UROP Project
The Gendered Frontier: Analyses of Eco-Feminist and Queer Alaskana Music
Popular Music, American History, Eco-Feminism, Queer Studies, Indigenous Studies
Research Mentor: yy21a@fsu.edu Yui Tim Timothy Yu,
Department, College, Affiliation: Florida State University, Music
Contact Email: yy21a@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: Florida State University, Music
Contact Email: yy21a@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: 2
Relevant Majors: Looking for research assistants/undergraduate students with majors in the humanities, including but not limited to: Music, English, Anthropology, Media and Communications, History, Philosophy, Cultural Geography etc.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Looking for research assistants/undergraduate students with majors in the humanities, including but not limited to: Music, English, Anthropology, Media and Communications, History, Philosophy, Cultural Geography etc.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
- Day: Monday, August 31
Start Time: 12:00
End Time: 6:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/9905635889?omn=92202868142 - Day: Tuesday, September 1
Start Time: 12:00
End Time: 6:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/9905635889?omn=92202868142 - Day: Wednesday, September 2
Start Time: 12:00
End Time: 6:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/9905635889?omn=92202868142 - Day: Thursday, September 3
Start Time: 12:00
End Time: 6:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/9905635889?omn=92202868142 - Day: Friday, September 4
Start Time: 12:00
End Time: 6:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/9905635889?omn=92202868142
Project Description
The UROP project is part of my ongoing dissertation research in ethnomusicology, through which I examine a contemporary indie/pop music genre in Alaska called "Alaskana" - a regional variation of the broader musical category "Americana." Broadly, I am interested in how music evokes and produces a sense of place, and how constructions of place as an idea can coexist, contradict, and overlap with one another. Alaska has long been mythologized as a place of hypermasculinity since the Klondike Gold Rush, serving as a "final frontier" for the American nation's expansionism in the American West. This project seeks to explore the works of Alaskana by contemporary Alaskan women and queer musicians, namely Marian Call, Annie Bartholomew, Robin Hopper, and Quinn Christopherson. By analyzing lyrics, music videos, performance videos, and interview transcripts from my preliminary fieldwork, I explore how understand how feminism, Indigeneity, and queer ecologies intersect and evoke alternative iterations of "Alaskanness."Research Tasks: Students who partake in this UROP project will learn essential skills to work as a graduate student in the humanities, including:
1) Digital ethnography (study of communities and cultures through observing interactions in digital spaces)
2) Reading scholarship pertaining to critical theory, eco-feminism, feminism, queerness, philosophies of space and place, history of Indigenous Nations in Alaska, Alaskan/American history.
3) Analysis of music videos and popular music lyrics from literary, musicological, and historical/cultural perspectives
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required:
- Social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram) for digital ethnography
Mentoring Philosophy
Having taught a variety of undergraduate classes for the past three years and mentored students at both UROP and the Undergraduate Music Research Symposium at the College of Music, I have had a lot of experience working with undergraduate students (both music and non-music majors) at FSU. My philosophy as an educator and mentor in UROP is to help you utilize research and writing skills in the humanities and apply them to their personal interests, scholarly endeavours, and potential graduate school work in the future.While my topic is on Alaska and concerns music, you do not need to have prior knowledge about the themes I listed above in the description; rather, I encourage you to join because you are interested and curious about knowing more! While I will be guiding you through this process of research, I see you as a fellow researcher along WITH me, not for me. Looking forward to your great ideas!
Additional Information
This project is ideal for students who enjoy thinking critically and broadly about place, identity-formation, and discourses on nationalism and regionalism. This is ultimately a qualitative project, which means that we might end up with more questions at the end - but that's why it's fun!Naturally, you'll already be a great fit if you enjoy listening to popular music and watching music videos (or simply, a good understanding of popular culture in the United States). No prior musical experience necessary!