Project Description: Virulent Hate, led by Dr. Melissa May Borja, is a digital humanities project using news media to research trends in anti-Asian racism and Asian American activism during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We identify, analyze, and map incidents of anti-Asian harassment and stigmatization, as well as diverse forms of anti-racism activism undertaken at the local, state, and national levels. By focusing on stories reported in news media, we go beyond the big numbers to showcase the thousands of stories of how individuals and communities responded to the surge in anti-Asian racism and violence during 2020 and 2021.
 

Job Description: Virulent Hate is seeking to hire 4 Graduate Research Assistants that will assist in data collection and cleaning efforts to ensure that incidents of anti-Asian racism and anti-racism activism are ethically and accurately documented. Graduate Research Assistants will gain experience with digital humanities methods, data collection, and inclusive description. Additionally, graduate research assistants will contribute to the development of a dataset that will support future digital resources including interactive databases, visualizations, maps, and reports.
 

Responsibilities:

1. Categorize and create metadata for incidents of anti-Asian racism and anti-racism activism, following standard operating procedures.

2. Write descriptions of incidents following team guidelines and best practices in inclusive description.

3. Attend and contribute to one-on-one and team research meetings.
    

Time Commitment and Schedule:

1. 10-12 hours per week.

2. The Graduate Research Assistant should expect to meet with the lead investigator and/or project manager on a regular basis.

3. At the start of the project, there will be synchronous, virtual training sessions (~2 hours per week for 4 weeks). The student will work with the lead investigator and/or project manager to schedule these sessions around course commitments.

4. Except for weekly meetings and training sessions, the schedule is flexible. Individual research work can be conducted on the student-researcher’s own time.

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Currently enrolled in or a recent graduate from a Masters program in Library and Information Science, History, Ethnic Studies, Cultural Studies, or related fields.

2. Ability to work independently and methodically.

3. Ability to read and analyze texts carefully, with an attention to detail.

4. Good communication skills and careful attention to language.

5. Willingness to learn to use digital tools such as database and project management software.
    

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Experience writing for the public.

2. Experience studying racism or anti-racist practice.
    

To Apply:

Applicants should send their resume or CV, along with a brief cover letter or statement explaining their interest in the position to the Department of American Culture at AC.inq@umich.edu