Meet Prof. G!

If you're reading this right now, that means you're most likely a student in my RSCH 3020 course. Welcome to the course, and congrats on making it this far in the Honors Program! In your first posts, I asked you to introduce yourselves and your research experience, so I figured I'd do the same.

I very much dislike my faculty photo... 

My name is Kristi Girdharry, and I teach in the English department here at JWU. Like Drew, I enjoy research, but outside of my academic life I like having a balance between family, friends, being active, and relaxing. I also love to travel, like Bella (and I assume Kyra since she spent a summer in Paris), and am currently rewatching Game of Thrones, which Anais and Gretchen also love! Unlike Alexis, Nick, and Summer, I have never played ice hockey, but I do enjoy sports (much like Christian). I'm a true Masshole, through and through, and I was born into New England sports, so sorry-not-sorry.

Tough life.

My biggest research project was my dissertation on a digital archive built following the Boston Marathon bombings. In my project, I asked 3 different-but-related questions:

1. What goes in to building a digital community repository that aims to both historicize and memorialize tragedy?
2. Who participates in such spaces?
3. What kinds of stories are captured in the archive?

I will talk a bit more about my research in class today, but I am somewhat trying to close this research chapter of my life (I have one more presentation coming up and potentially one article to submit for publication this fall). One of my incidental findings as I worked through my dissertation was this idea of "archival silencing"--even though I was looking at the stories being told in the archive, I became interested in the stories not being told, particularly when it came to Boston's minority communities. 5 years later, I am starting work on a new project that captures the oral histories of mothers who have lost children to gun violence. 

I've dabbled in different research methods and methodologies, which makes me a good fit for teaching this class. But I'm not an expert in all subjects/methods, so I will be inviting other professors to come in and talk to you. In this course, rather than just being a professor who gives you knowledge to memorize and utilize, I am more of a guide through the research process who will support you in any ways I can. It will be up to you when it comes to the specific disciplinary tools and methods, and you'll have a faculty advisor who will help you with the nitty gritty. More on all of this soon!