Job Advertisement

Research Assistant(s) – Bridging the Resource Gap: American Studies Resources for 16-19s

Project Lead: Dr. Emily Brady, e.brady@leeds.ac.uk

Administrative Lead: Emma Hall, emma.hall@warwick.ac.uk

Job Title: British Association for American Studies Outreach Research Assistant

Role:

This is an exciting opportunity to work with the British Association for American Studies on a project designed to engage new students in our discipline. This project seeks to raise awareness of American Studies as an undergraduate degree programme through the creation and dissemination of educational resources. Reporting to the Project Leads and working collaboratively alongside another project officer, you will support in creating resources aimed at students aged 16-19 years old.

You will build a range of educational resources to engage students in further education (FE) in the UK with the benefits of American Studies as an undergraduate degree. This will be done in two ways: firstly, through creating lesson plans, mini-lectures, Extended Project Qualification resources, and reading lists that can be used in conjunction with the curricula in Government and Politics, Literature, Media Studies, Film Studies and History, all available on the BAAS website. Secondly, a range of resources will be created for career counsellors, academic advisors, chairs of FE departments, and students of FE, to demonstrate the benefits of pursuing American Studies at university. This two-pronged approach to bridging the resource and knowledge gap around American Studies in further education will encourage more students to consider American Studies as a future study path, and will open up more young people to understanding the diversity of people, policies, and culture in the United States.

This rewarding post involves close liaison with the project leads and the American Studies academic community and will enable the postholders to expand their understanding of several areas of ancillary academic work including digital pedagogy, widening participation, alumni engagement and recruitment. The postholders should have a passion for American Studies as a degree programme and an interest in outreach work, alongside excellent interpersonal skills, experience of pedagogy and a good understanding of digital learning and digital skills. We will be recruiting for this role in a manner informed by BAAS’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

During the BAAS Annual Conference 2022, Research Assistants will be recording in-person audio and video interviews with attendees. In these interviews, academics from various backgrounds will be given the opportunity to speak about their own research / experience with American Studies / year abroads. You will be responsible for the recording, editing, and dissemination of this material. Please note that the researchers in the BAAS Hull Sub-Project and the Research Assistants for the whole project may not be the same. If you are unable to attend the conference in-person, this does not mean that you are ineligible for the Research Assistant post(s), as we may hire a temporary worker for just the in-person conference component. The conference takes place from the 21^st – 23^rd of April 2022.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the creation of a range of online resources and content promoting the visibility of American Studies in the UK.
• Research and collate information pertaining to American Studies and adjacent fields in the UK.
• Liaise with teachers, students, alumni, academics and administrators in order to cultivate networks through which to strengthen American Studies in the UK.
• Liaise with the BAAS web team to create and populate a dedicated online space for the resources.

Essential and Desirable Criteria:

Essential Skills:

• A passion for outreach and curriculum development.
• Working towards, or having achieved, a PhD in American Studies or a closely related discipline.
• An understanding of or engagement with the creation and delivery of digital pedagogies.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Excellent IT skills including the creation of online content.

Desirable Skills:

• Familiarity with outreach work, especially in secondary schools and/or further education colleges.
• Experience of working with secondary school-aged students and teachers.
• Audio / video /graphic editing experience.

Employment Details:

£16 p/hr for 4 hrs per week, from contract start (April 2022) to end of December 2022. This will be a remote role (with the option for 3 additional days in person at BAAS Annual Conference), with a flexible working pattern.

For participation in the in-person component of this project at the BAAS Annual Conference:

• 12 hours of work at BAAS per RA (allowing both to attend other BAAS events)
• £100 will be offered towards travel costs and £250 will be offered towards accommodation costs
• Conference fees for BAAS will be covered

To Apply For This Post:

Please attach a CV and a Cover Letter (no more than two pages maximum) explaining your suitability for this role. You should indicate in your application if you are able to attend the BAAS Conference in-person in April 2022. You should email this to: Emily Brady (e.brady@leeds.ac.uk) and Emma Hall (emma.hall@warwick.ac.uk)

Closing date for applications is midnight on the evening of the 18^th of March. Interviews will take place with shortlisted candidates on March 28^th or March 29^th.