For-Credit Research Assistantship

Academic field: American Literature
Research topic: The Letters of Carson McCullers

Brief description of project and research assistant duties: Student research assistant will help Professor Carlos Dews with the research and editorial work on his edition of Carson McCullers’s letters for Harper Collins publishers.  

Sponsoring professor: Carlos Dews ([email protected])
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2024

Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Student research assistant will help Professor Carlos Dews with the research and editorial work on his editions of Carson McCullers’s letters for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  The specific duties will include web-based database biographical and historical research on those with whom Carson McCullers corresponded and help in preparation of the manuscript of the letters of Carson McCullers for publication. This work will provide the student research assistant with valuable “hands on” experience with two major publishing projects and allow the student to learn a great deal about the life and work of one of America’s major writers. 

Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: The tangible outcomes of the project will include a compiled manuscript of the McCullers letters project and significant progress in the selection and editing of the McCullers letters destined for publication in the volume.  The student will keep a log of their work on both projects and account for the work done during the 45 hours on the two projects. Through weekly online meetings and guided research tasks, the student will learn significant research skills in dealing with manuscripts, letters, and other unpublished texts.

Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: By conducting archival research on primary materials and researching secondary materials the student will develop significant research skills. Student assistants will use material assembled by Professor Dews as well as online databases to help support the editorial work on the collection and editing of Carson McCullers's letters. Student will also work in conjunction with Professor Dews to contact archival collections and sources of biographical information on McCullers and those with whom she corresponded.

Academic field: Classical studies and Roman Archaeology
Research topic: The outer ring-road of Pompeii: a first evaluation. 

Brief description of project and research assistant duties: The research will result in the first article assessing the presence of an outer ring road in Pompeii. Scholars have noted the presence of roads outside the city walls of Pompeii, and some have even assumed that Pompeii was circled by a beltway that allowed traffic to bypass the city; however, no complete analysis has ever been attempted. This article aims at providing a detailed review of the antiquarian scholarship and archaeological data in order to assess the presence (or absence) of an outer ring-road for the city of Pompeii. 

Sponsoring professor: Massimo Betello ([email protected])
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2024

Full description of research assistant’s regular duties:

1. Identification and annotation of any academic works published in the last 5 years on topics relevant to the article. In fact, bibliography older than 5 years has already been identified and evaluated by the professor. The assistant will need to use Zotero in order to synch the results and annotations with the Zotero database of the professor. 
2. Identification of other Roman cities that had complete or incomplete ring-roads to use as possible comparison.
3. Editorial assistance in the elaboration and review of the text of the article: check for readability and clarity, footnote format, and final bibliography. Discussion on issues of methodology and soundness of the claims. 
4. Assistance in securing the rights for the use of the images and maps to be included in the article. This will be accomplished by identifying the holders of the copyright, contacting them, ensuring that their requirements are met, and acquiring images of publishable quality. 
5. Assistance in organizing the professor's photo collection of streets, city-gates, and houses of Pompeii. 

Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: 

• Annotated bibliography of the most recent published works on the topic of the article which will need to be synched with the Zotero database used by the professor 
• Identification of other Roman cities that had a complete or partial system of ring-road to be used as a comparison. 
• Creation and review of the text of the article in order to help with A) evaluation of the soundness of claims; B) discussion of the methodology; C) review of the prose of article.  

Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: By the end of this research position successful assistants will have become competent at assessing the needs of a research scholar, quick at reading and annotating articles and books, more experienced at writing a clear academic prose, and confident in their ability to create and respect a working schedule. 

Specifically, the assistants will have become very knowledgeable at researching the most recent academic works on the streets and traffic of Roman cities, and quite familiar with the most recent archaeological research in Pompeii. In addition, the RAs will become experienced in the use of databases specifically created for the city of Pompeii. 

The assistant will have become proficient at using the bibliographical software Zotero. 

Academic field: Communications and Media Studies
Research topic: Gender Studies/Feminist studies/Social history of medicine

Brief description of project and research assistant duties: I seek a research assistant (preferably but not necessarily an Italian speaker) to help me with my upcoming book project which investigates the contemporary hormone industry in connection to gender-affirming therapy and assisted reproduction. The book draws upon an ethnography which I am conducting at the Niguarda public hospital in Milan, where there is a unit supervising both patients who undergo gender-affirming treatment and those who seek assistance with IVF procedures.

Sponsoring professor: Donatella Della Ratta ([email protected])
Semester of assistantship: Fall 24

Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The RA will help me go through my field notes (if Italian speaker) and cluster them into broader themes/tropes. They will also assist me in conducting visual analyses of the interfaces of platforms used for different purposes in connection to the hormone industry. They will produce a literature review and constantly keep it updated with the latest works in the field. They will compile a list of companies/organizations/sites/exhibitions/markets etc. that are relevant for the study of the global hormone industry, and contact potential subjects for interviews.

Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: Cluster field notes into broader themes/tropes Conduct a literature review of the existing field (research investigating the structure of the hormone industry, its political economy, but also specific works on the use of hormones in gender-affirming therapies and assisted reproduction techniques) Assist with interviews with key subjects in the industry of hormones (pharmaceutical companies, business ventures dealing with genetic testing, gamete banks, etc.) Help with the visual analysis of the promotional material produced by selected players from the hormone industry (advertising campaigns, websites, etc.)

Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: I will mentor the student and guide them through how to conduct an ethnographic work and integrate it with a broader political economy understanding of the industry. At the end of the research period, they should become fluent in integrating the micro and the macro level of the study, and dealing with a variety of critical research methods.

Academic field: History
Research topic: Italian Colonialism in the Era of the First World War

Brief description of project and research assistant duties: Assist the professor in completing researching for a journal article and preparing it for publication

Sponsoring professor: Vanda Wilcox ([email protected])
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2024

Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The research assistant will support the professor on a project exploring the conduct and policies of the Italian army, and the experiences of ordinary soldiers, in the colonies during the First World War. The project will include working with primary sources and with Zotero (bibliography management software). Excellent Italian-language skills are essential since the primary sources to be dealt with are in Italian. Prior experience with Zotero is an advantage but not essential. An assistant who has completed one or more classes in 20th century European, Italian or imperial/global history would be preferred.

Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work:

• Help complete a spreadsheet of primary sources drawn from Italian military tribunal records from colonial-era Libya (about 60% of the assigned hours)
• Help complete bibliographical research and input information into Zotero as needed (20%) 
• Help prepare the manuscript for journal submission (20%) 

Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: The student will:

• acquire or refine their bibliographical skills in using Zotero, including locating and inputting published materials, through training delivered by the professor and supported by the library's resources
• build their understanding of professional historical research skills including how to process original archival documents and make choices about their classification and interpretation * develop an understanding of how to use a spreadsheet of sources in a history research project
• learn how to prepare an article manuscript for publication, including applying a journal style guide
  
  All these skills will be of use for research papers and final theses as well as help students understand the research process in view of possibly undertaking graduate study.

Academic field: Marketing
Research topic: Greenwashing: reputational, civil and criminal risks for brands

Brief description of project and research assistant duties: This research aims to provide a taxonomy of greenwashing practices and then investigate the reputational risks associated with it (e.g., brand equity dilution), the civil responsibilities (e.g., administrative sanctions) as well as criminal responsibilities for infringing the rules of fair competition. It will include a collection of case studies

Sponsoring professor: Anna Fiorentino ([email protected])
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2024

Full description of research assistant’s regular duties:  Mainly synthesizing existing literature and developing frameworks/models. Core area of literature research are definitions of greenwashing, brand equity dilution as an effect of greenwashing; civil and criminal norms applicable to greenwashing and elaboration of why they are infringed by greenwashing; collection of case examples

Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work:

• Collection and synthesis of literature for key definitions of greenwashing across sectors; generation of a "general taxonomy" for greenwashing;
• Collection and synthesis of literature and cases on brand reputational damage as a consequence of greenwashing practices;
• Collection and synthesis of literature and norms on civil and criminal responsibility for greenwashing, example cases, and relative sanctions

Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: In the first phase, the assistant will be guided on how to collect existing literature on definitions of greenwashing and will closely work with faculty to develop a taxonomy for greenwashing practices In the second phase, the research assistant will be mentored on how to research brand equity dilution effects due to reputational damage as a consequence of greenwashing. In the third phase, the assistant will receive mentoring and supervisory support on what is "civil responsibility" associated with greenwashing and how to research existing regulations, administrative sanctions, and case collection In the last phase, the assistant will be guided on understanding and researching "criminal responsibility" for greenwashing: research and collect rules and regulations on fair competition; why greenwashing infringes them; the assistant will be mentoring on how to collect case studies on civil and criminal infringement of laws

Academic field: Political Science/International Relations
Research topic: Security narratives and the Captagon trade in the Middle East

Brief description of project and research assistant duties: The project is concerned with the emergence of an illicit Middle East market in Captagon - an amphetamine-based drug produced mainly in Syria and with consumer markets principally in the Gulf states. The project feeds into a wider research area concerned with the making of security partnerships in the Middle East and aims to understand how security institutions navigate international and regional pressure to crack down on illicit smuggling, while also catering to more ambiguous political imperatives. The research assistantship will survey news media and government communication (in Arabic) in selected Middle Eastern states and monitor instances in which law enforcement and security institutions report on the trade in Captagon. The objective is to map the evolution in narratives around drug seizures, as well as analyze how drug smuggling is constructed in national discourse and framed in terms of security threats and international partnerships.

Sponsoring professor: Simone Tholens ([email protected])
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2024

Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The research assistant will monitor Arabic language media outlets and official governmental statements in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, UAE, and Saudi Arabia for their coverage of Captagon smuggling and law enforcement efforts to counter it. It will map keywords used to describe seizures and analyze their evolution in the time period 2019-2024.

Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work:  The final deliverable for this research assistantship is a codebook with the keywords observed, their frequency, and a qualitative assessment of the evolution of how Captagon trade and seizures are covered in public-facing media and government communication strategies across selected Middle East countries.

Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: The student research assistant will be introduced to the topic and the methodology in a first comprehensive session. Detailed instructions as to the method of media monitoring and discourse analysis will be provided. During the course of the semester, bi-weekly meetings will take place in order to support and advise the research assistant on their progress.

Academic field: Psychology
Research topic: Science of Creativity

Brief description of project and research assistant duties: The RA will help with different projects aimed at investigating the cognitive and neural bases of creative cognition. The RA might work on different aspects of the research process, from programming experiments to data collection and paper writing. Each RA will be assigned to a project, and it will be the RA's responsibility to achieve some specific goals established with the professor to gain the final credit. RAs are required to meet with the professor for weekly lab meetings where they will learn different aspects of conducting research in cognitive science. RA will need to attend lab meetings to gain the final credit. Lab meetings will last 1h or 2h and will be scheduled based on both the professor and the student's availability. The applicant must have taken the Science of Creativity class to be admitted to this position, and preferably be able to commit at least for 2 semesters.

Sponsoring professor: Carola Salvi ([email protected]) 
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2024

Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Going to lab meetings, reading bibliography, data collection, running experiments, and data cleaning.

Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: The RA will set up goals at the beginning of the semester with the professor. To gain the final credit the RA needs to achieve those goals, and have attended lab meetings and worked for a total of 45 hours. RA's hours of work will be tracked.

Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: The faculty-scientist will mentor the student by providing essential guidance and feedback. This mentorship will enable the student to execute a rigorous methodology and successfully complete the data collection process, consequently enhancing their research skills and understanding of the topic.

Academic field: Video Production, Business, Marketing, Communications, Studio Art/Photography 
Research topic: Interdisciplinary project assistance in context of film production, financing, and promotions  

Brief description of project and research assistant duties: The leading professor, Jenn Lindsay, is a social scientist and a documentary filmmaker teaching in Social Sciences. Presently she is in various stages of production and post-production of several different documentary film projects. Research Assistants will contribute research and writing input to publications and media projects headed by Professor Lindsay. Students in digital video production, studio design, marketing, and business administration fields are invited to assist with various dimensions of this film initiative. Production assistants will help with filming, editing, writing, and designing content; marketing assistants will help with research, writing articles on the indie film industry and diversity in media, and will support promotions for a premiere night of a docuseries; and business strategy assistants will help with research tasks related to business operations. All Research Assistant tasks will conform to the standards and scope of work specific to the Research Assistant position as defined by the university. 

Sponsoring professor: Jenn Lindsay ([email protected]) 
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2024 

Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Research assistants will be assigned tasks according to their goals and strengths, and work collaboratively with other team members on a regular basis. They will learn a wide range of information about the independent film and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) industries. After an initial orientation period, assistant(s) shall meet with the professor and in teams at least two times weekly to discuss assignments and work progress. 

Assistants in every field will deliver one presentation during the semester on topics relevant to the indie film and diversity industry. Past topics have been fair use of copyrighted materials, the power of storytelling, film financing, co-working spaces in Rome, how to do a competitor analysis, etc.   

Research assistants specializing in production will be assigned to some of the following tasks: development, production, and post-production on e-courses about indie film and social diversity issues; the writer’s team for blog writing; participating in feedback sessions for your own and other people’s edited work; and assisting in the writing and design of Learning Guides to accompany several documentary films.   

Marketing research assistants will be assigned to some of the following tasks: writing articles on indie film and social diversity for the film initiative’s website; social media content creation and management; assistance with grant writing; website updates; SEO of website content; market research on competition and potential audiences; design of marketing materials; and more.   

Business research assistants will be assigned to some of the following tasks: the finance team; assistance with grant writing; developing pitch decks for the film initiative; weekly reporting on film industry affairs; project management, CRM, and file sharing structures; researching investment scenarios; assisting with sales and distribution strategy.    

Deadlines will be assigned according to task. 

Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work:

• Assistant Editor(s) will be asked to read some texts relevant to this work. (5+ hours), such as: Documentary Storytelling by Sheila Curran Bernard, Screenwriting by Ray Morton; or Producer to Producer by Maureen Ryan
• View current cuts of film projects, writing details viewing notes/reactions, and implementing revisions to help bring projects closer to a final cut. (15 hours) 
• Participate in workshops to develop narrative structure for current storytelling projects. (10-15 hours)
• Preparing interview transcripts, researching press lists, and writing website content.
• Researching competitor production companies and diversity trainers  
• Researching donor and investor prospects and writing short profiles for tailored introductions
• Copyediting teammate writing
• Development of promotional materials such as a film poster and social media presence. 

Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: Professor Jenn Lindsay has been working in documentary, feature, and narrative film and TV production for over 15 years, contributing to projects at MTV, the Sundance Channel, Swede Films, and various independent post-production facilities. She has completed 7 feature-length or short documentaries with her own production company So Fare Films and served as the Staff Documentarian at the Center for Mind and Culture for five years. She has received two grants to produce and direct Ikhaya, a documentary film about the South African artists Giggs Kgole and his upcoming art exhibition in Monte Carlo. She previously received filmmaking grants funding the production of The Modeling Religion Project, Simulating Religious Violence, and Minding Shadows.   

Assistants for the film initiative will engage a broad array of production, marketing, and business skills in order to bring these projects closer to a new cut. Not only will the opportunity offer school credit and a substantial professional credit on a curriculum vitae, but the student will be trained in a rigorous workflow toward a clear deliverable: launching a number of professional-grade documentary projects to the film festival circuit. This opportunity equates to a professional internship, and, given the proximity assistant(s) will have with the filmmaker, also a mentorship and a deeper glimpse into the world of professional documentary filmmaking.   

Contact with the mentoring professor will be on a weekly basis, sometimes multiple times weekly.  

Past assistants have reported skill development in the following areas: presentation skills, creativity and time management, communication and teamwork skills, problem-solving, organizational skills, research, and seeing how the indie film business really works.