2019 CSUN Summer Research Camp Application

The WhatEvery1Says Project (WE1S) uses digital humanities methods to study public discourse about the humanities at large data scales. Based at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), with core collaborators at California State University, Northridge and the University of Miami, WE1S was recently awarded an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funding of $1.1 million to expand the scope and diversity of its data, to increase the range, nuance, and trustworthiness of its analytical methods; and to make its technical research environment available to the wider community. For more information on the project, see About the Project or read the WE1S Prospectus.

WE1S expects to hire up to two CSUN faculty members and ten CSUN students to form the cohort for its second summer research camp, which will take place from July 1 to August 2, 2019.

The 2019 Summer Research Camp will focus on interpreting the project’s collected corpus of public discourse materials related to the humanities through the machine-learning method of topic-modeling. Participants will be “reading” the results of machine collaboratively by following an “interpretation protocol” (a set of steps) developed by the project. Appropriate training in digital humanities methods, tools and technologies, and the project’s collaborative methods are offered as part of the research camp. No prior technical experience is necessary, although participants should have an interest in acquiring knowledge of digital methods and applicants who are able to contribute to the project’s technical infrastructure will be welcome.

Eligibility

All members of the cohort are required to attend the orientation and presentation meetings (either in person or remotely) at the beginning and end of the research camp. Although we anticipate some flexibility in the schedule, participants will be expected to spend regular hours together on campus working in a collaborative research lab environment. During the main portion of the research camp, the standard schedule will be five hours of work during each of our days during the week (Monday through Thursday), split between morning and afternoon task sessions (10-1, 2-4).
The following additional requirements apply to faculty and student participants respectively.

Faculty

  1. Faculty must have a research interest that dovetails with the WE1S Project’s purpose or methods. Faculty may in part shape the Research Camp’s activities with their own research questions.
  2. Faculty will be paid summer salary up to $1,200 each for participation in the research camp.

Students

  1. Students must be currently enrolled at CSUN and must have a GPA of 3.6 or higher.
  2. Students may be graduate or undergraduate students and may come from any discipline. However, they should have an interest in WE1S’s research aims and/or methods.
  3. Students are paid $15.50/hour for a maximum of 20 hours/week. The WE1S Project is not able to pay participants who are not legally able to work in the United States.

Application Procedure

To apply, please fill out the application form below (you will need to submit a include a maximum two-page curriculum vitae and a letter of interest explaining why you would like to participate in the project, relevant qualifications and experience (and, for faculty, relevant research). Primary consideration will be given to applications received by March 29.

For further enquiries, please contact WE1S Co-Director Scott Kleinman (scott.kleinman@csun.edu).