UROP Project
Over the Town: Cultural Cartography through Digital Humanities
Digital Humanities, Creative Writing, Interdisciplinary Studies, Archival Research, Public Storytelling
Research Mentor: Professor Roach Christell Victoria Roach, she/her/hers
Department, College, Affiliation: English, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: cvroach@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: English, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: cvroach@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 4
Relevant Majors: Open to All Majors:
specifically...
History
English / Creative Writing
African American Studies
Communication / Media Studies
Anthropology
Digital Humanities
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 7, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Number of Research Assistants: 4
Relevant Majors: Open to All Majors:
specifically...
History
English / Creative Writing
African American Studies
Communication / Media Studies
Anthropology
Digital Humanities
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 7, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
- 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
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.
Additional Information
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