The Violence of American Sugar: Research Assistants (Japanese language skills required)
Bernadette Pérez, Professor
History
Applications for Spring 2025 are closed for this project.
Colorado was one of the largest producers of sugar during the twentieth century, and it relied on Asian, Latino, Eastern European, and Native American migrant workers. The Violence of American Sugar is a book-length study of the Colorado beet sugar industry that examines the environmental dimensions of civil rights, sovereignty, and labor movements in the beet fields. I am in the final stages of preparing the book for initial submission to the press.
Role: I hope to recruit 3-4 research assistants to help finalize the draft manuscript during Spring 2025. At least one must have proficient (ideally fluent) Japanese language skills. The work will include: reviewing digitized Japanese language newspapers from the 1920s to the 1940s for articles on the industry and summarizing them in English; contacting museums and libraries to secure image permissions for the book; locating maps for potential use in the book; and other miscellaneous research tasks necessary to finalize the draft.
Qualifications: In this final call, I hope to recruit at least one student who has proficient (ideally fluent) Japanese language skills.
Hours: to be negotiated
Off-Campus Research Site: Most of the research can be done remotely or at the Bancroft Library. Team meetings will be held in Dwinelle Hall.
Arts & Humanities Social Sciences