State of Mind: Understanding State Secessionist Movements in Context
Clancy Wilmott, Professor
Geography
Closed. This professor is continuing with Fall 2024 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Spring 2025.
General Description
The breaking apart of the American state is as old as the concept of the United States itself. This project seeks to document the scale of state secessionist movements through time using primary and secondary sources.
The broader context of this project is a study of the co-creation of space at the intersection of rural right-wing sociopolitical movements, climate collapse, and social media. This is to rethink how we theorize the creation of space, and more specifically, how we may or may not conceptualize distance/proximity to better explain the dynamics of right-wing movements, the rural-urban divide, online communities, and how all these things intersect.
Role: Duties will include:
+ co-create a database of state secessionist movements
+ find and document data sources (archival research/online research)
+ discuss/shape project direction with day-to-day supervisor
+ read literature related to the topic of state secessionist movements
The ideal candidate would be ready to engage with the supervisor on the question of how to make the resulting research available to the broader public.
Qualifications: This position would suit a creative and motivated undergraduate student with an interest in US History, political polarization, fringe political movements, social media or critical theory. We are not discipline-specific and welcome applications from undergraduates from all majors + minors.
Required:
+ Knowledge of US History and federal/state processes
+ Self-directed and engaged with the topic
+ Goal-oriented with excellent time management skills
+ Ability to learn quickly and follow instructions
+ Exceptional attention to detail
Desirable but not essential:
+ Experience with creating qualitative databases
+ Experience with building webpages
+ Interested in engaging with readings concerning geographic theory
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Alexis Wood, Graduate Student
Hours: 3-5 hrs
Related website: http://www.somsom.org
Engineering, Design & Technologies Digital Humanities and Data Science