Call for Applications: Undergraduate Research Position – Visual Constructions of the Pajaro and Salinas Valleys, Fall 2024-Winter 2025

Application Deadline: April 28, 2024

The Humanities Division is excited to announce an experiential learning opportunity for Humanities undergraduates at UC Santa Cruz to work with Professor of History of Consciousness Dimitris Papadopoulos

Undergraduate research connects Humanities majors and minors to faculty-led research projects in the Division and it provides a valuable opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and develop skills to make an impactful intellectual or creative contribution to their field. Students gain practical experience and professional training that builds on their studies in the Humanities. At the same time, faculty benefit from students’ assistance and academic expertise.

About The Project - Visual Constructions of the Pajaro and Salinas Valleys

The project will collect, classify, and archive pre-existing historical and contemporary visual artifacts of two major agricultural regions in the Central Coast: the Pajaro and the Salinas Valleys. Rather than generating a comprehensive and exhaustive record of existing images, the main objective is to capture and analyze key themes and phases in the visual constructions of the valleys. These visual materials will allow us to explore how the interplay between the local and global economy, the environment and ecological challenges, transnational labor movements, and social composition have shaped the current profile of these regions.

The project requires the adoption of a creative approach to research that will incorporate archival investigation, fieldwork, and netnography. Large parts of the research will take place online (existing scholarly work, archives, social media, contemporary public and commercial internet sites etc) while fieldwork will be also necessary at certain cases and for certain locations (local libraries, analog archives, administrative offices, community organizations, trade associations, businesses etc).

The main stages of the project will be as follows:

1. Collaborative teamwork to finalize operational definitions, ethical guidelines, geographical boundaries, inventory of resources, milestones, and timeframes of the project.
2. Collection of images and documentation of sources.
3. Creation of a database to store the images.
4. Analysis of social, cultural, economic, technoscientific, and ecological dimensions of collected images.
5. Tagging of images, content description and creation of meta-data.
6. Classification and description of key visual trends and optical constructions of the two valleys.

Position Description:

Student researchers will have regular meetings twice a month with the faculty principal investigator (PI) to discuss emerging issues, progress, monitor task completion, and set new tasks. They will work as a team and apart from the transferable skills discussed further below, they will be able to acquire knowledge in designing and conducting visual research, in social and cultural analysis, as well as in recording, managing and interpreting visual data. They will also be able to acquire specialist knowledge on historical and current issues related to the Santa Cruz and Monterey counties and the Central Coast.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS

• (5%): You will understand and work within the ethical framework and the methodology of the project
• (5%): You will coordinate and undertake activities for this project as agreed with the research team
• (10%): You will review and summarize relevant academic literature
• (20%): You will identify a series of archives, repositories, and sites that may contain relevant images
• (30%): You will conduct visual research in online archives and sites as well as in analog archives in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties
• (15%): You will create and maintain a database to store and archive all collected images
• (15%): You will develop and implement a system for the classification of images and you will tag all images accordingly

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• You are a declared major or minor in a department in the Humanities Division, and you are in good academic standing. [required]
• Experience with or interest in visual research, specifically openness to engage with different topics surrounding the study of images, such as visual analysis, the interpretation of images, visual communication, or visual culture.
• Experience of or interest in understanding social and cultural issues, social inequalities, and ecological injustice in the Pajaro and Salinas valleys.
• Capacity to do some active research, involving archival research, on-site ethnography, and netnography (including online and social media research).
• The ability or flexibility to travel within Santa Cruz County or Monterey County on some weekdays and some weekends, up to 8 hours. Costs associated with this transportation are accounted for in your compensation. Students will also have access to book a ZipCar at no additional cost.
• Evidence of collegiality and the ability to work collaboratively

Preferred Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Experience working with archives.
• This area of research may be of particular interest to students of History, History of Consciousness, Critical Race & Ethnic Studies, Literature, and Feminist Studies as well as Humanities students who may have experience or double-major or minor in Art, Film & Digital Media, or Anthropology.
• Interest in the history, culture, and ecology of the Pajaro and Salinas Valleys.

Internship Term: Fall Quarter 2024 - Winter Quarter 2025

Hours: Up to 10 hours/week

Compensation: $20/hour

# Positions Available: 2

Location: This is a hybrid role with some in-person work on location and some flexible remote work.

Reports to: Principal Investigator (PI) & Professor of History of Consciousness Dimitris Papadopoulos.

How To Apply

Apply by submitting your resume and a short cover letter (no more than one page) answering these questions:

1. Why this job and why now? What skills would you bring to it?
2. Do you have experience or interest in researching photographic images and visual data?
3. How does this project fit with your own interests?

• REVIEW these resume and cover letter resources to ensure that you are a strong candidate!

Once the application window closes on Sunday April 28, there will be an interview process with top candidates.

Please contact Experiential Learning Coordinator Kylie Rachwalski at hum-experiential-learning@ucsc.edu with any questions.

This undergraduate internship is generously supported by The Mellon Foundation.