Critical Social Justice, History, Sociology, and Anthropology Researcher

Job Description

The Communities of Hope program, a community news service under the Journalism Program in the Department of Media + Design + Communication, is looking for a student worker with a background in critical and social justice history, sociology and/or anthropology to conduct secondary research about local communities in Rhode Island and support the work of local journalists in the program.

Communities of Hope is a community-driven solutions journalism news service working with specific groups of people who have been erased, marginalized, underrepresented, misrepresented and maligned by mainstream media outlets.

Our mission is to empower people in those communities through training, paid work, information gathering, and educational storytelling to participate in the public conversations about the issues that affect them, about their histories, and about their roles in society, making them a central part of the decision-making process.

The student working in this position will be expected to:

  • Conduct research in local databases and archives about local communities, especially historically marginalized communities.
  • Conduct original reporting, interviews, and assist in producing original stories for Communities of Hope. The student will receive credit (bylines) and hold shared copyrights of every distributed product.
  • Prepare tip sheets, backgrounders and other supporting materials to inform the work of local journalists covering local communities.
  • Contribute to other Communities of Hope projects by conducting research, reporting, production, writing, editing and distribution. The student will receive credit (bylines) and hold shared copyrights of every distributed product.

Special Skills Needed:  
Basic research skills, especially related to searching databases, archives, and private collections, time management and basic organizational skills. Interviewing and writing skills will be considered a welcome addition.

Academic Major Preferred:  
History, Anthropology and Sociology, Cultural Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, Legal Studies, Political Science, Special Education, Urban Studies, Journalism, Communication & Media Studies or any students with news and media production and organizational skills and a general understanding of news media may apply.

Starting Date:
Applications will stay open until the position is filled.

*Students are prohibited from driving during work-study employment with the limited exception of authorized work-study driver positions.

** All employees, including student employees, are required to participate in a short online training  that will prepare you with the new protocols for working on campus. Please click on the following link to complete your training: http://rwu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a4aBCUkcc7Vl7QF

Starting Date

Department Information

Contact Name

Bernardo H. Motta

Department

Media + Design + Communication

Phone Number

401-731-4106

Email

bmotta@rwu.edu