ROP RA Positions @ the Looting Lab

SOC499Y5 - Critical approaches to cultural heritage, provenance, and legitimacy

ROP Project details

Supervisors: Kristin Plys & Isra Saymour

Contact: isra.saymour@utoronto.ca

Students selected for this ROP will have the opportunity to be a part of the Looting Lab, an innovative new UTM-based research hub dedicated to the study of looted and contested cultural heritage. You will contribute to developing the core research initiatives of the lab.

Apply now via the ROPAPP: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/experience/rop/students

Objectives & Methodology

• Understand historical antecedents and contemporary trends in the acquisition, collection, display, and circulation of looted cultural heritage, including topics related to colonial plunder and organized crime
• Critically assess contestations around ownership, access, and control of cultural heritage
• Identify the role of institutions like museums, archives, and universities in processes of legitimation and dispossession
• Learn how to conduct research on contested collections and objects and participate in each phase of research, including planning, data collection, analysis, and dissemination.

Students will achieve these objectives through a variety of interdisciplinary methodologies and assessments, including analysis of primary and secondary sources, hands-on engagement with looted cultural heritage objects and fieldwork at cultural institutions, dialogue and discussion with Lab members and experts, and use of digital humanities and multimedia tools for mapping and data visualization. Progress will be measured through research journals, regular check-ins, and actual research outputs.

Once completed, the findings of this project will contribute to several publications, dissemination in public and scholarly forums, and other research activities.

Description of student participation

Student participation in the project will involve three main “pathways” of tasks and responsibilities

1. Develop an understanding of core concepts related to looting and illicit trade. Students will analyze a diverse array of data sources, including cultural artifacts, scholarly research, news investigations, archival material, and legal cases. They will evaluate and summarize this material through literature reviews and annotated bibliographies.
2. Advance overall research agenda of the project. Students will play an active role in the regular research activities of the Looting Lab. This will include helping to develop topics and for monthly working group meetings, collaborating with other RAs to direct discussion, and documenting key findings from each meeting.
3. Communicate and disseminate project findings. Students will assemble a digital archive to exhibit research findings to a broader audience. This will require compiling and synthesizing data and material from various sources, including their own data analysis and reviews as well as the research findings of other team members. Digital humanities training will be provided as necessary. Students may also work on other assorted research tasks that arise in the course of this project, such as fieldwork at museums/libraries/archives, writing, planning and coordination, etc. The project will require students to meet with the supervising faculty and lead RA on a regular basis. Students will also be required to participate in regular research activities, such as working group meetings and events. Meetings will be held in-person at the UTM campus and/or virtually, depending on availability.

Required Skills

• Interest in cultural heritage
• At least one senior-level research course or seminar
• Past RA experience preferred
• Familiarity and comfort with digital environment, including various programs/platforms,
• working with different file types, multimedia tools, etc.
• Good communication skills
• Creativity and problem-solving skills
• Willingness and ability to learn new skills, tasks, and perspectives
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team