Research Training: Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics

Undergraduate

Fall and Spring Section A: This project explores Latin American and Latine comics, focusing on how sequential art preserves memories of border crossings, humanizes the impacts of state enforcement, and explores migrant resilience. Students will learn the basics of Comic Book Markup Language (CBML), a TEI-based XML vocabulary, to encode and analyze the structural, textual, visual, and bibliographic complexity of digitized comics and related documents. Student researchers will assist with: a) editing, marking up, and structuring digitized Latin American comics; and b) interpreting texts, making inferences, and exploring theoretical issues according to given criteria. Long-term outcomes may include inclusion of encoded materials in the award-winning Latin American Comics Archive (LACA), collaboration with national and international researchers, and a possible publication acknowledging student contributors. Open to one or more students with at least low-intermediate Spanish reading skills. Section B: The Radical Pedagogy Lab (RadLab) is a research lab dedicated to advancing the theory and practice of radical pedagogy through empirical research, curriculum development, and community engagement. The Lab examines inclusive teaching practices in higher education, drawing on existing research to inform peer-to-peer surveys, interviews, and focus groups that explore students' experiences of inclusivity in the classroom. Students and faculty collaboratively identify areas of concern, including topics that invite conflict and assignments that may feel oppressive. Through this work, the RadLab promotes transformative educational practices that foster equity and empower marginalized communities.