Ilana Gershon

WEBSITE(S)| Blog

SURF Mentoring

Potential projects/topics: I have a project on how Americans use taxonomic stereotypes in their workplaces -- which means I want someone to collect data on how people talk about generational divides in their workplace, as well as horoscopes, Meyer-Briggs types, and so on. I am looking for someone to record webinars on managing different generations in the workplace, or searching for discussions about this on reddit and other platforms. While my focus is largely on generations, horoscopes, etc are fair game too. I am also interested in the conflicts that families, friends, and neighbors had in the pandemic, especially in 2020. So if you would prefer to collect online conversations about how families handled Covid restrictions and thought about what rules they needed to develop to care for each other, and how to deal with violations of these rules, I would be happy to have a research assistant for this project as well.

Potential skills gained: You would learn the skills needed for part of online ethnography -- how to find patterns in discourse, and how to analyze people's underlying cultural assumptions.

Required qualifications: If you like being an online detective, this would be helpful.

Direct mentor: Faculty/P.I., Post-doctorate

Research Areas

employment; new media; work; breakups; neoliberalism