Please carefully review each of the project descriptions below. Following your review, please indicate in your CSI application your two (or, optionally, three) top-choice projects, indicating in your essay how you are prepared to contribute to these projects as an undergraduate researcher and why they are of interest to you academically. Note: many of the projects below will benefit from multiple CSI research scholars on each project. Please prioritize projects based on your interests and capacities for success as a CSI undergraduate researcher.
The Emergence of Global Mycology: Dr. Brad Bolman is currently conducting an expansive, initial period of research for a project on the global history of mycology, the foundation for his next academic monograph. The project explores the emergence of transnational communication networks among mycologists, through which money, fungal samples, and journals were sent between scholars in the United States, England, France, Italy, and Germany (from roughly the mid-19th century to the early-20th century). The particular focus this summer will be the reconstruction of biographies and connections for those writing to and from Italian botanist Pier Andrea Saccardo, who acted as a central clearinghouse for universally accepted identifications and species definitions and published the monumental Sylloge Fungorum. CSI research scholars will assist Dr. Bolman in organizing and summarizing the content of archival materials (translation abilities in French, Italian, or German are a plus, but not a requirement) as he begins to draft initial chapters based on these items. Research scholars will learn (a) how to build a citation database using contemporary software tools such as Zotero, (b) how to analyze and contextualize pieces of correspondence for research, and (c) how to formulate and prepare for a multi-year research project. Research mentor: Dr. Brad Bolman, Institute for the Formation of Knowledge, University of Chicago
World War II, Racial Science, and Ergonomics: History and Connections: How does a skull measurer end up creating cockpit chairs for the British military during World War II? This research project follows the wartime and postwar careers of one of the central figures of my first book project, biometrician-anthropologist Geoffrey Morant. During the war, Morant left his career in skulls and statistics and began working for the British Royal Airforce’s Aviation Medicine. Here he put his body measuring skills to practical use in the design and sizing of cockpits, clothing, and seats. This work was exemplary of a new branch of science that emerged in the second half of the 20th century: ergonomics or human factors research, aimed to optimize human performance. Morant’s work also connected him to another expanding and related branch of study, human growth and health studies. This project centers on conducting exploratory research for my second book project, Fitting Standards, which studies the historical connections between racial science, health studies, and ergonomics. CSI research scholars will assist with the following tasks: (1) organizing and summarizing Morant’s archival material, (2) conducting historical research into the wartime and postwar history of anthropometry, ergonomics, and health studies, (3) conducting independent small research projects relevant to the overall project. Students will gain experience in historical methodology, cataloguing newly discovered archival material, and conducting interdisciplinary research. Students interested in history, especially the history of science, medicine, and technology, and topics such as race and the body might be particularly interested in this project. Research mentor: Dr. Iris Clever, Institute for the Formation of Knowledge, University of Chicago
Planetary Epistemology in the Science Fiction Pulps: This project extends the historical range of my book, Speculative Planetology, which is about how science fiction texts and science fictional thinking have contributed to and inspired the development of earth system and planetary sciences. At present, the historical arc of the book begins in the 1950s where the systems-thinking approach of science fiction stories was picked up by early planetary scientists. Where did this influential approach come from, and what is the origin of thinking about planets as interconnected systems in science fiction? “Planetary Epistemology in the Science Fiction Pulps” seeks the origins of this systems-thinking paradigm in the science fiction pulp magazine archives. CSI research scholars would be looking for examples of systematic world-building reasoning about planets in magazines such as Planet Stories, Astounding Science Fiction, and Thrilling Wonder Stories. Tasks would include (1) conducting contextual research about authors, magazine publishing from 1926–1950, and the contents of individual issues, (2) assembling a list of candidate stories to delve into more deeply in consultation with a supervisor, and (3) conducting independent analysis of texts within the archive. The immediate goal of this project could be a co-authored conference presentation, potentially leading to a publication. CSI research scholars would learn about archival research in literature, magazine publishing and serialization, and the relationship between science fiction and science. If desirable to the undergraduate researcher, the assigned work could be shifted in the direction of visual media as well, including science fiction illustrations and planetary science fiction comic books. Research scholars interested in literature, media, popular culture, and science fiction (as well as those interested in early 20th century history with a US focus) might be interested in this project and would gain practical skills for their own humanistic research. Research mentor: Dr. Katherine Buse, Institute for the Formation of Knowledge, University of Chicago
Beshrew Me! [up to 4 appointments]: Beshrew Me! (https://voices.uchicago.edu/ochre/project/cedar-beshrew-me/) is an experimental digital edition of The Taming of the/a Shrew—two plays (Anonymous, publ. 1594 and Shakespeare, publ. 1623) whose relation scholars and editors have never been able to solve. The project seeks to de-center author-based approaches to dramatic value to focus instead on the way the Taming plays incorporate widespread expressions of domestic subordination and supremacy. Beshrew Me! nests the texts of both plays within the array of proverbs, gestures, and household artifacts (e.g., dressers, rings, ballads, trenchers, warming pans) that inculcate, enact, sustain, and sometimes critique domestic culture. There are three separate research projects operating under the larger Beshrew Me! project. Please treat the descriptions below as separate projects in your essays:
Scriptive Objects: Beshrew Me! aims to catalog the thing-world of shrew-taming in early modern England. Taking our cue from the play texts, we have identified, described and collected for display high-resolution images of inscribed objects from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (mainly!) that shape the messaging of early modern English domestic life. This “household stuffe” includes pottery that features anti-shrew proverbs, andirons that represent the fall of Eve, bookmarks made of shrew-fur, and frescos that commiserate with husbands over the miseries of marriage (though there are also some spiky objects that flip the script!). Because material culture tends not to be understood as a domain of textual content, the process of locating objects, conveying their use, and elucidating their messaging requires ingenuity. Research mentor: Professor Ellen MacKay, English Language and Literature
Common Parlance: Shrew-making and shrew-taming are richly expressed in the proverbs, jokes, clichés, and wisdom culture of early modern England. Since they are expressed as sayings rather than quotations, they tend to be spoken in paraphrase, rather than accurately reproduced in print. Catching the way common parlance and (professed) common belief underlies our key texts has therefore proved challenging but thrilling–the project has a lot to say about how poorly authorial originality explains the popularity and staying power of Taming texts. We have also discovered and exposed the long afterlives of these sentiments. Supremacy and subordination in their present forms remain tightly bound to the rhetorics of shrew culture. Research mentor: Professor Ellen MacKay, English Language and Literature
Gesture Archetypes: The scripts we are analyzing serve as blueprints for gestures that carry a lot of political resonance. When the ‘shrew’ character puts her hand under her husband’s foot, or when her husband dangles meat in front of her only to yank it away, we can see how the actions of Taming speak as loud as its words. Beshrew Me! aims to make these implicit actions explicit to users of the project, and to show their migration into different registers of mastery, from the stable (where the subjects mastered include horses, dogs, and falcons), to the schoolroom, to the plantation environments of English settler colonialism. Research mentor: Professor Ellen MacKay, English Language and Literature
Researching Lost Films [up to 4 appointments]: This project explores possible avenues for researching films that are considered lost, with a focus on silent-era motion pictures centering on race and gender. Over the summer, we will explore two collections that offer insight into films otherwise thought lost to history. The first is a digitized set of archived newsreels from the 1930s that incorporated earlier films—these remediated excerpts likely provide the only moving image evidence of the original lost films. Our project involves identifying and researching the source material embedded in these later newsreels, in particular the films featuring nonwhite and gender nonbinary figures. The second is a collection of theatrical lobby cards (advertisements for films) held by a Chicago-based private collector representing a large number of lost films directed by or featuring women behind the camera. Our project involves digitizing these artifacts and researching the titles and figures involved in each film. This project is part of a partnership with the Media Ecology Project at Dartmouth and the Media History Digital Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Research mentor: Professor Allyson Fields, Cinema and Media Studies
Smart Museum Collections Research [up to 6 appointments]: Reporting to the Postdoctoral Collections Research Preceptor and the Associate Curator for Academic Engagement within the Smart Museum of Art’s Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry, the CSI research scholars for Collections Research will focus on in-depth research projects for a small selection of artworks in the Smart Museum’s permanent collection with an aim to vet existing information, conduct original scholarship, add to the museum’s archives, and deepen general understanding of these objects. CSI research scholars will select their objects of study in consultation and collaboration with the museum’s Feitler Center, curatorial, and registration staff – matching subject area and language expertise with understudied collection artworks. Gaining in-depth experience in the study of original works of art, CSI research scholars' duties may include reviewing digital and physical museum archives, conducting artist and object research, making case statements for changing existing information on artworks or artists, and organizing and archiving research assets so that they are accessible for future scholars. In addition to building research skills, the CSI research scholars will learn best practices around archival data management, will be mentored in safely handling art, and will be trained to use the museum’s internal collections database (The Museum System). Minimum Qualifications: Undergraduate student interested in Art History, museums, and object study. Coursework within the Department of Art History or other visual arts-related courses strongly preferred. Candidates should have proven research and organizational skills. Research mentors: Berit Ness, Associate Curator for Academic Engagement and Postdoctoral Collections Research Preceptor
The Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse Research [up to 6 appointments]: The Parrhesia Program offers undergraduate humanities research opportunities examining the intersections of freedom of expression and discourse theory and practices. The Parrhesia Program offers undergraduate research experiences in researching, producing, and disseminating scholarship, programming, curricula, and case studies. In summer 2022, a coordinated research team will work on three intersecting projects. While researchers may be primarily working on one project, they will form a scholarly community in which they share, connect, test, and refine ideas, approaches, and materials together. Working on these research projects and in the scholarly community requires and builds capacities to openly explore multiple perspectives, test ideas with others, and seek, accept, and effectively respond to feedback. There are three separate research projects operating under the larger Parrhesia Program project. Please treat the descriptions below as separate projects in your essays:
Discourse Theory: Researchers will study and interrogate discourse theory. The Parrhesia Program advances a nuanced approach connecting freedom of expression and discursive theory and practice. The approach is built upon the philosophical and historical foundations of free expression and classical and contemporary rhetorical/discourse theory. Researchers will immerse themselves in rhetorical/discourse/deliberative theory and practices to inform, extend, and interrogate the approach. Researchers will compile, annotate, and synthesize scholarship, theory, and practices. The goal of this project is to produce scholarship for publication and public-facing materials for program dissemination. Research mentor: Dr. Leila Brammer, Director, Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse
Case Studies for Public Discourse Instruction: Researchers will identify cases, research them fully, and produce them for use by teachers, students, and others. The case studies introduce students to the principles, purposes, and practices of freedom of expression and its essential relationship to academic inquiry and democratic discourse. Through examining structured case studies, students will work through the tensions, test premises and actions, and collectively develop responses. CSI research scholars will identify appropriate cases, study case history, identify key components and tensions, write case studies, and test and refine those case studies for dissemination. The historical and archival research will require attention to detail, organization, and ability to understand and communicate multiple perspectives. The goal is to develop, refine, and complete at least two case studies. Research mentor: Dr. Leila Brammer, Director, Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse
Historical Deliberation Guide for the National Portrait Gallery: In a related project, researchers will explore history and assist in developing and writing a historical deliberation guide for the National Portrait Gallery. The NPG will use the guide with student groups, and it will be available for teachers to use independently in classrooms. Growing out of their collections, the NPG identified public conversations of Ida B. Wells and Frances E. Willard surrounding woman suffrage. More broadly, that guide will examine arguments about suffrage—who has and should have suffrage and what access means. While historically based, the guide will immerse students in examining arguments that are relevant and active today. The guide draws upon historical and archival work tracing Wells and Willard, their disagreements, and the public context surrounding suffrage (turn of the last century political discourse surrounding woman, Black, immigrant, Native American, and other areas of suffrage access). In summer 2022, CSI research scholars will work through historical research to test, write, and finalize the guide. Research mentor: Dr. Leila Brammer, Director, Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse
Documenting American History [up to 3 appointments]: The Karla Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture offers research opportunities for undergraduates to explore key primary documents from America’s past and to contribute to the creation of a new collection of documents designed for the public. In 1966, the University of Chicago Press published An American Primer, a two-volume collection of “living documents” selected and introduced by prominent scholars. Daniel J. Boorstin, a member of the History Department and future librarian of Congress, served as general editor. He described this as an exercise in “Citizen’s History” and collaborated with 80 other scholars to select, edit, and introduce documents, tapping a “who’s who” of prominent scholars and intellectuals that included John Hope Franklin and Arthur Schlesinger to introduce each selection and then offer an account of that document’s “afterlife”—its changing meaning over time and significance today. Drawing in part on the holdings of the Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center at the Library, the Karla Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture is currently working to produce a new collection that takes the format of Boorstin’s volumes to generate a compelling collection for today’s readers, one that is as diverse and inclusive, and as committed to multidisciplinary approaches, as the academic programs supported by and nurtured through the Scherer Center. The Center aims to create a print version as well as a digital version linked to the University that would enable dissemination the documents and the contextual commentary to as wide an audience as possible—to secondary schools and colleges as well as to ordinary citizens interested in a better understanding of America’s past. Research experiences for Summer 2022 will include helping to conduct primary and secondary research on the history of American documentary collections as well as the public meaning of key documents from the founding period (the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights) through the nineteenth century (the Seneca Falls Declaration, the Emancipation Proclamation) and up to the present. Research mentor: Professor Eric Slauter, The Karla Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture