UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #588

Submission information
Submission Number: 588
Submission ID: 9216
Submission UUID: f9897a7c-d29c-4b51-a22d-65785f1faeef

Created: Fri, 08/25/2023 - 12:52 PM
Completed: Fri, 08/25/2023 - 03:39 PM
Changed: Thu, 09/28/2023 - 11:44 AM

Remote IP address: 216.173.171.14
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Primary Research Mentor Name Benjamin Gunter
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns he, his, him
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific? Dr.
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) bgunter@fsu.edu
Position Title Faculty
FSU College (if applicable) Fine Arts
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation Theater with a Mission
Headshot (optional) Ben Gunter as John Quincy Adams with diary.jpg
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above) Idy Codington
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns she, hers, her
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific? Ms.
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) idycodington@gmail.com
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 *** Diversifying Tallahassee’s Bicentennial
Project Keywords theater, reenactment, Florida history, Tallahassee
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?
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? 7.5
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 Step inside Tallahassee’s Bicentennial and discover Florida’s multicultural roots. Join a diverse investigative team with two mentors to research what happened when Florida Territory decided it needed a new capital. Investigate the backstory of the two commissioners who were appointed to select the new capital city’s site in 1823. Explore the culture of Natives who had already homesteaded New Tallahassee, the Blacks who had already established villages in Apalachee country, and the crackers who were already farming Florida between the Apalachicola and the Suwannee. Document the proclamation that made Tallahassee into Florida’s lawmaking center in 1824. Examine the laws that early Territorial Councils passed and connect them to culture wars today. See your research turn into theatrical time-travel and hands-on activities at public events that explore Tallahassee’s Bicentennial in 2024.
Research Tasks We’ll start with orientation. You’ll get a crash course in how Tallahassee became Florida Territory’s capital through assigned readings – selected passages from histories like "Red, White and Bluebloods in Frontier Florida" and "Antebellum Tallahassee," plus deep dives into primary documents like the journals of Williams and Simmons (the two commissioners appointed to select the new capital’s site). You’ll get to see what you’re reading about, first person, in targeted group excursions to authentic Territorial sites (e.g., Lake Jackson Mounds, Mission San Luis, Goodwood Museum & Gardens, and the Tallahassee Museum).

We’ll proceed to specialization. You’ll select one facet of Tallahassee’s origin story that speaks to you, and become our resident expert on that particular aspect of the Bicentennial. You’ll build an annotated bibliography of sources about that person/place/cultural activity – sources that flesh out how Floridians can connect with that character/law/duel/structure/recipe/portrait/food today. With the help of two mentors and five fellow UROP members, you’ll dig up primary sources that document your chosen family/focus/financial shenanigan and produce research-based suggestions for how to reenact a high point from your point of view during Tallahassee’s Two Hundredth.
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Five essential skills are required for succeeding in “Diversifying Tallahassee’s Bicentennial”:
1. Curiosity, since the past does not reveal itself unless you look for it.
2. Collaboration, since reconstructing context makes history come to life, for you, your teammates, and your audiences.
3. Commitment to learning, since every research project demands diligence, hits snags, and profits by calling others in to help.
4. Time management, since UROP calls for averaging 7.5 hours of work per week over 2 semesters of research, and a project this large calls for breaking big goals into manageable bites.
5. Technological know-how, since your research will involve strategic use of digital libraries, our team meetings will include Zoom, and your research progress will be posted on a Google Drive.
Mentoring Philosophy We find that research (like rehearsing a play) achieves breakthroughs when people work together to examine turning points from lots of different viewpoints. History comes to life when you learn to read between the lines, tapping into subtext. That’s why our approach to mentoring is collaborative, guided, and flexible.

We believe in giving you lots of team support as you put into practice a research process that we have repeatedly proven effective.

And we believe in giving you all the freedom you need to blaze a highly individual research trail, across barriers of time and space into face-to-face encounters with Florida’s polycultural past.
Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable): https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/832062791/4544af3086
Please add any additional information here (if applicable): This project lets you see research spark public dialog. The play posted in the link grew directly out of a UROP project.
Roundtable times and Zoom links Tuesday, September 5, 1-1:30 p.m. https://fsu.zoom.us/j/95487611987
Wednesday, September 6, 12 noon till 12:30 p.m. https://fsu.zoom.us/j/97416456369
Thursday, September 7, 4-4:30 p.m. https://fsu.zoom.us/j/96513843468

You can view a recording of our Zoom presentation here:
https://fsu.zoom.us/rec/share/8obk8wRAMkMEirmzDCPdnct0aJdyXYgByf3uiad-MP8LjengYY8FX_8v-N-oo3Rv.ajDqEZCv0qpM0NVo

Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation Yes
Materials Grant Yes
UROP Poster Presentation Yes
Year 2023
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