Student Research Assistant | History of Japanese Photography

Are you interested in learning more about the history of Japanese photography and gaining experience with conducting research in online databases in Japanese, building websites, and contributing to a new research project on the use of photography in establishing evidence of crimes committed?  If the answer is yes, please apply for this position!

Project Summary:

The student will work under direct supervision of Dr. Kelly McCormick (UBC History) to add new components to the website Behind the Camera: Gender, Power, and Politics in the History of Japanese Photography. This website presents alternate histories of Japanese photography told through feminist and decolonial perspectives. Second, the student will assist with research on the role of photographs in recording evidence of war crimes and photographs’ use in military tribunals in East Asia in the 1930s-1950s.

Description of Duties:

  • Contribution to a database of all digitized collections of historical Japanese photographs available at institutions around the world
  • Insert Japanese subtitles into lecture videos prepared by international scholars for Behind the Camera
  • Format and check bibliographies to accompany lecture videos for Behind the Camera
  • Conduct research in online databases in Japanese and English on photographic evidence of Japanese war crimes and photographic evidence used in war crimes tribunals: this will include finding primary and secondary sources and organizing them

Qualifications

  • Japanese/English reading and writing fluency
  • Organized project management skills and a curious, open-minded approach to tackling research problems
  • Ability to use YouTube to insert subtitles
  • Ability to keep systematic and detailed research notes that can be shared with Dr. McCormick

Undergraduates and Graduate student applicants will be considered for this position. Pay rate for undergraduates is: $25/hour for a total of 120 hours (number of hours/week TBD based on the student’s schedule); Graduate pay rate: $30/hour for a total of 100 hours. October – end of March.

To apply: Please send your resume/CV and a paragraph describing how your skills meet the criteria to Dr. Kelly McCormick (Kelly.mccormick@ubc.ca) by September 26.