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Student Employment Opportunity: Research Assistant for Mapping Cultural Networks Project-Extended

Top color photograph of KU-Leuven library at night, and bottom domed building 10 seen across a green lawnThe Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) and Project Cornelia at the University of Leuven (Department of Art History), Belgium, have been awarded a MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) Global Seed Fund grant to explore spatial and temporal mapping of networks of cultural influence among the creators of visual and material culture (artists, architects, and the like), as well as the subsequent ‘life’ of the works they create. How can we “map” or otherwise visually represent relationships of collaboration, influence, and patronage across time and space? How can Digital Humanities tools help us to follow the fate of works over time as they are bought, sold, collected, copied, transported, displayed, hidden, stolen, lost, renovated, restored, destroyed or even recreated? 

We seek a student researcher with a keen interest in Digital Humanities and the visual arts. The student researchers will work with teams of AKDC@MIT and Project Cornelia to explore these issues and evaluate the possibilities of future collaboration between the two groups. Supervised by Dr. Michael Toler, Archnet Content Manager in AKDC@MIT, and Dr. Koenraad Brosens, Professor of Art History at KU-Leuven, the student will begin by surveying the efforts of each institution in order to assess the ways in which they can complement or supplement one another. The student will also survey related Digital Humanities projects, to situate these projects within the larger DH landscape, and identify scholars with data that is likely to benefit from analysis and presentation using these tools.  

Location: For the foreseeable future, training and work will be carried out remotely. Applicants should have access to robust internet connections and their own computer. 

Term of employment: The initial term of employment will be for the remainder of the academic year. 

Required Qualifications: 

  • Currently enrolled graduate or undergraduate student at MIT or KU-Leuven
  • Web programming experience 
  • Familiarity with web visualization libraries (D3 or other)
  • Basic familiarity with GIS 
  • Creativity and ability to shift between conceptual and detail-oriented tasks 

Desired Qualifications: 

  • A good eye for visual design
  • Experience with or knowledge of the fundamentals of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Experience with of knowledge Information Visualization design (Infovis of other)
  • Graduate and undergraduates from any institution may apply, though preference will be given to students affiliated with one of the partner institutions.

Hours: Between 10-35 hours weekly depending on the tasks and student availability.

Wage: $20 / hour

Procedure: Prepare of gather a cover letter and CV/resume, including contact information for 3 references. Complete the application form and upload the documents at https://akdc-mit.typeform.com/to/mGmJGX7b

Application Deadline: Open until filled.


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