Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Name of Lead Faculty/Staff or PI: Mary L. Cohen (Professor, Music Education), mary-cohen@uiowa.edu

Research Topic:
Creative Scholarship with Music-Making in Prison Contexts

Project and Position Details
Work activities based on student’s schedule, skills, and interests (not all these tasks)

  • Collaborate on an original song with incarcerated songwriter
  • As part of the Inside Outside Collaborative Songwriting Project, send emails and check in with non-incarcerated songwriting partners
  • Contact incarcerated visual artists for permission to use their artwork in a video
  • Create music videos with original songs collaboratively created by incarcerated and non-incarcerated artists
  • Build YouTube channel with videos and/or BandCamp channel with audio
  • Reorganize the Oakdale Choir website
  • Publicize (and attend) Singing Love into Life Monthly Song Circles (first Sat of the month from 11-12:30)
  • Plan, co-lead, publicize, and attend weekly music and play pilot group on Tuesdays from 5:30-7 PM from Feb through April in Coralville
  • Help plan the culminating Musical Learning Exchange the last Tuesday in April to conclude the weekly music & play pilot group
  • Publicize (and attend) International Music and Justice Inquiry Network: IMAJIN Caring Communities (on zoom)

If multiple people are interested, possibility to complete 0-4 credits and to work with Dr Cohen on these projects.

If a student is interested in applying to work with Dr Cohen in a future semester, please contact her at mary-cohen@uiowa.edu.
 

Qualifications
Musical leadership skills, organizational skills, technology (website revision) skills, good communication skills


Time Commitment:
8-10 hours per week (flexible hours)

Compensation:
Volunteer (Optional registration for URES:3991 or URES:3992 0-credit transcript recognition), Academic Credit (1-4 Semester Hours)

If multiple people are interested, possibility to complete 0-4 credits and to work with Dr Cohen on these projects.

Start Date
Spring semester

Application Instructions
Send an email to mary-cohen@uiowa.edu expressing your interests and which of the tasks you are able to do.