UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1064

Research Mentor Information
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Primary Research Mentor Name: Jade Jemison
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns: She/Her
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific?: {Empty}
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): ij24@fsu.edu
Position Title: Graduate Student
Faculty Advisor Name: Ravi Howard
Faculty Advisor's FSU Email: ryhoward@fsu.edu
FSU College (if applicable): Arts and Sciences
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation: English
Headshot (optional): https://cre.fsu.edu/system/files/webform/urop_project_proposal_portal/19916/headshots.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)
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Overall Project Details
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Title of the Project: Media, Mothers, Memory-Making
Project Keywords: Black Feminist Thought, Ethnography, Qualitative Research, Subjectivity in Research, Memory, Literature
Are you currently looking for research assistants?: No
Number of Research Assistants Needed : 2
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s):
Open to all majors: Some examples that will be most useful.
Literature, Media, and Culture (LMC)
Creative Writing
Sociology
Anthropology
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS)
African American Studies
Psychology (especially students interested in identity, memory, or trauma)
Media/Film Studies
Digital Humanities
Data Science (especially those interested in thematic tagging, metadata, and archiving)
Education (those focused on youth, family, or cultural pedagogy)

Project Location:: On FSU Main Campus
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation?: city bus
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?: 6-8
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 UROP project is part of a larger dissertation exploring Black motherhood, identity, and cultural representation through creative nonfiction and media critique. Mentees will assist in analyzing film, television, and digital content that centers mother-daughter relationships and Black maternal themes across time. Through guided reflection, media analysis, and archival organization, students will learn to interrogate the cultural narratives that shape our understanding of motherhood, with a particular focus on Black maternal figures. This research emphasizes subjectivity, reflexivity, and the political stakes of interpretation, inviting students to both observe and situate themselves within the research.

Research Tasks:
Keep track of time via workspace (Time Squared or Google Docs)
Analyze selected films, television shows, and media texts for maternal themes and patterns.
Engage in biweekly reflexivity journaling and ethnographic note-taking.
Identify and tag recurring themes or tropes related to motherhood and daughterhood.
Organize findings in a shared digital workspace (e.g., Notion or Google Drive).
Participate in informal discussions about identity, subjectivity, and representation.
Contribute to a final presentation for the UROP Spring Symposium.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need::
Due to the thematic focus for my project, mentees should have personal experience navigating a mother-daughter or maternal relationship — whether through lived experience, caregiving roles, or as someone shaped by maternal figures. This may include complex, estranged, or non-traditional dynamics.
Critical media literacy and cultural analysis
Reflexive writing and self-assessment
Qualitative data organization and tagging
Archival thinking and thematic categorization
Awareness of subjectivity and researcher positionality
Collaborative research and communication

Mentoring Philosophy:
My mentoring style is grounded in care, connection, and critical reflection (on both sides). I aim to foster a safe, open, and supportive environment where students feel seen, respected, and encouraged to explore both their intellectual and personal growth. 
My approach is collaborative and student-centered. I meet mentees where they are, tailoring my involvement to their individual needs — whether that means hands-on support, structured guidance, or room for autonomy. In addition to our research expectations, our time together will include regular check-ins, conversations about future goals, and shared strategies for navigating difficult topics or relationships, especially those that intersect with our research themes. 
I also believe that mentorship should be reciprocal and humanizing. I bring in my own lived experience and vulnerabilities where relevant, not to center myself, but to model growth, accountability, and the courage to ask hard questions. We will work together not only on skill-building and research development, but on how to build networks, receive feedback, manage emotional labor, and sustain curiosity in the face of challenges.
Ultimately, I want students to leave our work together with more confidence in their voice, a deeper understanding of their positionality, and tools they can carry into both academic and personal pursuits.

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):: {Empty}
Please add any additional information here (if applicable)::
Hours spent watching media included in mentoring hours


Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable?: Yes
Roundtable times and Zoom links:
September 3rd, at 1-130pm 
https://fsu.zoom.us/j/94201163568
and 
September 5, at 1-130pm
https://fsu.zoom.us/j/99476906529

Roundtable Info:
- Day: Wednesday, September 3
  Start Time: 1:00
  End Time: 1:30
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/94201163568
- Day: Friday, September 5
  Start Time: 1:00
  End Time: 1:30
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/99476906529

UROP Program Elements
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Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication: Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation: Yes
Materials Grant: Yes
UROP Poster Presentation: Yes
Faculty Advisor Confirmation: Yes

Are you interested in attending in a UROP Research Mentor Workshop Series?: No
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Year: 2025
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