School of Languages and Cultures

2025 Summer Research Program

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Engage in a formal research project over the summer break with the UQ Summer Research Program.

The UQ Summer Research Scholarship Program offers scholarships to students wishing to gain experience working alongside a researcher in a formal research environment in their area of interest at UQ.

Each project will be offered for a period of six (6) weeks between 13 January to 21 February 2025

Successful applicants will receive a $3,000 grant.

Participation is open to undergraduate (including honours) and master by coursework students who are currently enrolled and will remain at UQ for the entirety of the research program.

Applications have now closed.

Check out some testimonials from previous scholars.

 

 

  1. Discourse analysis of regional dialects in Korean: Preserving cultural identities
  2. Los latidos de la memoria (The heartbeat of memory): Memory and postmemory in microbiographies of victims of Chilean state terrorism.
  3. Crisis communication in public health
  4. Testimonies of enforced disappearances and torture from Aceh, Indonesia (1976–2005)
  5. The investigation of environmental discourse and ruling ideologies in the school textbooks in North and South.
  1. ‘Talking families into being’: Exploring family discourse in Australia
  2. More than Frills and Ribbons: Japanese Children’s Literature
  3. Potential impact of learner background factors on their communication in a second language - Part 5
  4. Computational Approaches To Complement Conversation Analysis
  5. Role of linguistic and extra-linguistic factors in the development of narrative skills in Russian-English bilingual children

2. Los latidos de la memoria (The heartbeat of memory): Memory and postmemory in microbiographies of victims of Chilean state terrorism.

Project title: 

Los latidos de la memoria (The heartbeat of memory): Memory and postmemory in microbiographies of victims of Chilean state terrorism.

Hours of engagement & delivery mode

36 hrs per week

13 Jan – 7 Feb 2025. 4 weeks.

Hybrid: Weekly in-person meetings of 2-3 hrs. Other meetings via Zoom.

Description:

This project consists of annotated translations (Spanish to English) of all 44 micro-biographies found on the site Los latidos de la memoria from Chile (https://loslatidosdelamemoria.cl/). These texts were first made public through radio broadcasts in the years 2014, 2015 and 2019. They are microbiographies that narrate the everyday lives of people who later became executed or disappeared victims of the civic-military dictatorship that ruled Chile between 1973 and 1990. The writers are relatives and friends who present a direct or inherited memory of the victims. The site states:

Este trabajo es un ejercicio de memoria que intenta revertir la operación de desaparición para hacer aparecer a los (as) sujetos en su dimensión vital, humanizándoles en tanto nos aproximamos al recuerdo de su vida cotidiana, la que se hace presente en el relato actualizado y narrado por quien (familiar o cercano) ocupa el lugar de portavoz de su memoria, recuerdo que se reedita y transmite.

The translations will be annotated, and the scholars will have to identify and code recurrent themes in the accounts. This project is part of a study that examines memory and postmemory discourse after a historical traumatic episode has taken place. It falls within the fields of Trauma and Memory Studies and Discourse Studies

Keywords: annotated translation, theme coding, discourse, (post)memory, history, trauma, testimony, Chile, executed, disappeared.

Expected learning outcomes and deliverables:

Scholars will apply their skills in translation techniques (Spanish to English) acquired in Spanish translation course SPAN3310. They will produce an annotated translation and will identify and code themes for research in discourse studies. They will learn about the topic of traumatic memory and postmemory within the area of Trauma and Memory Studies; and will learn basic discourse analysis skills.

Related academic articles will be discussed in each meeting. The scholars should come prepared to summarise and discuss the articles in the meetings.

 

The two scholars will work 36 hours per week, within which they will be expected to complete the annotated translation of the 44 microbiographies (22 each) and provide a basic theme coding of each narrative. Specifically:

  • Each scholar will send an annotated translation of 5-6 microbiographies each weekly, at least 2 days before the scheduled meeting.
  • Scholars will meet in person for two hours every week with their supervisor to discuss the translations, themes, and the concepts around the topics of memory, trauma and discourse.
  • Each scholar will informally lead the presentation and discussion of 2 assigned articles. The readings will be provided by the supervisor at the beginning of the program.

Suitable for:

Open to applications from 3rd year students who are doing their Major in Spanish (level B2.2+). Preference will be given to students who have passed the course SPAN3310 and/or are considering continuing their academic career (Honours and beyond).

Primary Supervisor:

 

Dr Sol Rojas-Lizana

Further info:

The applicant does not need to contact the supervisor before submitting their application, but if they need further information about the project, they should contact Sol (i.rojaslizana@uq.edu.au).

 

References: Publications related to previous summer/winter research scholar programs:

 

- Rojas-Lizana, Sol (2024). “Ps. I’ll find you.” The discourse of postmemory in letters to executed and disappeared grandparents in Chile. Social Semiotics, 1-18. doi: 10.1080/10350330.2024.2314460

 

- Rojas-Lizana, Sol (2024). Memory, postmemory and gender in letters from women to executed and disappeared women in Chile. Submitted to Memory Studies.

 

- Rojas-Lizana, Sol (2023). Memory discourses in visitor books of travelling exhibits in Southern Chile. Memory Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/17506980231195570