Lilia Fernandez

Email Address: lfernand@uic.edu
College: Liberal Arts and Sciences Department: History
Title: Professor
Office: UH 1021 Phone: n/a
Webpage: https://hist.uic.edu/profiles/fernandez-lilia/
Participating in the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Awards program: Yes

Research Interest:
I am a historian who studies Latino/x Chicago. In particular, I am interested in capturing the diversity of the population over the 20th century, their geographic dispersion, and their work experiences. I am also developing an extensive public archive that will include oral histories, called The Chicago Latino History Project, similar to one I created at my previous institution. See here: https://latcar.rutgers.edu/research-and-public-projects/the-latino-new-jersey-history-project

Topics of interest that students can explore in doing library research or conducting oral histories include labor history; urban life; poverty; migration; education; women, among others.

Minimum time commitment in hours per week: 5-10

Qualifications of a Student:
Students should preferably have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and experience in history or social science classes (sociology, anthropology, criminology, etc). History majors are especially encouraged to apply. Students should be at least in their second year/sophomore at UIC, have good writing and organizational skills, and be comfortable with library research, transcribing, and editing. Students can be trained in any of these skills if they are hardworking and can commit to the project for at least several months. Spanish/English bilingual proficiency is a plus but not required.

Brief Summary of what is expected from the student:
Student(s) will do library research at UIC Daley library; scanning, organizing of digital or hard copy files. In addition, students will train to conduct oral histories, transcribe interviews, edit interviews, and help process them for online publication. This will include becoming familiar with recording equipment (Zoom audio recorders or video recorders), and with AI software.

Student(s) will work in my office (University Hall), at the Daley library, or off-campus conducting interviews.

These are excellent skills to acquire that will help a student become more marketable for future employment in a variety of settings.

Return to History list

Return to Departments list