CJ J
- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at Northwestern University

Expertise

African American Studies, Film and Media Studies, Literature

Bio

I'm a doctoral student in the African American Studies Department at Northwestern University. I received my BA (with honors) from Dartmouth College in 2016. Though I arrived to Dartmouth as an environmental engineer (I still love math!), my interests in community development and historical research methods prompted my present trajectory. My disciplinary focus includes English/Literature, Political Theory, and Media Studies. I love to study film, history, literature, and other adaptive strategies for sharing our stories. But I especially love helping my students and peers to explore their interests, generate ideas for research, and pursue them with the necessary tools and guidance that I hope to provide.

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.

Literary Analysis (Reading and Writing)

Writing and analyzing literature starts with how we read! Students can begin by selecting an author, a favorite text, or even a desired theme, genre or historical period. Wherever you begin with your desired material, its important to identify goals, primary questions, and intentions for reading. We'll discuss strategies for reading that will inform the students particular goals for writing and analysis.

Digital Culture and Media Studies

How does digital culture inform our lives? How does it affect that ways we process information, establish relationships, connect to others, and explore the most intimate parts of ourselves in public forum? How does safety, security, and surveillance change our interactions online? These are just a few questions that can help us get started. In this project, students can isolate a single user experience and extend it into a meaningful project analyzing the social, political, and cultural ramifications of said experience.

Teaching experience

I am a teaching assistant for students enrolled in undergraduate courses at the Department of African American Studies. Though housed in my home department, many if not most of my students come from a variety of majors and disciplines (a testament to interdisciplinarity of the program and its reach!). I advise students on their research ideas, provide feedback on mid-quarter assessments, and am abreast of curriculum material, offering further explanation during weekly office hours. I'm also responsible for intermittently leading classroom discussion in place of the professor.

Credentials

Work experience

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (2016 - 2019)

Events and Publicity Assistant

My Sister's Keeper @ MIT (2016 - 2019)

Mentor, Executive Board Member

Dartmouth College (2014 - 2015)

Junior Scholar, Research Assistant (Caribbean History)

Dartmouth College (2015 - 2016)

Research Assistant (Cultural Anthropology)

Education

Dartmouth College

BA Bachelor of Arts (2016)

African American Studies, English

Northwestern University

PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate

African American Studies, English, Media Studies

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CJ J - Research Program Mentor