Slavery North is hiring UMass Amherst undergraduate students as Research Assistants to work on an exciting digital humanities project. Applications will remain open until all three available positions are filled. We encourage prompt application for summer employment.
Position type: Undergraduate Student Hourly
Campus: UMass Amherst
Department: College of Humanities and Fine Arts
Primary Work Location: 472 North Pleasant Street, Amherst MA 01003
About Slavery North
Founded in 2022, Slavery North Initiative is a one-of-a kind academic and cultural destination where scholars, thinkers, artists, and cultural producers build community and produce research and cultural outcomes that transform our understanding of the neglected histories of Transatlantic Slavery in Canada and the US North. Slavery North seeks to advance social justice by recuperating and interrogating the complex histories of Transatlantic Slavery and European colonization of the Americas, thereby recovering and centering the cultures, experiences, lives, and resistance of enslaved peoples in Canada and the US North. At the heart of Slavery North is a fellowship program that welcomes national and international students, artists, and scholars, providing them with the space, funding, time, and community to produce transformative research outcomes.
Job Summary
Slavery North is seeking qualified applicants currently enrolled as UMass Amherst undergraduate students. Slavery North is developing an online research database of digitized primary source historical documents related to the histories of Transatlantic Slavery in Canada and the US North. Undergraduate Research Assistants will work to locate, digitize, and transcribe historical documents and perform research and data entry tasks to support the creation of this database.
Undergraduate Research Assistants work under the supervision of the Slavery North staff.
Essential Functions
- Locate, digitize, and transcribe historical print and manuscript documents
- Perform data entry, data cleaning, and quality assurance tasks
Other Functions
Perform other research, administrative, event, and support duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)
- Current enrollment as a UMass Amherst undergraduate student
- Demonstrated proficiency in professional office software, such as Word, Excel, Google sheets
- Demonstrated ability to read cursive handwriting
Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience):
- Knowledge of field of Transatlantic Slavery Studies.
- Proficiency at updating websites using WordPress software
- Proficiency at reading and writing French
Additional Details
Student employee must provide their own laptop for this position.
Successful applicants will be hired and paid through the UMass student payroll system and are subject to all terms, conditions, and policies of student employment at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. This will require a completed I-9 form indicating one is eligible to work in the United States. International students who may be studying on an F-1 visa are eligible, however this appointment will count as a 20 hour per week work obligation and not allow for further employment during periods classes are in session.
Work Schedule
Flexible schedule, between 8:30am-5pm Monday to Friday.
Summer Semester 2025: not to exceed 40 hours/ week.
Fall Semester 2025 and/or Spring Semester 2026: not to exceed 20 hours/ week.
Salary Information
Pay rate of $20.00/hour
Physical Demands/Working Conditions
Typical Office Environment.
Special Instructions to Applicants
Please submit the following materials for consideration to: [email protected]
- Resume
- Cover Letter
- List of 3 professional references
UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry,
disability, military status, or genetic information in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University. To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. It is the policy of the UMass Amherst to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.
Advertised: 16 May 2025 Eastern Daylight Time
Deadline: Open until position(s) filled
Questions can be directed to: [email protected]
