The concept of “trading zone”, introduced in the history of science by Peter Galison in a 1997 book, refers to boundary negotiations of knowledge between different communities of practice. More recently, Max Kemman, in a 2021 book based on his C2DH PhD thesis, applied the concept to study the development of “interactional expertise” in the field of digital history. The Training Trading Zone, launched in 2021, is an initiative intended to involve the C2DH’s team members, as trainers and trainees, in activities that cover a variety of areas of expertise (or trading zones), such as history and historiography, computer science, archival and data science, digital media and digital humanities. The main goal is to experiment with learning from each other, sharing knowledge and providing guidance and directions for further enquiry within the various trading zones. The training programme has been offered for each academic year, with registration and integration of new proposals open during the whole year.
The programme for 2024 included on-site sessions, blended learning and workshops with trainers from within and outside the C2DH, together with presentation materials for self-paced learning. The background trading zones mainly focused on topics such as research integrity and ethics, data management and scientific communication through podcasts. The foreground trading zones comprised training activities on themes such as an introduction to Nodegoat, transnational European history, web archives, data collection and visualisation, and basics in R programming. The audience consisted of C2DH researchers and other staff, and PhD candidates who could acquire ECTS based on the completion of assignments proposed by the trainers. PhD candidates also participated as trainers in their area of expertise. Information about the training programme was disseminated within the Deep Data Science of Digital History (D4H) Doctoral Training Unit and the Master in Digital and Public History (MADiPH) to encourage participation from these groups as well.
One major outcome of the Training Trading Zone initiative in 2024 is the launch of the C²PhD podcast. Thanks to podcast training and a DESCOM internship, doctoral student Joé Voncken was able to create his own podcast series, C²PhD, which offers listeners a behind-the-scenes look at the insights and challenges faced by doctoral researchers.
In the first episode, Joé speaks with Marianna Tavares, a young Brazilian researcher who reflects on her 10-month research stay at the C²DH.