During winter break 2022 Esme Krohn ’24 worked with Seth Peabody, assistant professor of German, on his book project Film History for the Anthropocene: The Ecological Archive of German Cinema. Esme shared her experience as an SRP with the Humanities Center.
“Over winter break, I worked with Professor Seth Peabody on his upcoming book Film History for the Anthropocene: The Ecological Archive of German Cinema. Whereas last summer, I helped him do preliminary research and provided editorial assistance on the writing of the book, this winter break I helped with more focused work. For example, I helped him fulfill the recommendations of his peer reviewers by suggesting edits to certain sections of the book, editing footnotes and writing literature reviews for other areas of research interest. In addition, I helped the book fit the formatting and content guidelines of the publisher, including translating German titles and quotes and reformatting images. Seth and I met around three times a week, with some adjustments for our differing schedules. This experience enhanced my research skills, as I learned how to search databases more effectively, construct an annotated literature review, and watch films with an eye towards analysis. These skills will be useful in my future career, as I want to pursue a future in museum studies, a field that requires intense investigation of the historical record. I also improved my writing skills, turning my eye to the fine details of copy-editing and learning how to communicate academic ideas to a general audience. It was also interesting to see the book at a different stage of development than I had earlier, providing a valuable perspective on the process of academic writing. Lastly, I improved my skills in working remotely, an expanding field in today’s marketplace.”