Summer Research Incubator

As part of your application to the Summer Research Incubator, you will be asked to choose an area of research inquiry (as well as two back-up areas) to work on this summer. The areas of inquiry are below.

Research Inquiry 1: How do migration and labor intersect in Los Angeles? 

Los Angeles has a long history of migration and labor dating back to the late 1800s. The city currently houses thousands of workers in various industries, including the garment, service, care, and construction industries. Many of these workers are also migrants who arrived from regions such as India, Latin America, and Asia, often in response to social, political, and economic-based reasons. In addition, since the 1800s, the United States has called upon the labor of migrants from across the globe, resulting in ethnic, gendered, and industrial shifts in labor. It is undeniable that migrants have greatly contributed to Los Angeles’ social and cultural, physical, and economic landscape. Yet, as much of the literature shows, migrants and workers in Los Angeles have historically faced and combatted various layers of social, political, and economic inequality, including wage theft, exploitation, discrimination, and more. What would it mean to use analytical lenses from labor and migration studies to trace historical labor in Los Angeles or in relation to Los Angeles? What new insights might we gain by exploring various facets surrounding migration and labor in Los Angeles, including globalization, gender, race, and physical space? Focusing on the case study of Los Angeles, this project will provide students interested in labor, history, migration, race, and gender with an opportunity to explore how migration and labor take shape in Los Angeles. 

 

Research Inquiry 2: How do race and socioeconomic factors impact marginalized students of color in higher education?  

Historical injustices, policies, and practices continue to disadvantage marginalized students of color in accessing higher education. These disparities widen the educational gaps among communities of color and their counterparts. Students of color have access to fewer resources while facing more social, structural, and financial barriers to entry and advancement in higher education. The overturning of affirmative action policy in the summer of 2023 continues to create new and pressing systematic challenges and barriers for students of color. This research inquiry will utilize critical race theories among other critical frameworks to examine and analyze the experiences of students of color in higher education, and explore how to better support them to succeed and thrive. We will also consider the various institutional, social, and political issues, practices, and policies—such as the pandemic, public health disparities, socioeconomic inequities, and gender discrimination among others—that are intertwined with higher education. This research inquiry will be of interest to students studying education, political science, ethnic studies, history, gender studies, and other related fields.  

 

Research Inquiry 3: How do queer folks use performance to move closer to a sense of belonging? 

Queer folks have always carved out their own spaces of belonging. These spaces have historically taken on many forms, from underground clubs to non-profit organizations, book clubs to massive urban parades. With the rise of queer representation and visibility through film, music, social media, and other mediums, belonging seems to be possible in increasingly new ways. This project looks to today’s queer people and artists, and particularly towards queer artists of color, to see how queerness and performance have evolved to fit the landscape of the 21st century. We will address the following questions: How do queer people and artists reckon with queerness through performance? How do they redefine queerness? How does queerness intersect with race? Are there ways queer performers are pushing us to think of queerness beyond the scope of sexuality, and if so, how? How do different modes of performance—music, film, performance art, street performances, drag, and more—affect the audience’s engagement with queerness? This project will thus allow students interested in the humanities and social sciences, gender and sexuality, performance, race, and their intersections to explore the power and potential of performance for queer folks.  

  

Research Inquiry 4: How do we address translation and the role it plays—past, present, and future—within the struggle for social justice and equity?  

The practice, purpose, and business of translation are all undergoing incredible shifts as technology and global capital continue to evolve and morph. This research area will focus on the following questions: what role/s do/es language/s play in the struggle for social justice? Are certain translation practices better or more ethical than others when it comes to addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion? Can translation play a role in addressing what many see as a crisis of democracy occurring around the world? Are there historical examples where translation played a central role in addressing inequities in particular ignored or underserved communities? What are the future opportunities and risks as translation technologies (Google Translate, ChatGPT) alter, augment, or even remove the traditional role of the translator? Will these technologies lead to more possibilities for coalition building across time and space or will these technologies privilege and reinforce hegemonic biases? This research area will be of interest to students studying literature, cultural studies, media studies, political science, history, as well as linguistics and language studies more broadly. 

  

Research Inquiry 5: What role does media play in the development and understanding of intersectional identity formation? 

Media and popular culture are heavy influencing factors of identity formation, particularly now in our age of widespread internet and media access. This project invites students to ask research questions that interrogate the relationship between media and overlapping identities. How are the intersections of multiple identities (class, race, gender, etc.) acknowledged in tv and film in your community? What role does social media play in the development and understanding of identity formation? What facets of interlocking identities affect social media usage and interaction? How have concepts of self-identity evolved with the development of social media and on-demand media? This project is aimed at students interested in questions of positionality, identity formation, digital humanities, and intersectionality, and may appeal to students in anthropology, sociology, race, gender and ethnic studies, theater, film, and television and media studies.  

  

Research Inquiry 6: What curricula, programs, and policies can schools implement to best support immigrant students?  

Challenges around immigration are not new; throughout US history there have been waves of migration that have posed complex questions around belonging, membership, and community. Immigration has become even more pertinent in political and social discourse over the last two decades, particularly with the rise of right-wing extremism and the election of Trump in 2016 and the legitimized anti-immigrant rhetoric that accompanied his win. These challenges and complexities have permeated deeply into almost every aspect of society, and one such area that poses particular challenges—and polarizing rhetoric—is education and schooling. A recent increase in immigration has led to an increase in immigrant students attending schools across the country, raising pressing questions around how to best support immigrant students. And while significant strides have been made within education policy to support immigrant students glaring disparities remain, particularly around access to postsecondary education and career opportunities. Given the current sociopolitical context, and the rising anti-immigration rhetoric, what are the best approaches to support immigrant students in schools? How can schools be safe environments for immigrant students, and in what ways does the curriculum impact immigrant students’ sense of belonging? What kind of programs and policies can schools implement to end disparities facing immigrant students? This research area will be of interest to students studying education, political science, history, race, gender and ethnic studies.  

  

Research Area 7: How do movements on- and off-line shape social justice projects? 

This research area focuses on the intersection of media circulation, physical movements, and social justice organizing, attending to the ways that popular culture can be a battleground for social change. Social movements have historically involved direct actions in which people physically engage in protests, civil disobedience, and other events aimed toward changing varied aspects of the status quo. Yet they have also been entangled with media circulation, as people seek to change or reinforce public opinions through newspaper articles, live broadcasts, scripted content, and recent manifestations on social media like tweets, memes, reels, infographics, and more. How, then, do bodily movements and digital movements converge to advance social justice? This project will examine whose movements are circulated, by whom and for whom, across multiple media forms, linking aesthetic strategies, popular culture trends, movements for social justice, and the backlash against them. Movements will be analyzed utilizing an intersectional lens, considering how social structures of race, gender, sexuality, class, and citizenship impact whose movements go viral and whose are overwhelmingly shadowbanned. This research area will appeal to students interested in the arts, media studies, politics, information studies, and race, gender, and ethnicity studies who want to explore how these spheres come together to advance or thwart progressive social change.