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Graduate Student Assistant

GSA will work on developing media archives and research into animation and the studio film industry, including Warner Brothers, Disney, and Pixar. Research includes on-site work in special collections, researching holdings in studio archives, and searching through digital archive databases. GSA will be expected to meet with Project Lead on a weekly basis and also work independently on research goals.

  • 10 Hour SGA
  • Boston
Please briefly describe your own academic research interests in 100 words or less.
Please explain your interest in this specific position in 100 words or less.
Please describe your qualifications and skills and any relevant previous experience in 150 words or less.
Upload your CV/resume or any other relevant file. Max. file size: 3 MB.

  • Project Title

    Animation and the Media Archive

  • Faculty / Project Lead

    Professor Denise Khor

  • Project Description

    This project explores the major changes and reorganization in the animation industry’s mode of production, particularly as it shifts from an artisanal mode, which was prevalent from 1910s to the 1920s, to a more hierarchical division of labor that promoted efficiency and specialization. This industrialized assembly line system propelled the Hollywood studio system and was especially acute for animated film production. Major studios like Walt Disney and Warner Brothers not only built larger studio spaces to do this work but they also hired substantial labor forces to keep apace and to accelerate production. This project explores (1) the role of creative labor within these industrial transformations (and especially the work of Asian American animators) and (2) the labor union strikes in the animation industry in 1940-41.

  • Qualifications Necessary

    Applicants should be familiar with, or willing to learn, data management software (ie. Excel, etc) and varying digital and audio-visual tools. Applicants should be familiar with humanities research, film and media studies, and/or good communication and organization skills.