SURF Mentoring

Potential projects/topics:

• Project 1: I am interested in the social consequences of changing one's political position, especially in the contemporary United States. What it means to be a Democrat or a Republican has changed significantly over the past 15 years (although admittedly I am a bit more interested in Republican's rejection of important neoliberal positions). Sometimes changing your mind politically has social consequences, sometimes it doesn't -- I am curious about when it does, and what the consequences are. I have two possible approaches to this, and could use help on either one. First, I am interested in politically mixed families (extended families) and how family members respond to these changes. For this, I want someone to collect media reflections on this -- Reddit, magazine articles, pop psychology pieces, etc. Second, I am interested in collecting life histories of how older Republicans involved in the party reflect on their lives and changes in their party. For this I would like someone to map out who has been active locally in the Republican party for the past 20 years, along with collecting publicly available life histories.

• Project 2: I am also interested in understanding people's experiences creating and living with roommate contracts. This is relatively new phenomena, and I want someone who can research when universities first started encouraging roommate contracts, how have they changed over time, what are the different versions of roommate contracts that universities recommend, and how people change them. And lastly, I also want to collect information about people's experiences with these contracts, how and when the contracts matter over the course of a year for Rice undergraduates. People interested in law in action will find this a way to develop archival and interviewing skills.

Potential skills gained: learning to apply anthropological/social analysis to contemporary concerns

Required qualifications: None listed

Direct mentor: Faculty/P.I.