In this paid research aide position, a student would work with English professor Mary Anne Mohanraj, Executive Director of two literary arts foundations, learning basic and advanced skills useful in the fields of arts administration and publishing.
The research aide would potentially work on some of the following projects:
- publishing DesiLit’s new literary magazine, Jaggery (http://jaggerylit.com)
- setting up readings and literary festivals
- drafting programs and press releases
- directly fund-raising from members through internet and print (Kickstarter campaign)
- growing a small press co-operative
- drafting non-profit grant applications
- organizing mentorship programs for new and emerging writers
- developing online classifieds section for writers/editors/readers
- reading and assessing grant applications
- supervising and facilitating a joint blog
- developing new programs
- evaluating and maintaining existing programs
DesiLit supports South Asian and diaspora literature; you can learn more at www.desilit.org. The SLF (Speculative Literature Foundation, www.speclit.org) supports speculative literature; speculative literature is a catch-all term meant to inclusively span the breadth of fantastic literature, encompassing literature ranging from hard science fiction to epic fantasy to ghost stories to horror to folk and fairy tales to slipstream to magical realism to modern myth-making -- and more. Any piece of literature containing a fabulist or speculative element would fall under our aegis, and would potentially be work that we would be interested in supporting.)
Students must be available to meet with Professor Mohanraj MWF from 1-2; ideally they should also be able to come out to Oak Park (within a few blocks of the Blue line, Green line, and Metra stops) once a week.
This position pays $10 / hr for 8-12 hours / week, and is open to currently enrolled non-international undergraduate students eligible to work at UIC. Strong English skills are essential, along with an interest in literature / creative writing. Wordpress (and other website design) familiarity is a plus, though not required.
To apply, e-mail mohanraj@uic.edu with 1) the subject line SPRING 2015 RESEARCH AIDE, 2) a brief paragraph explaining why this position interests you and what your qualifications are, and 3) an attached resume, including phone number. The position is open until filled, but review of applications will begin December 1st.
This position is part of the AANAPISI Educational Employment Grant program offered in partnership by the UIC AANAPISI Initiative, Student Employment, and the Career Services Office. Concurrent to their employment, student employees, along with their supervisors, will engage in a guided career development framework aimed at building lifelong career skills to support lifelong professional success.
Due to the federal funding restrictions, students eligible to participate in the AANAPISI Educational Employment Grant pilot program must be currently enrolled (part-time or full-time) non-international undergraduate UIC students. We regret that DACA students are not eligible for employment in this program even though they are eligible to work on campus at UIC.
