UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1343

Research Mentor Information
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Primary Research Mentor Name: Christell Victoria Roach
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns: she/her/hers
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific?: Professor Roach
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): cvroach@fsu.edu
Position Title: Graduate Student
Faculty Advisor Name: Dr. Lamar Wilson
Faculty Advisor's FSU Email: llwilson@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/21311/CVR.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)
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Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above): {Empty}
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific?: {Empty}
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): {Empty}
Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable): {Empty}
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific?: {Empty}
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): {Empty}

Overall Project Details
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Title of the Project: Over the Town: Cultural Cartography through Digital Humanities
Project Keywords: Digital Humanities, Creative Writing, Interdisciplinary Studies, Archival Research, Public Storytelling
Are you currently looking for research assistants?: Yes
Number of Research Assistants Needed : 4
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s):
Open to All Majors: 

specifically... 
History
English / Creative Writing
African American Studies
Communication / Media Studies
Anthropology
Digital 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?: {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?: 7
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 project explores historic sites and communities across Florida through the lens of digital humanities. Building on my augmented reality (AR) storytelling app, Over the Town (OTOWN), students will research towns such as Eatonville, Rosewood, Sistrunk (Fort Lauderdale), and Coconut Grove, uncovering histories that dominant archives have abandoned. For each site beyond Tallahassee, students will also discover their own site in Tallahassee to explore and practice archiving in real time.

This research makes use of multiple methods to combat silencing and erasure — making "something out of nothing." Importantly, each of these sites contains historically Black stories we will uncover and amplify. Violence toward Black bodies has never been our history. In an effort to decenter oppressive narratives, we will research both place and people, foregrounding resilience, creativity, and community.

Each student will engage in archival research, oral history, and field documentation of a specific community, then synthesize their findings into both scholarly analysis and creative storytelling. Students will also have the opportunity to author their own narrative or poem about the site and potentially record their voice as a narrator within the OTOWN app. In this way, research becomes not only preservation, but also public art and digital archiving.

This is a truly interdisciplinary project that merges history, literature, media studies, anthropology, and technology— while also serving as a community-engaged initiative to preserve heritage in Florida.

Research Tasks:
Conduct archival research and oral history interviews.
Write and record a short creative or narrative piece about the site
Document cultural sites through photography, mapping, or audio. 
Explore permissions and access for sharing archival and familial content.
Create digital platform for the historic site (website, blog, etc.)
Collaborate across disciplines to integrate research and storytelling into a digital humanities project.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need::
Interest in history, Southern studies, Black heritage, or diaspora studies.
Strong writing and research skills (for humanities students).
Basic digital media or storytelling experience (for comms/creative writers).
Curiosity, openness, and willingness to collaborate across disciplines.
Interest in public storytelling and community engagement.
Strong organization, creative curiosity, and a willingness to immerse yourself in a different world.

Mentoring Philosophy:
My mentoring is rooted in collaboration, creativity, and community. I see research as comprehensive storytelling, and I encourage students to approach history and culture not just as information to be studied, but as living narratives they can help uncover, preserve, and share. I believe in creating a space where students feel empowered to bring their own skills, backgrounds, and voices into the work—whether that means writing, documenting, curating, performing, or even coding!

I mentor by modeling rigor and curiosity: asking difficult questions, digging into silenced histories, and practicing care in how we represent people and places. Because this project is interdisciplinary, I encourage students to learn from one another’s strengths and to take risks outside their comfort zones. Importantly, I take pride in my identity and heritage — and I want to encourage a curiosity in other minoritized students that is self-actualizing, and capable of defying complacency and ignorance in society. Ta-Nehisi Coates says, "In America, it is traditional to destroy the Black body." I encourage everyone to reject, overcome, and rediscover histories that depend upon their silence and ignorance. Leonard Pitts says, "our ancestors deserve the dignity of memory—" I want to encourage love offerings, passion projects, and stubborn queries in everyone. 

Most importantly, this project is for everyone***. While it may speak to specific communities, I hope to inspire students with a replicable methodology for uncovering the stories they are uniquely capable of telling.

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):: https://www.cvrpoet.com
Please add any additional information here (if applicable)::
This project is part of my YoungArts Fellowship, my dissertation research, and is directly connected to my forthcoming books of poetry. Students will have multiple opportunities for creative engagement outside of research hours, including performances, readings, hosted events, and special invitations offered exclusively to research mentees.

I believe in getting work into the community in the most accessible way possible—through public performances, digital exhibitions, and interactive storytelling events. Mentees will not only contribute to an interdisciplinary research project, but also take part in the creative process of bringing this work into the world.

CVR


Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable?: Yes
Roundtable times and Zoom links:
Wednesday, September 3: 12:00 PM — 02:30 PM
Friday, September 5: 11:00 AM — 1:00 PM
Friday, September 5: 3:00 PM — 5:00 PM

https://fsu.zoom.us/j/98897987766

Roundtable Info:
- Day: Wednesday, September 3
  Start Time: 12:00
  End Time: 12:30
  Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/launch/chat?src=direct_chat_link&email=cvr22%40fsu.edu
- Day: Wednesday, September 3
  Start Time: 12:30
  End Time: 1:00
  Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/launch/chat?src=direct_chat_link&email=cvr22%40fsu.edu
- Day: Wednesday, September 3
  Start Time: 1:00
  End Time: 1:30
  Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/launch/chat?src=direct_chat_link&email=cvr22%40fsu.edu
- Day: Wednesday, September 3
  Start Time: 1:30
  End Time: 2:00
  Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/launch/chat?src=direct_chat_link&email=cvr22%40fsu.edu
- Day: Thursday, September 4
  Start Time: 7:00
  End Time: 7:30
  Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/launch/chat?src=direct_chat_link&email=cvr22%40fsu.edu
- Day: Thursday, September 4
  Start Time: 7:30
  End Time: 8:00
  Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/launch/chat?src=direct_chat_link&email=cvr22%40fsu.edu
- Day: Friday, September 5
  Start Time: 3:00
  End Time: 3:30
  Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/launch/chat?src=direct_chat_link&email=cvr22%40fsu.edu
- Day: Friday, September 5
  Start Time: 3:30
  End Time: 4:00
  Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/launch/chat?src=direct_chat_link&email=cvr22%40fsu.edu
- Day: Friday, September 5
  Start Time: 4:00
  End Time: 4:30
  Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/launch/chat?src=direct_chat_link&email=cvr22%40fsu.edu
- Day: Friday, September 5
  Start Time: 4:30
  End Time: 5:00
  Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/launch/chat?src=direct_chat_link&email=cvr22%40fsu.edu

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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