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Clarissa C

- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at University of California San Diego (UCSD)

Expertise

Art history, Feminism, Contemporary art, Art and Science, Women in STEM

Bio

Hi there! My name is Clarissa (she/her) and I am passionate about women in STEM, art history, and science history. I have 7 years of experience mentoring writing, interdisciplinary research projects, and historical research. My own research is on scientific technical images, feminism, and artworks that explore science topics. I primarily focus on 20th and 21st century history. I also have experience in traditional art history, academic publishing, and writing on topics of environmental activism and art. Finally, I have a film degree from a four-year college, and am confident in providing support for short films, including editing on Adobe Premiere, storyboarding, building a narrative, and best practices for file management and organization. My passions include organization and time management. I love to read about ways to be most efficient with my time, how to balance many things at once, and how to do complex interdisciplinary research successfully. I have spent a lot of time learning about the best note-taking strategies, the most efficient ways to communicate complex topics, and how to speak to different audiences about research ideas. I am also passionate about environmentalism, slow living, and sustainable fashion.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

1. Writing a literature review

In this project, you will research and write a literature review on a topic of your choice. Topics could range from anything within environmental science history (the history of polar exploration), to contemporary art history (the history of art and environmental activism). This project will teach you how to find, organize, and synthesize important writing on your chosen topic, as well as help you identify a place where you could do more research in the future. Literature reviews are projects that give you skills in editing, writing, best practices in finding organizing primary literature, and will help you gain in-depth knowledge on your research topic.

2. Creating a podcast

As someone who loves the conversational tone of podcasts and their ability to tell an interesting story, I am always looking for entertaining and informative podcasts! In this project, you can identify an overlooked or surprising history in your area of choice, research it, and then present the story in an informative, engaging, and accessible way to a general audience! You will also learn how to edit podcast audio, how to create a narrative arc, and how to captivate audiences. Topics can range from an unexpected history of a scientific discovery, to an interview with an artist that you love! You will gain skills in researching a historical topic, drafting a script, communicating with an interviewee, and editing your podcast.

Languages I know

German, conversational

Credentials

Work experience

University of California San Diego (2022 - Current)
Graduate Writing Consultant
Savannah College of Art and Design (2018 - 2020)
Art History Writing Tutor
Columbia College Chicago (2017 - 2020)
Writing Tutor
SCAD Museum of Art (2017 - 2018)
Art History Research Intern

Education

Columbia College Chicago
BA Bachelor of Arts (2018)
Cinema Arts & Sciences, Art History
Savannah College of Art and Design
MA Master of Arts (2020)
Art History
University of California San Diego (UCSD)
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Art History, Science History, Feminism

Interested in working with expert mentors like Clarissa?

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