Vincent Longo: graduate student fosters teamwork in the Collaboratory
“Finding new ways to engage different users with archival materials, especially those outside of traditional academia” is a passion of Vincent Longo’s. Currently a graduate student in the Department of Film, Television, and Media, Vincent—a member of the Collaboratory’s “Book Unbound” team—has managed thirteen undergraduates who have worked on the project.
Vincent co-directs The Heart of Darkness group, one of the three digital-book collaborations within the “Book Unbound” project. Using rare archival material, their project investigates Orson Welles’s never-produced adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness and places it within anti-fascist and anti-racist discourse during the early-stages of World War II.
The undergraduates in the group have come from eight different majors across the humanities, natural sciences, business, and engineering. Over the past couple of years, the team has created digital projects involving original animations, interactive maps, and virtual reality content, giving students opportunities to connect their work in the Collaboratory with their majors and career interests.
Vincent implements innovative methods, exploring multiple ways that digital publications can be used “to create entry-points, supplements, and bridges to new audiences and users.” The collaborative experience has been a productive one. Vincent calls it a “rare opportunity” with “long-term intellectual benefits” to work alongside undergraduates on a multi-year collaboration.