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RESEARCH ApPrenticeship PROGRAM

Contribute to a Faculty Research Project

This program allows undergraduates invaluable opportunities to learn research methods in a one-on-one collaboration with a faculty member.  Each fall, faculty members apply for the opportunity to bring undergraduate research fellows into their research projects.  The Humanities Center advertises research opportunities on this page, and students are invited to apply directly to faculty mentors starting in early September.  Faculty make nominations to the Humanities Center, and successful nominees are appointed as Student Research Fellows. Each fellowship involves work on a faculty research project, often leading to publication.  Projects involve different types of research and unfold over different time-periods with flexibility to accommodate the schedules of the student and the needs of the faculty member. At the end of the academic year, student fellows who complete the program successfully receive $450.

Students interested in serving as research apprentices should check this page frequently during the fall. Scroll down to see current opportunities.

Faculty members interested in the program should visit the faculty Research Fellows Program page for instructions on how to apply.

If you are interested in past research student-faculty collaborations please visit our archival page.
Professor Erik Jenson and a student sit at a table ogether discussing a research project

2024-2025  Apprenticeship Projects

If you are interested in applying for one of the apprenticeships below, please email the relevant professor and write "Research Apprenticeship Application" in the subject line of your email. For additional questions please write to humanitiescenter@miamioh.edu.

Creative Tools for Critical Times: Devising Theatre for Social Justice

Ann Elizabeth Armstrong
armstra2@miamioh.edu

The student research apprentice will participate in a series of on-line workshops with leading innovators in community-based activist theatre. In addition to learning from an international group of innovators in theatre for social change, they will help document these workshops as part of a team developing an edited collection about the series. Students will have the opportunity to contribute to various phases of the editorial process, including preparing a book proposal, research for an introduction, and participation on a collaborative editorial team with professionals in theatre (dramaturgs, artistic directors, teaching artists). Students with interests in Social Justice, Theatre, Film or other Arts/multimedia, Arts Management, Critical Pedagogy, or Social media are encouraged to apply.  IRB certification is desirable but not required.

THIS POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED

Draining the Swamp: Gilded Age Corruption Narratives

Andrew Hebard
hebarda@miamioh.edu

I am seeking a research apprentice to help me collect archival materials for my current book project, Draining the Swamp: Gilded Age Corruption Narratives.  Working in the field of law and literature, this book draws upon the Gilded Age and Progressive Era to recover a conception of corruption that framed it as a normative and regulative problem rather than as a criminal act.  The research apprentice will help find, collect, and annotate magazine and newspaper articles published between 1865 and 1920 that are about political corruption.

THIS POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED

Internship at Special Collections

Anna Klosowska
roberta2@miamioh.edu

A research apprentice interested in history (17th-19th c.), culture, art history and book history will investigate with me the provenance of two miniature books in Miami's collection (King Spec. Coll.), one used at the French court in ca. 1630, the other in Constantinople at the Ottoman court in ca. 1800. Prerequisite: The student needs to read French OR Arabic.

Parental Rights over Children’s Public Education: Current Directions in US Law

Liz Wilson
wilsone@miamioh.edu

The apprentice will help with a research project on American children’s rights, especially the right of minors to determine their educational futures. The apprentice will help find, annotate, and analyze relevant documents, building on a list of newspaper articles, legal briefs, and government documents that I have already compiled. Should be capable of using Lexis-Uni, have strong reading comprehension of primary source materials (in English) and secondary sources (in English).

THE POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED

Sound and Music Education via Podcast and YouTube

Mack Hagood
hagoodwm@miamioh.edu

Phantom Power Productions educates the public on sound and music through podcasts and YouTube videos. Research apprentices are needed to edit, transcribe, and upload audio and video interviews. Students may also be asked to conduct background interviews or research on podcast topics. Training will be provided for all tasks. Students with knowledge of/interest in sound, audio technology, podcasting, experimental music, or sound art will really enjoy this apprenticeship and are highly encouraged to apply! No previous experience is required, but skills in writing, audio/video editing, marketing, or social media promotion are a big plus.

THIS POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED

The Good Death: Physicians, Medicine, and Early Modern Italy

Cynthia Klestinec
klestic@miamioh.edu

A research apprentice familiar with the Medical Humanities who will aid in the development of a book manuscript, The Good Death, by collecting, reading and annotating a list of works on end of life care (from the fields of bioethics and palliative care). The apprentice will provide feedback on chapter drafts and meet frequently to discuss connections between 'early modern' and modern texts related to palliative care. The apprentice should enjoy reading and summarizing texts as well as organizing bibliography and tracking themes across different discourses/fields (that is, engaging in interdisciplinary thinking).

THE POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED

The Modern Pro-Life Movement

Anne Whitesell
a-whitesell@miamioh.edu

This project may be of particular interest to students in politics, religion, women’s and gender studies, and/or advocacy. The research apprentice will analyze how U.S.-based pro-life organizations communicate about policy issues and the emphasis they place on religion. The apprentice will meet with Dr. Whitesell weekly to adapt the coding procedures as needed. If interested, the apprentice will have the opportunity to review literature, analyze data, and potentially co-author on public-facing and academic writing. Prior knowledge about political advocacy and public policy is beneficial, but not necessary. Familiarity with Google sheets is a plus.  

The Photography of Elli Marcus and Weimar Nostalgia

Mila Ganeva
ganevamm@miamioh.edu

The undergraduate research fellow will translate from German into English of passages from theater reviews published in the period 1925-1933 as well as quotes from original archival sources (programs, captions of theater photographs, diverse publicity material, letters, and diary entries) related to stage productions in Berlin in the same period. In addition, the student will organize bibliographic information and compose annotations. Students with advanced proficiency in German and excellent writing skills in English are encouraged to apply.

THIS POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED

Voices from the Andes Amazon: Exploring Social-Ecological Dynamics in Rural Peru

Laura Abondano Franco & Cameron Hay-Rollins (hayrolmc@miamioh.edu)
abondala@miamioh.edu

We are seeking a research apprentice to assist with transcription, translation, and analysis of informal interviews with rural community members living close to a highly biodiverse conservation area in the Cusco region in Perú. Our goal with this project is to evaluate the social-ecological dynamics in the region and identify specific needs of community members. No previous experience with translation or transcription is required, but students must be proficient in Spanish (ideally Latin American Spanish) and English. Candidates whose major or minor is in Spanish or a related humanities discipline will be given priority, but any student with interest in Latin American cultures, Spanish language, conservation science, and/or environmental studies is highly encouraged to apply.