Project Mentor
Dr. Jeremy Pressman
Department: Political Science
Research Project Overview:
Scholars, especially in political science and sociology, have long been interested in the *consequences* of protests. In popular parlance, do protests matter? In 2020, the protests after the death of George Floyd were the largest recorded protests in US history. By some accounts, tens of millions of people participated. What was the impact of this anti-racist movement as well as the counter-protests that followed?
As part of a multi-university, grant-funded project to build a typology of attitudinal, political, and societal impacts of the protest movement and counter-movement, we are also interested in cultural venues. We have already done some work on museum exhibits in the 10 US cities on which we are focusing. This summer research project will focus on impacts on the dramatic arts in theaters. Was the choice of plays that were performed in 2021 and 2022 affected by the protests in 2020?
Role of a SHARE Summer Apprentice:
The research apprentice will help build a small dataset (or spreadsheet) of theaters in 10 specific US cities. The student will start by identifying the various dramatic venues in each city. By visiting the websites of the different theaters, the student will enter information about the plays that were performed and the topics they addressed. The aim will be to enter plays from 2018-2022 so we have the ability to compare what topics were covered before and after the 2020 protests. The project is scalable, meaning if it takes a long time to research each city the student might complete a couple of cities whereas if the information is readily available and data entry moves quickly, the student might complete 5-10 cities over the summer.
I will work with the student on honing internet research skills to build the venue list and find play information. We will discuss what categories of information are needed for each play (and how the different types of information might be organized to help demonstrate the cultural impacts of protests). We will consider the best way to organize and manage the data. We will also consider what other kinds of information might be useful, e.g. statements by play directors or theater directors; or media reports about the impact of (anti-)racism on performances and their selection. Most of these skills – data collection, coding information, data entry, internet sleuthing, spreadsheet management – will be transferable to other academic or professional projects such as papers or honors theses.
Summer Schedule/Time Commitment:
The exact hours are flexible, but the project probably works best if the apprentice spreads them out. It would help if the work is completed by August 15.
Meetings can be arranged on an ad-hoc basis; there is no pre-set time. The time commitment can work around other commitments an apprentice may have (i.e. summer courses, study abroad, job).
Preferred Qualifications:
Apprentices must be comfortable working with Google Sheets/Excel and have access to the internet and a personal computer/Chromebook.
Interest in political science, protests, sociology, and/or the theatrical arts is preferred.
To Apply:
The application is closed.