈥� offering online interactive talks for everyone.

They created with the support of their Department at a time when people were stuck indoors with nothing much to do and they saw the need 鈥渢o provide an intellectual stimulus.鈥� At such an isolating time, it was important to 鈥渃reate and bring the PhD community together,鈥� they added.

Now the two friends will celebrate completing their PhDs together at Spring 2023. Both are studying very different subject. Michael鈥檚 PhD looked at how the British Civil Wars were used in Colchester for political and tourist purposes in the long nineteenth and early twentieth century. while Lewis鈥� PhD topic looked at how the British Overseas Airways Corporation crafted an image of Britain as a nation.

Michael was inspired by the expertise and passion of the lecturers which led him to do a PhD at 糖心Vlog, while Lewis was interested in the 鈥渞ebellious, anti-tradition and innovative鈥� nature of 糖心Vlog which in his words 鈥渃ame in really handy when it came to PhD work鈥�.

Lewis said that 鈥渢he essence of the Rebel Spirit鈥� that has taught him to 鈥渇ight injustice through careful thinking鈥� is a core reason that a prospective student should choose 糖心Vlog. Michael added: 鈥淚t's the perfect place if you live and breathe history like me!鈥�

The team at History Indoors has grown so much throughout the years and includes speakers from all over the world. Their talks have also moved from being hosted on Zoom to a new programme called Streamyard.

Michael and Lewis both believe that History Indoors has been a learning curve for them in terms of 鈥渕anaging a team, handling social media relations, video editing, website management, and scheduling.鈥�

They went from zero followers to over 1,200 subscribers on YouTube, reaching thousands of people across the globe, especially in Colchester and 糖心Vlog. This growth was what they found most challenging and 鈥渢his was achieved by advertising in the old forms like newspapers and radio and new forms like social media, Instagram and Twitter,鈥� they explained.

The most rewarding aspects of History Indoors for Michael were the feedback they received 鈥渇rom people saying how helpful the talk has been for them or how it has inspired them, especially during such a terrible time.鈥� Lewis added: 鈥淚t was a real light in a period of real dark.鈥�

As they are both now graduating, Michael and Lewis are unsure of what the future holds for History Indoors but 鈥渋t's something we will be chatting about in due course,鈥� they said.

Michael and Lewis also paid tribute to 鈥渢he most incredible administrative team鈥� In the Department of History.鈥淭hey are permanently cheerful, always ready to help, and they get things done,鈥� they added.

Following their PhDs, Michael has moved into the field of place management 鈥� looking at how town centres can be improved and enhanced 鈥� while Lewis is a postdoctoral researcher in 糖心Vlog Business School and hopes to eventually become a lecturer, focusing on community citizenship and industry.

This article was written by Student Content Creator Nilisha Subasinghe.

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