Opportunities & Processes

1. Each city cluster will offer a partial unit research opportunity to 20 students for a one-week, faculty-led travel seminar to the respective hub following the completion of the course. Faculty responsible for clustered course will include information about research and proposal processes in the syllabus. Proposals will be reviewed to select 4-5 students from each cluster course. Students will conduct research and the product will then be shared on the Digital Humanities site.
2. Summer research stipends for place-based research with a faculty member are also available to all students. Priority would be given students who participate in the cluster courses but all are welcome to apply. More information can be found at the Undergraduate Summer Research Support page.

Possible research topics – St. Louis:

• Police violence
• BLM first major protest
• Redlining policies
• Gentrification
• Impact of Plessy v. Ferguson
• Ongoing legacies of Missouri Compromise
• Great Migration & “gateway to the West”
• Manifest destiny & indigenous displacement
• Environmental sustainability
• “Confluence Corridor” – where Mississippi, Illinois, & Missouri Rivers meet

Eligible Cluster Courses

Winter 2023 Courses

• HIST 215 Victorianizing America
  • Prerequisites: None
• MUSC 165 Jazz Explorations
  • Prerequisites: None
• SEMN 201 Beauty Across Cultures
  • Pre-requisites: Sophomores only
• JAPN 301 High Intermediate Japanese Language
  • Prerequisites: JAPN 203 or equivalent
• ENGL 230 U.S. Ethnic Literature
  • Prerequisites: A RTW course, or instructor permission

Spring 2023 Courses

• CHIN 235 Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
  • Prerequisites: None
• ENGL 156 RTW: Social Justice
  • Prerequisites: None
• MUSC 160 Music of World Cultures
  • Prerequisites: None

Grant Funded Research

After the conclusion of the spring quarter, cluster faculty and selected students will extend the classroom to St. Louis for a partial-unit study away experience. During this travel seminar to St. Louis (June 5th – June 12th, 2023), students will undertake individual and collaborative research within and across the disciplinary knowledge acquired in their respective courses. The travel seminar will prioritize place-based learning, humanities-based inquiry, and social justice problem-solving via relevant site visits, partnerships with local community organizations, and student-led discussion and reflection. At the end of the travel seminar, students will publish their research on the Digital Humanities website.

NOTE: Enrollment in these courses does not guarantee selection for the travel seminar. Participants will be enrolled into a 0.5 unit partial unit IDSY course for Summer 2023.

Applications for the St. Louis 2023 research seminar have closed.

Possible research topics – New Orleans:

• Climate change and impact on racialized communities
• Policing and incarceration
• Consequences of gentrification
• Deportation of Marcus Garvey
• Use of immigrant labor
• Environmental sustainability
• Impact of oil production on the environment
• Underground railroad
• Use of music as a form of support and information
• Movements designed to address state violence & the protection of communities

Eligible Cluster Courses

Spring 2023 Courses

• THEA 155 African American Theater
• ANSO 320 Water, Environment, and Society
• SPAN 425 Topics in Spanish Linguistics

Fall 2023 Courses

• SEMN 166 Let Freedom Swing!
• SPAN 425 Topics in Spanish Linguistics

Grant Funded Research

After the conclusion of the fall quarter, cluster faculty and selected students will extend the classroom to New Orleans for a partial-unit study away experience. During this travel seminar to New Orleans (November 28th – December 4th), students will undertake individual and collaborative research within and across the disciplinary knowledge acquired in their respective courses. The travel seminar will prioritize place-based learning, humanities-based inquiry, and social justice problem-solving via relevant site visits, partnerships with local community organizations, and student-led discussion and reflection. At the end of the travel seminar, students will publish their research on the Digital Humanities website.

NOTE: Enrollment in these courses does not guarantee selection for the travel seminar. Participants will be enrolled into a 0.5 unit partial unit IDSY course for Winter 2024.

Applications for the eligible Spring 2023 are open until 9th week, Tuesday of Spring. .