Current Opportunities

Nineteenth-Century German Women's Popular Literature in America Professor is seeing assistance with a project on German popular literature in translations, the American publishers who published it, and the women who translated it.  Tasks involved would be to track down and help procure these now hard-to-find books online insofar as they are available through worldcat, googlebooks, or second-hand book sellers; to track down American reviews of these books online using various databanks; and to research nineteenth-century articles, encyclopedias, and books on German literature in general to get a sense of what Americans generally thought German literature to be.  As the project develops additional tasks will arise and will be assigned to the assistant depending on his or her research skills.  I'm looking for two to four hours per week and can be flexible around midterm and other exam times.  German language skills would be a plus, but aren't required.  The project could continue for the whole year, but the assistant would only need to commit to one semester.

 British Literary Societies RA needed for research on cultural practices and influence of British literary societies from their inception in the last decades of the Victorian period to the present. Perhaps the most familiar are the Jane Austen and Bronte Societies, but there are currently over a hundred such societies registered with the Alliance of British Literary Societies, an umbrella organization established in 1973 to pool resources, share information,and provide logistical assistance to new societies.  My objectives are to to examine the impact these highly influential organizations of "enthusiasts" have had and continue to have on literary production, distribution, reception and evaluation and to explore the myriad ways in which British reading communities have experienced literature over time.

An assistant would help read through the full run of the journals of these societies, noting organizational changes, the changing subject matter of submitted papers, and composition of governing councils.  Also need some bibliographical assistance, searching for information on societies in the popular press and British media, and looking through the publications of selected societies. I also have hours of taped interviews that will need transcription.

Six hours per week - flexible.  Student must be a quick reader, able to grasp the intent of the project and translate that into an apprehension of what material would be most interest.  Some knowledge of British fiction of the 19th century would be nice, but not required.

Assistance is required in the ongoing development of a fall semester, 2009, IPH course on the "Legend of King Arthur in the Middle Ages."  Duties will include: bibliographical research using online databases and catalogues, retrieval of articles in electronic and print format, development of Telesis course site, and collaboration on audiovisual presentations using PowerPoint including Internet searches for images and text.  The position will also require some clerical duties, such as photocopying and scanning of articles for ARES.  3-5 hours employment per week, including weekly meetings.  Assistant will need to practice excellent judgment concerning the value and reliability of Internet resources.  Reading knowledge of French or German an asset but not required.

Assistance is required in research for and maintenance of the poetry website of the Thomas Hardy Association.  Duties will range from the clerical (copying, scanning, trips to the library) tot he technical (implementing expansion of website contents) and the academic (surveys of secondary sources and databases, proofreading, and feedback on newly written material).  Knowledge of website authoring programs is essential.  3-4 hours of work per week on average.

Representations of Laughter Assistance needed for a project on representations of laughter in literature and visual culture.  The research addresses concerns about the physiognomic reading of the laughing face and it's translation into social and moral codes.  Duties will include collecting and organizing research materials, ordering materials through the inter-library loan, reading primary material, and some photocopying.  (5 hours per week).