Kai C
- Research Program Mentor
PhD candidate at Northwestern University
Expertise
English literature, Black Studies, Queer theory, History, Latin America and the Caribbean Studies, Indigenous Studies, Gender and Sexuality, Postcolonial Studies, Performance and Theatre Studies, Political Movements and history, Organizing/Activism, and Spanish
Bio
Hello! My name is Kai, I used they/them pronouns, and my area of expertise is in Black and Indigenous literary studies and theory across the Americas. I am currently in my PhD for English literature, but have experience in a range of disciplines! These include Writing and Rhetoric, History, Political Science, Gender Studies, Critical Race Studies, Caribbean and Latin American Studies, and Performance Studies. I especially love teaching about writing and about political movements. In my day to day, I love to split my time between hanging with my pup, swimming, and playing video games. I also have a passion for liberatory practices like activism and work around Chicago as a street medic. I'd be happy to share any helpful information about balancing scholarship and your own passions as well!Project ideas
Humor and Struggle in the Caribbean Archive
The key goal for this project will be learning how to navigate archival work and translating research into a creative, presentable format. In this project, we will focus on the plethora of digital archives available from the 16th century Caribbean with an eye toward how enslaved peoples subverted colonial desires through humor and trickery. The end goal will be a syllabus designed around our archival findings. In preparation for the archival research and as a foundation for the syllabus, we will read prominent Black feminist scholars' research on archives, such as Saidiya Hartman and Dionne Brand, to understand how the archive functions as a site of colonial control and violence. This work will help develop skills around: independent, hands-on research; critical reading and analysis of both primary and secondary texts; creative approaches to difficult and dense materials; and synthesis of a large influx of information.
Digital Humanities: Writing for the General Public
The main goal of this project will be to learn the ins and outs of digital humanities work, or literary analysis that is presented in a public, online format. The student will choose one project, paper, or idea to translate into an online rendition. This might look like visually representing an essay, performing and uploading creative work, and/or utilizing an online program to walk a general audience through a specific research question. For instance, one might research the life of Yankton Dakota activist Zitkala-Ša and use images of her work alongside historical context to breakdown the history of settler colonialism in Yankton Dakota society. The end product will be 1. interactive, 2. targeted toward a general public audience; accessible to a range of peoples in and outside of an academic setting; and focus on goals of education and/or argument. The skillset of this project will include: beginning research initiative; synthesis and analysis of historical narratives; beginning level writing and rhetorical argument ability. These skills will also be the central focus of improvement for the student. The end product will be accessible and able to be shared for a range of needs, including for internships, scholarships, and school applications.