Research Mentor Information
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Primary Research Mentor Name: Matthew Mewhinney
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific?: Prof. or Dr.
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): mmewhinney@fsu.edu
Position Title: Faculty
FSU College (if applicable): Arts and Sciences
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation: Modern Languages & Linguistics
Headshot (optional): https://cre.fsu.edu/system/files/webform/urop_project_proposal_portal/13971/Mewhinney-477x636.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)
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Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above): {Empty}
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Overall Project Details
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Title of the Project: Reading and Feeling with Japanese Literature
Project Keywords: reading, feeling, literature, nature, imagery, Japan
Are you currently looking for research assistants?: Yes
Number of Research Assistants Needed : 6
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s):
Open to all majors

Project Location:: On FSU Main Campus
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation?: {Empty}
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s):: Partially Remote
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work?: 5-10 hours
Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work?: Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Overall Research Project Description:
This research project explores the experience of reading works of Japanese literature in English translation. The goal is to locate and document passages in the narrative that invite the reader's sympathy/empathy. Such passages include descriptions of natural imagery (e.g., sky, sea, water, mountains), human loss (e.g., the death of a character), grieving/mourning, and forms of healing or renewal. The student will be assigned any number of Japanese titles (all novels or works of prose fiction that have been translated into English) to read over the course of one or more semesters. The number of titles will depend on the student's UROP work hours and how long it takes for the student to finish reading a novel. The student will keep a digital reading log, where he/she/they types out passages from the text. In the process the student will learn how to practice proper citation.  The student will meet with the research mentor at least once a month to share the reading log and report on reading progress. 

Research Tasks:
literature review (reading Japanese fiction in English translation), data collection (typing quotes/passages onto a word document/spreadsheet)

Skills that research assistant(s) may need::
Required: Being able to read English fluently
Required: Being able to use Microsoft Office (e.g., Microsoft Word and/or Microsoft Excel)
Recommended: Being interested in reading great works of literature (e.g., prose fiction, novels), especially those from a different cultural context (i.e., Japan).

Mentoring Philosophy:
My goal when teaching or mentoring students is to foster growth, knowing that students grow at different rates. I try to meet students where they are, while also giving them opportunities to grow, hoping that they will complete their coursework or research project with me more skilled and more confident about reading literature than when they had first arrived. One question that informs all my teaching and mentoring is what literature can reveal about the human imagination, and I like to explore this question with students either in the classroom or in one-on-one research projects. Research is always an ongoing conversation, so I look forward to developing my own research projects by talking with students and exchanging ideas in a safe, welcoming, and interactive learning environment. Since my proposed research project is all about the experience of reading and finding passages in a work of literature that make us—the common reader—feel something and asking why such passages make us feel that way, there is no "right" answer, so to speak. Everything is on the table, and I am open to all ideas. I am excited to think through this new research project with the help of undergraduate students who enjoy reading.

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):: https://modlang.fsu.edu/person/matthew-mewhinney
Please add any additional information here (if applicable)::
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UROP Program Elements
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Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication: Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation: Yes
Materials Grant: Yes
UROP Poster Presentation: Yes

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Year: 2024
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