During the spring quarter 2026, Dr. Chrystel Oloukoï is excited to recruit 1-2 undergraduate interns supported by the Halmo Geography Scholars Program. Students are expected to work 100 hours over the course of the quarter, and will be provided with $2,000.
“Dream Palaces — Black Independent Cinemas” is a digital humanities project mapping Black-owned or Black-administered movie theaters as key sites of subversion of a racialized film industry as well as of articulation of an alternative, communal, Black cinematic ethos in service of marginalized Black communities. This research-action project is co-produced in collaboration with the Lagos-based nomadic film collective, Monangambee. It includes four main components: an interactive digital map; a nomadic library; public space interventions; and a series of virtual screenings.
Tasks
A central component of the project is an interactive web-based map which locates former or current Black-owned or Black-administered movie theaters. Aside from geolocation, the map will also serve as a repository of archives related to individual movie theaters (oral histories, photographs, advertisements, posters, etc.). The research team for the project will be in charge of creating and maintaining the database of movie theaters and collecting associated archival materials. The Halmo Scholars will support the project in the following ways:
- Database cleaning
- Archival research
- Geolocation
- Map design
- Contribute to a Zooniverse version of the project
Interns will develop skills and experience in
- Creating and maintaining workable databases for mapping and research
- Hands-on experience in developing and maintaining web-based GIS applications, enhancing proficiency with HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and GIS libraries such as Mapbox, MapLibre, or ArcGIS JavaScript
- Collaboration on a hybrid research program with community partners and researchers, using the Zooniverse platform
How you will benefit
Halmo Scholars will be named as contributors to the project, which opens up avenues of professional development in digital humanities.