Diversifying the Academy with a Digital Emphasis

Through a summer research program designed to boost diversity in the academy, five visiting undergraduates learned how to apply technology to enhance original humanities and social science research at the UVA Scholars’ Lab. The Leadership Alliance Mellon Initiative (otherwise known as LAMI) is a national effort aimed at boosting the ranks of demographically underrepresented groups in graduate programs, particularly in the humanities, social sciences, and education. Selected students receive guidance and mentorship from UVA faculty, graduate students, and staff as they gain exposure to research methods and digital tools, a curricular emphasis unique to UVA. 

Of the eight American universities that host a LAMI program, UVA stands apart for its efforts to train participants in digital research methods. Scholars' Lab has played a central role in supporting and training the five LAMI cohorts that have thus far come to Grounds. University of Virginia English professor and Scholars' Lab Academic Director Alison Booth has mentored LAMI fellows since 2015. “This summer’s group gave such enthusiastic commitment to their own projects and to each other’s that everyone who mentored, taught, or collaborated with them felt inspired and hopeful. With smart people like these devoting their thoughts and talents to social science and humanities questions, we all face a brighter future," Booth said. 

Keisha John, who now serves as Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, spearheaded the effort to bring LAMI to UVA in the summer of 2015 when she began her tenure as Director of Diversity Programs for UVA’s Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs. Jasmine Crenshaw succeeded Dr. John in April 2019. With Ms. Crenshaw, Katrina Richardson, UVA’s Program Coordinator for Diversity Programs, oversees the LAMI program. The group of undergraduates worked on projects across the humanities and social sciences.

Aleyshka Estevez, an English major at the University of Puerto Rico, examined location-based narratives in her research. "It was actually one of the weekly workshops from the Scholar's Lab that gave me the tools to create our initial timeline for the Anne Spencer project," Estevez said, noting a project she worked on with Professor Booth.

Lewis Rincon Castano of the University of Central Florida looked at the evolution of civics education in modern Argentina. He says that learning how to deploy text analysis and visualization tools coupled with immersion in UVA's research environment "let me discover how to improve my storytelling beyond plain text and a picture."

Paris Godfrey, a rising junior at Spelman College, researched the white savior trope in film, comparing rates of consumption and frequency of the trope's appearance in films released between the end of the Obama administration and the beginning of the Trump administration. "I am very interested in how digital humanities tools can work to bridge the gap between academia and the larger community."

Zenab Youssef, an International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies major at Brown University, focused her research on tensions between queer identity and Muslim diasporic beliefs. 

Nathan Carbajal explored theories of cultural assimilation in the context of neoliberal ideology in the United States. He sought to uncover the ways in which racism and white supremacy interact with the identity-forming experiences and views of American Hispanic and LatinX communities.

Prior to presenting their research in Alderman Library's Makerspace on their last day in the LAMI program, the group had an opportunity to reflect on issues of diversity and inclusion in graduate education. The students met informally with Rennie Mapp, Administrative Director of the DH Graduate Certificate, and Logan Heiman, Communications Specialist for DH@UVA, to discuss digital humanities research, sensitivities related to researching marginalized communities, and other related topics.

Youssef expressed gratitude for finding community in her LAMI cohort and for the chance to think about the viewpoints she and her group might bring to the academy.  "As a low-income student Muslim and a first-generation daughter of immigrants, even the prospect of grad school has been new and foreign to me," she said. "I also greatly appreciated conversations with my LAMI cohort about the transformations we hope to see in academia as underrepresented people of color from communities we deeply care for."

Brandon Walsh, Head of Student Programs at Scholars’ Lab, worked closely with this year’s LAMI cohort, collaborating with a team of librarians and technical specialists to shepherd the students through their 8-week research program. “Working with the LAMI students is a highlight for the Scholars’ Lab every year,” he said. “We’re consistently blown away by the caliber of their work. We introduce them to digital humanities and library research methods each year, but we learn more from them during their residency than they learn from us. They’re always an inspiration.”