Undergraduate Research opportunities in the Digital Humanities

Undergraduate Research (UR) opportunities in the Digital Humanities, through the Marriott Library’s Digital Matters and the College of Humanities. Student researchers will report to Dr. Lisa Swanstrom (English) and/or Dr. David Roh, the Director of the Digital Matters.

Description

The Digital Humanities is an interdisciplinary field that encourages us to think about how computational technology is shaping—and being shaped by—traditional humanistic inquiry. The newly formalized Digital Matters in the Marriott Library is committed to fostering a robust DH presence at the University of Utah, and there are currently several research projects that would benefit from undergraduate participation and collaboration, such as:

1. Robots and webbots in the cultural imagination. The project has two sites that need to be integrated: Site 1 is a database of entries about robots in SF: https://roboticbodies.wordpress.com/ Site 2 is where, eventually, the project will reside: http://nobotix.com (user = robot; pass = nobot). Work would include adding entries to the database and contributing to the site integration.
2. Digital Humanities and Science Fiction. This is a collaboration with Science Fiction Studies, the oldest and most respected scholarly journal about SF in the nation. Work would include text conversion, text analysis, collation, proofreading, and providing input on future site structure.
3. Web-based applications for literary analysis, including the Literary Field Guide project. Work would include image preparation, text conversion, and providing input about future iterations.
4. Data management for Syllabrowser, a national database of university syllabi. Work includes data categorization, tagging, and curation, as well as database and interface design.
5. Cultural reviews. Assist in the research, writing, shooting, and editing of both video and text for critical reviews of e-readers and similar devices. See example.
6. Salt Lake Valley Mechanical Flower. Assist in the programming, data curation, design and build of an air pollution sniffing mechanical flower.

Digital Matters is also interested in developing research questions from the ground up. We are particularly interested in input from students who have a background in computer programming and/or a curiosity about digital culture and the arts, although no technical expertise is expected or required. Students are encouraged to apply to work on one or more of these projects. We will structure the position so that it works best with the UR’s interests.

Students will be in residence in Digital Matters for part of their hours and can use the space to meet, work, or brainstorm. Although some of the work can be done remote or digitally, Digital Matters will be the on-campus “home.”

Apply here: https://our.utah.edu/opportunities/undergraduate-research-opportunities-in-the-digital-humanities/