CV 2014_Janny Li
- 1. Janny Li Email: jli18@uci.edu Education Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of California, Irvine Advanced to candidacy in 2012. Degree expected June 2015. Spectral Science: Into the World of American Ghost Hunters Committee: Dr. George Marcus (chair), Dr. Mei Zhan, Dr. Keith Murphy M.A. in Anthropology, University of California, Irvine Degree received in January 2014. B.A. in Anthropology, minor in Asian Humanities, University of California, Los Angeles Degree received in June 2006. Chinese University of Hong Kong, Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship funded study abroad in Fall 2005. Interests Anthropology of knowledge; medicine, science, technology, and society (MSTS) studies; psychological anthropology; anthropology of religion; history of science; scientific experiments; religion-science debates; anthropology of the mind; American religion and spirituality; occult and metaphysical traditions; embodiment and phenomenology; William James; pragmatism; semiotics; ethics and morality; visual culture and new media; popular culture Research Experience 2011-2013 Dissertation fieldwork in Southern California and New York City Spectral Science: Intro the World of American Ghost Hunters, employed ethnographic methods over 15 months to examine how ghost hunters conceive of and do the work of paranormal research. Conducted archival research at the American Society for Psychical Research examining the emergence of paranormal research in the late Victorian era. Research funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the Lita Osmundsen Initiative Grant for research that demonstrates how the unique qualities of anthropology can make a significant contribution to the modern world. 2009-2011 Pre-dissertation fieldwork in New York City, Chicago, and Cambridge, Mass. Summer research on feasibility of long-term dissertation research on paranormal researchers. Archival research at Houghton Library at Harvard University examining the William James archives. Research funded by Center for Ethnography and Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
- 2. Janny Li - ji18@uci.edu 2 2005 Directed research project at University of California, Los Angeles Striking a Balance: Patient and Doctor Co-construction of a Clinical Interaction, quarter-long study (Spring 2005) employed discourse analysis to investigate the co-construction of clinical interactions between doctors and patients using various linguistic styles and communicative stances. Trained in transcription methods and HIPPA. Research led by Dr. Cameron Hay-Rollins. 2005 Independent research project at Chinese University of Hong Kong Rolling Stone Gathers no Moss: Modernization of Fo Guang Shan Buddhism in Hong Kong. Semester long (Fall 2005) study employed ethnographic methods and archival research to examine how Buddhist monastics introduced new methods of propagating their religion to the lay community. Fieldwork resulted in an independent research paper presented to the UCLA Education Abroad Program. Research funded by the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship 2004-2005 Preliminary research for independent research project in London (2004), Los Angeles (Spring 2005), Kaoshiung, Taiwan (Summer 2005) Employed ethnographic methods, archival research, and discourse analysis to study the localization and missionary practices of the Fo Guang Shan monastery in Taiwan and their international branch temples. Fieldwork resulted in a presentation for the Fo Guang Shan monastery. Research partially funded by Humanistic Buddhism Monastic Life Program Fellowship. 2003 Getty Multicultural Internship Collections intern at the Pacific Asia Museum in California. Trained in collections management and textile conservation. Focused on the preservation and archiving of Japanese imperial kimonos. Internship funded by The Getty Foundation. Awards and Fellowships 2014 UCI Associated Graduate Students Travel Grant 2012 Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant 2012 Lita Osmundsen Initiative Grant 2012 UC Irvine Center for Ethnography Travel Grant 2011 UC Irvine School of Social Sciences Graduate Fellowship 2009-2011 UC Irvine Department of Anthropology Summer Research Funding Grant 2008-2010 UC Irvine School of Social Sciences Summer Fellowship 2008 UC Irvine School of Social Sciences Merit Fellowship 2005 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship 2005 Humanistic Buddhism Monastic Life Program Fellowship
- 3. Janny Li - ji18@uci.edu 3 Works in Progress Residual Hauntings: Authoritative Intuition as Making Present an Imagined Past invited for resubmission to American Ethnologist. Visions of Future Science: Inside a Ghost Hunters Tool Kit in preparation for Science, Technology, & Human Values. Miscellaneous Writings and Media I Dont Have ESP: What the Ganzfeld Experiment can tell us about Science at Method: A Quarterly Magazine about Science and Society. Available: http://www.methodquarterly.com/2014/11/i-dont-have-esp/ Interviewed about historic and contemporary paranormal research in America by Amanda Yates Garcia for The Oracle Hour (KCHUNG). August 23, 2014. The Palm Print. Blog post, Sound Ethnography, July 2013. Available: http://soundethnography.com/2013/07/12/the-palm-print/ Conference encounters: Challenging boundaries and rethinking ethics at the 2008 American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting. Caitlin Fouratt, Janny Li, Taylor Nelms. Anthropology Today 25(2): 27-28. Papers and Workshops 2014 Residual Hauntings: Authoritative Intuition as Making Present an Imagined Past American Anthropological Association Meeting in Washington D.C. Accepted. 3 December. 2014 American Haunting: An Anthropological Study of Ghost Hunters, Invited colloquium, Department of Anthropology, Saddleback College, 29 October 2014 A Case of Quasi-Certainty: William James and the Making of the Subliminal Mind Knowledge in Motion: Anthropological Engagements with Epistemic Infrastructures. Conference, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine. 26, April. 2014 Residual Hauntings: Making Present an Intuited Past Invited participant, Working Title Workshop Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine. 18 February. 2012 Spectral Science: Into the Experimental World of Ghost Hunters
- 4. Janny Li - ji18@uci.edu 4 Invited presentation, Constructing Worlds: Breaking and Making Order. Conference, Department of Visual Studies, University of California, Irvine. 5 April. 2010 Unstable Encounters: The Space Cat and Moments of Surprise in a Ganzfeld Experiment Uncertainty: Ambiguity and Doubt in Knowledge Production. Conference, Department of Anthropology, Stanford University, CA. 23 April. 2010 The Train Conductor: A Case Study of a Haunting Invisibilities: Addressing the Question of the Unseen. Conference, Department of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University, MD. 20 February. Teaching Experience 2013-2014 Instructor, Department of Anthropology University of California, Irvine Anthropology of the Paranormal. Upper-division course fulfilling an elective requirement for undergraduate students seeking an emphasis in Medicine, Science, Technology, and Society Studies in the anthropology department. Course explored cross-cultural beliefs in the supernatural with a focus on religion-science debates in the United States. Hosted workshops on Reading Workshop: How to Read an Academic Article, Writing Workshop: How to Construct and Support an Argument, and Ethnographic Methods Workshop: How to Collect and Analyze Data. Designed syllabus, course schedule, exams, assignments, and coordinate course materials. 2008- Teaching Assistant, School of Social Sciences University of California, Irvine Developed section syllabus, lesson plans, classroom activities, and held office hours. Graded exams and research papers. In addition, hosted workshops on Writing Workshop: How to Construct and Support an Argument. Select courses taught: Introduction to Socio-Cultural Anthropology; Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (lecture given: Language and Mass Media); Language and Social Cognition; Origins of Global Interdependence; Reading Images Culturally (lecture given: Spectral Science: Into the Experimental World of Ghost Hunters), Computer Based Research. 2006 English Instructor, He Ping Middle School, Shaanxi Province, China Taught students from ages 12-16 English and listening comprehension skills. Classes incorporate a multi-modal approach to teaching through the use of audio/video equipment, power point presentations, games, and songs Mentoring Experience
- 5. Janny Li - ji18@uci.edu 5 2013 Mentor, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program University of California, Irvine Advised an undergraduate research assistant on the design of her ethnographic research project on ghost hunters in Southern California. I worked with her to secure intramural funding for her fieldwork and present her findings at the UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium. I also trained her in ethnographic fieldwork methods, archival research, transcription, and data analysis. Pedagogical Training 2014-2015 UCI Community College Internship Program, Intern Worked with a faculty mentor at Orange Coast College to develop pedagogical skills and learn multi-modal teaching resources. Duties included attending lectures, giving guest lectures, holding office hours, advising transfer students, connecting transfer students to UCI. Developing and implementing a series of writing, reading, and methods workshops and handbooks, including: How to Read an Academic Article, How to Write a Social Sciences Paper, and Qualitative Research Design and Methods. 2014 Working Safe and Smart in the Wild Web (Hosted by UCI Office of Information Technology) 2013 Google Apps @UCI (Hosted by UCI Office of Information Technology) 2013 Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (Conducted by UCI Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center) 2012 UCI Electronic Educational Environment (EEE) Assessment Tools (Hosted by UCI Office of Information Technology) 2011 UCI EEE Collaboration Tools (Hosted by UCI Office of Information Technology) 2011 SmartClassooms for Eaters (Anteaters) (Hosted by UCI Office of Information Technology) 2010 Multimedia: Creating Video with iMovie (Hosted by UCI Libraries) 2010 EEE Instructional Tools (Hosted by UCI Office of Information Technology) 2008 UCI Teaching Assistant Professional Development Program (Hosted by UCI Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center) Synergistic Activities 2014 Co-organizer, Magical Machines: Mysticism and Modern Technology. AAA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Accepted. 2013-2014 University of California, Irvine, Department of Anthropology, Undergraduate Committee, Curriculum Analyst. Researched the course offerings, specializations,
- 6. Janny Li - ji18@uci.edu 6 resources, and requirements of comparable undergraduate anthropology programs and presented by findings to the Undergraduate Committee towards their efforts to redesign the UCI undergraduate anthropology major. 2013 Organizer, Returning from the Field Clinic. Graduate Student Workshop led by Prof. Tom Boellstorf and Prof. Valerie Olson on transitioning from fieldwork to dissertation writing and publishing. University of California, Irvine Professional Affiliations American Anthropological Association American Ethnological Association Society for the Anthropology of Religion California STS Network References George Marcus (Doctoral Committee Chair): Chancellors Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine, gmarcus@uci.edu, (949) 824-5345 Mei Zhan: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine, mzhan@uci.edu, (949) 824-8167 Keith Murphy: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine, kmmurphy@uci.edu, (949) 824-9234 Gabriele Schwab: Chancellors Professor, Department of Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine, gmschwab@uci.edu, (949) 824-6406