UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1319

Submission information
Submission Number: 1319
Submission ID: 21191
Submission UUID: 9c361938-9fff-4a87-9f4d-1598eb77a927

Created: Fri, 08/22/2025 - 01:32 PM
Completed: Fri, 08/22/2025 - 01:43 PM
Changed: Mon, 08/25/2025 - 11:21 AM

Remote IP address: 46.110.204.3
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Primary Research Mentor Name Rebecca Ballard
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns she/her
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific? Dr.
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) rebecca.ballard@fsu.edu
Position Title Faculty
FSU College (if applicable) Arts and Sciences
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation English
Headshot (optional) PXL_20230621_214626846.jpg
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above)
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific?
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated)
Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable)
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific?
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated)
Title of the Project Genre Frictions
Project Keywords science fiction, genre studies, social movements
Are you currently looking for research assistants? Maybe one more
Number of Research Assistants Needed 2
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) Humanistic majors/minors, or other majors with strong interest and background in the humanities
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation?
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): In-person
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? 5-10
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 My book project, tentatively titled Genre Frictions: Speculative Articulations of Environmental Justice, investigates how structural and environmental understandings of violence that began to emerge in the 1960s shaped both U.S. fiction and U.S. social movements from the 1970s to the present and shows how environmental justice has been articulated through the speculative. Each chapter explores how different forms of environmental harm and different moments of environmental justice created representational pressures that contemporary U.S. authors solved by turning to speculative genres (science fiction, magical realism, apocalypse, gothic) and using those genres to narrate everyday life. This year, I am submitting the manuscript for editorial review and awaiting reader reports. I am looking for research assistants to participate in the process of editing, revising, and preparing the manuscript, which may include copyediting, citation checking, supplemental research literature reviews, and indexing.
Research Tasks copyediting, checking quotations and citations, conducting targeted literature reviews for supplemental research for book and/or future projects depending on timeline, indexing
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Attention to detail: required
BASIC familiarity with library databases and academic research resources: required (further training and support to be provided)
Strong communication and organization skills: required
Mentoring Philosophy I see research assistantships as a collaborative relationship in which students not only help support my academic work, but also learn in a hands-on fashion about the process by which humanistic research enquiry proceeds. I structure research assistantships such that students scaffold up from simpler and supervised to more complex and independent inquiries, developing and pursuing their own research questions along the way.
Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):
Please add any additional information here (if applicable):
Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable? Yes
Roundtable times and Zoom links
Roundtable Info
  • Day: Friday, September 5
    Start Time: 12:00
    End Time: 12:30
    Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/98168539478
Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation Yes
Materials Grant Yes
UROP Poster Presentation Yes
Year 2025
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