The Vovis Center, in partnership with the Office of the Dean of the College, sponsors a program to support students seeking active learning opportunities during Summer Term. 

What are Collaborative Research Projects?

Collaborative research projects are multi-week group projects led by a faculty member. Selected students participate at 25 hours per week. These projects are in-person experiences on-campus at Knox. Most projects were suitable for students with no experience with research or exposure to the research topics; others have a few minimal requirements. All selected students receive a grant from Knox to support their participation in these projects. Learn more and check out the 2023 application.

Learn about how the projects went during summer 2022! 

6-Week Collaborative Research Projects

These programs are:

• 6 weeks total in duration - in June and July 2023
• Require group and individual participation of 25 hours per week
• May be either off-campus (with travel required), a mix of on- and off-campus, or all on-campus

Apply to Participate

All Knox students are welcome to apply. See the project details below for more information about each program. 

Apply Now! Due March 26, 2023

6-Week Programs in 2023

• Up, Down, Left, Right: Religion, Ritual and Video Games

  Instructor: Scott Harris, Lecturer, Religious Studies

  What lies behind the power of a video game to hold an audience in its narrative world? In this project, students will explore how video games communicate meaning by analyzing narrative video games through the lenses of myth and ritual. Students will address the fundamental research question, “is the interactivity between player and narrative in a video game analogous to the interactivity of a religious ritual?” In a video game, the player enacts the narrative even as the narrative steers that action towards a predetermined conclusion. This dynamic, in which the player feels an illusory sense of agency, will be our starting point. 

  Program Dates: June 12 - July 21, 2023 (no meetings on July 4 or 5th)

  Prior Experience Needed?  None

  Anticipated Meeting Days/Times Each Week:
  Tentatively, the group will likely meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays for facilitated meetings in a shared workspace, as well as additionally scheduled regular one-on-one meetings with the instructor. Students will work MWF independently. Note: Students are asked to engage with the project (with the group or independently) for a total of 25 hours/week.

• The Telescope: Investigations Into the Night Sky

  Instructors: Nathalie Haurberg, Associate Professor of Physics and Mark Shroyer, Associate Professor of Physics

  From Galileo’s earliest observations that helped dislodge the notion that Earth was the center of the Universe, to Henrietta Leavitt’s discovery of Cepheid variable stars which helped give us a handle on the size of our galaxy and expanse of the Universe, to Edwin Hubble’s observations that the Universe is ever expanding, it would be hard to argue that any single scientific instrument has transformed the way that humanity views itself in relation to the cosmos more than the telescope.  Students will learn relevant astronomy and physics to carry out observational astronomy projects utilizing the Knox Observatory.

  Program Dates: June 12 - July 21, 2023 (no meetings on July 4 or 5th)

  Prior Experience Needed? There is no prerequisite, but it is recommended that participating students have completed at least one course in any of the introductory lab science courses at Knox, have some basic mathematics (algebra, trigonometry and geometry), and have an interest in astronomy.

  Anticipated Meeting Days/Times Each Week:
  This project requires regular nighttime availability. We will meet MTWThF from 3:30-5:00pm and most every clear evening after dark.
  Note: Students are asked to engage with the project (with the group or independently) for a total of 25 hours/week.

• Finding the Founders: Abolition, Manifest Destiny, and Settler Colonialism

  Instructor: Hilary Lehmann, Assistant Professor of Classics

  Knox College prides itself on being founded by radical abolitionists. Yet the Founders’ abolitionism sits uncomfortably within their historical and geographical context. The westward expansion of settler colonists like George Washington Gale was motivated by Manifest Destiny, the cultural belief that Europeans were destined to occupy North America, displacing and often eliminating its Indigenous inhabitants. In this project, students will use archival materials to examine how the Founders’ abolitionism clashed with their anti-Indigenous and white supremacist beliefs, and will create a digital museum to display the results of their research. This project will appeal to students interested in local history, Black and Indigenous histories, archival research, and using digital platforms to share information.

  Program Dates: June 12 - July 21, 2023 (no meetings on July 3 or 4th)

  Prior Experience Needed? None.

  Anticipated Meeting Days/Times Each Week:
  During weeks 1–2, there will be daily seminar meetings. Students will be responsible for 2–3 hours of preparation outside of group meetings each day. During weeks 3–6, students will spend up to 5 hours working in the archives each day in addition to seminar meetings on Mondays and Fridays. 
  Note: Students are asked to engage with the project (with the group or independently) for a total of 25 hours/week.

• Decolonizing News Media Literacy: Abolitionist and Activist Approaches to “Fake News"

  Instructor: Jonah Rubin, Assistant Professor of Anthropology-Sociology

  In this collaborative digital ethnography, we will try to develop a social justice-oriented approach to media literacy education. Efforts to combat “fake news” are usually presented as apolitical, objective, and neutral efforts to teach students to recognize reality. Drawing on decolonial and abolitionist methods, this project seeks to uncover the subtle yet powerful political forces that lie beneath such claims of news objectivity. We will conduct research on current approaches to combating mis- and disinformation, both to understand their political assumptions and to develop better alternatives that center decolonial, abolitionist, and social justice methods of news literacy. Research opportunities are available in either English or Spanish.

  Program Dates: June 12 - July 21, 2023 (no meetings on July 4 or 5th)

  Prior Experience Needed? There are no prerequisites to this project. Students with Spanish language skills would be most welcome..

  Anticipated Meeting Days/Times Each Week:
  The group will meet Tu/Th from 1:00-4:00pm in the Abolition Lab or, weather permitting, on the Gizmo patio. Students would also be required to work independently outside of these hours. Note: Students are asked to engage with the project (with the group or independently) for a total of 25 hours/week.