Albemarle County Historical Society: Charlottesville, Virginia (Digital imaging, accessioning of large photographic collection and possible web design)
Terms: Upper-level undergraduate student with strong organizational skills and interest in digital imaging. Some background in twentieth-century American history and culture and web design desirable. Needs to be able to work independently.
Goals: The project focuses on a large photographic collection that must be scanned, catalogued, and accessioned. In addition, intern(s) will carry out research related to the photographs that focus on history, culture, and folklife of the region during the period from the late 1930s through the late 1980s. Opportunities exist to develop a web exhibit around these rich photographic materials.
Outcome: The Intern will participate in all phases of the project and will help shape the nature of web-based and museum exhibits. Materials that reflect research on the collection will be the basis for a final report.
Background: ACHS is a small organization dedicated to preserving the local history of the city and the county. Its mission is to educate local citizens through lectures, exhibits, and publications. The society supports a library with archival materials available for the study of the region. Web Address: http://achs.category4.com/home.html
Ash Lawn-Highland: Charlottesville, Virginia* - TWO INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
Terms: Upper-level undergraduate student with basic knowledge of early American history and a willingness to learn about the worlds of James Monroe. Excellent communications and public relations skills required. Need to be able to be flexible in terms of scheduling.
Goals: Primary responsibility will be to interpret the Monroe family and estate for visitors, serving as a tour guide through the busy summer season. In addition, interns will spend part of their time supporting other programs and needs. These additional opportunities might include one or more of the following: collections registration, research, writing, databank updating, office management, marketing, and special events.
Outcome: The intern will write a brief packet of information illustrating the accomplishments of the summer. This may include an overview of the docent experience, examples of research accomplished or of additional tasks completed.
Background: Ash Lawn-Highland is an historic house museum, 535-acre working farm, and site for the performing arts. President James Monroe and his wife, Elizabeth, owned the property from 1793-1826 and made it their official residence from 1799 to 1823. Ash Lawn-Highland remained a working farm until it was opened for public visitation in 1931 by philanthropists Jay and Helen Johns. Upon his death in 1974, Jay Johns bequeathed the property to the College of William and Mary. The site is used in the summer for a highly acclaimed opera series, and is dedicated to the humanities, arts, and historic preservation projects.
*Internship paid directly by Ash Lawn-Highland. Web address: http://www.ashlawnhighland.org/
Capitol Square Preservation Council: Richmond, Virginia (History of the Virginia State Capitol)
Terms: The Capitol Square Preservation Council seeks a graduate student to conduct research as part of an ongoing project on the history of Capitol Square and its buildings. The project will involve primary-source research of state papers at the Library of Virginia, as well as research at the Virginia Historical Society, the Valentine Richmond History Center, the University of Virginia, and other holdings as may be necessary. The Capitol Square Preservation Council will supply limited travel reimbursement and a laptop computer for the course of the internship.
Goal: As part of a comprehensive planning study of the State of Virginia's downtown governmental complex, the Capitol Square Preservation Council has mounted a research effort to document the history of the buildings and sites comprising Capitol Square. The prospective intern will work during the summer of 2006 to document the history of repairs and renovations to the State Capitol Building.
Outcome: A comprehensive history of the Capitol’s repairs and renovations will be presented to the Department of General Services and to the exhibit planners for the Capitol in the fall of 2006. This research will be incorporated in a new exhibit on the history of the Capitol. The exhibit is scheduled to open in the spring of 2007.
Background: Created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1999, the Capitol Square Preservation Council consists of fourteen persons with expertise in architecture, architectural history, landscape architecture, historic preservation, state government, and business. The Council advises in the planning and review of projects affecting the State Capitol, Capitol Square, and other state buildings on or bordering the Square. The Council's work is coordinated by its Executive Director. Web Address: http://www.capitolsquarevirginia.state.va.us/cspc.htm
Edith and Theodore Roosevelt Pine Knot Foundation: Keene, VA (Material Display Development [Website and Artifact-based] and Grant-writing)
Terms: Advanced undergraduate or Graduate student with knowledge of twentieth-century American history, specifically the life and interests of Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive period with an interest in promoting the awareness of local history and the Pine Knot site for school curricula. The intern will construct a web-based program and a multi-media display which can be taken into schools to enhance knowledge and promote interest in Theodore Roosevelt as a US President and in conservation and environmental issues. Knowledge and experience in web design and construction, computer skills and excellent writing skills are required. Some hands-on display building abilities or experience with primary education highly is desirable. Ability to work independently and creatively (in consultation with a volunteer Board member) is essential. This internship is in memory of William H. Harbaugh, a Professor of History Emeritus and long-term member of the Department of History. Mr. Harbaugh also authored the books (among others) Power and Responsibility: The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt and The Theodore Roosevelts’ Retreat in Southern Albemarle: Pine Knot 1905-1908.
Goals: The intern will develop a portion of the website of Pine Knot, using historical material available currently on line and in hard copy, William Harbaugh’s books, and through some additional research (considerable materials already exist to assist in this phase.) for school programs. The website should enhance historical knowledge of Theodore Roosevelt as the 26th US President, environmental and conservation issues, and his time at Pine Knot and should be developed in part for use by schools in the region. With a web-based and modular display for use by school groups being the intern’s primary focus, the intern will then be asked to research and write grant applications that can be used for funding and development of the site’s school-based programs.
Outcome: By the end of the summer, the intern will have completed a website and modular display for school programs developed as defined in consultation with the Board of Pine Knot, and will have identified and written grants appropriate for further development of the site.
Background: Pine Knot is a delightful but underutilized historic site in Albemarle County. It was the family retreat site purchased by Edith Roosevelt during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. The site preserves a rustic cottage exactly as the Roosevelts experienced it, with walking trails and some display materials. This internship has been created in memory of William Harbaugh, a long-term member of the Department of History, who died in 2005. Pine Knot was a place dear to his heart. Through successive summers, interns will have an opportunity to work to make Pine Knot better known as a community resource. (http://www.pineknot.org/PKthennow.htm) The intern will have access to a teacher’s guide, a timeline, William Harbaugh’s books, a site guide and the website http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/index.htm.
Gibbes Museum of Art: Charleston, South Carolina (General curatorial work)
Terms: An undergraduate student with a particular interest in American art history. Background in art history, American studies, or museum studies is required.
Goals: Work with the Curatorial Department staff (Chief Curator, Collections Manager, Archivist, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions, Curatorial Assistant, and Preparator) on the following: 1) collections inventory, research and re-house (miniature portrait, artist sketchbook, archival and sculpture collections and designated deaccession objects); 2) gather conservation related information on objects in collection for computer database; 3) update exhibition records for computer database; 4) off-site research to develop label copy for on line publication and website; 5) deinstallation and installation of major exhibitions; 6) digital photography of collection; and 7) label preparation for forthcoming exhibitions entitled Romantic Landscapes: British Watercolors from the Gibbes Collection and The Plantation in American Art.
Outcome: Completion of relevant tasks as outlined above, and brief report on summer activities.
Background: Opened in 1905 by the Carolina Art Association, the Gibbes Museum of Art represents a long and impressive tradition of cultural leadership in historic Charleston, providing residents and visitors with access to a distinguished collection and an active, schedule of exhibits, programs and events. The Gibbes Museum was built as a memorial to James Shoolbred Gibbes and is Charleston’s best example of the Beaux Arts style of architecture. The nationally significant collection of American paintings reflects Charleston’s past and present and is a source of community pride. The Gibbes collection consists of approximately 10,000 objects ranging from paintings, prints and drawings, to photography, sculpture and miniature rooms. Web address: http://www.gibbesmuseum.org/
Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life: Jackson, Misssissippi (Historical Research and Writing)*
Terms: Undergraduate student with a background or interest in Southern and/or American Jewish History. Research experience desirable, but not essential. Interns need a means of private transportation. The intern will work with the director of its History Department, which is dedicated to documenting, preserving, and interpreting the history of Jews living in the South.
Goals: Main task will be to collect, organize, and archive information in ISJL history files. Interns will take road trips to southern communities to collect historical documents and information. Interns will also work to put archive information on the Institute website. Other duties may include transcribing and indexing oral histories, grant research and preparation, assisting with development of interpretive projects, and assisting with planning and promotion of cultural events.
Outcome: Interns will make a significant contribution toward the department’s goal of collecting information about every Southern Jewish community. Interns will also produce an in-depth research paper on one particular community that will be published in the Institute’s newsletter Circa.
Background: The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life began in 1986 as the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, which was dedicated to preserving the history of Jewish life in the South, especially its small cities and towns. The Museum currently has two sites, in Utica and Natchez, Mississippi. In 1999, the Museum expanded its mission to become the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, and now works to preserve and document the practice, culture, and legacy of Judaism in the South through its new Education and Rabbinic departments. For more information, see our website, http://www.isjl.org [*Internship paid directly by Institute – $1700 stipend] Web Address: http://www.isjl.org
Hagley Museum and Library: Wilmington, Delaware (Research and Web-design) - TWO INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
Terms: Graduate students with knowledge of or interest in business, technological or environmental history, and ability to develop websites. This internship will occur on site for 8 weeks during the summer and will continue as an independent study project during the Fall 2006 semester, under the guidance of Prof. W. Bernard Carlson (Science, Technology, and Society Dept./History Dept.) The student will submit a final project to the Hagley Museum by January 2007, and will return to the museum for final implementation during the January intersession. Unlike other internships, this more extended project will carry a stipend of $3,840 and free summer housing at the Hagley Museum complex.
Goals: Projects for the summer internships will be designed in consultation with Hagley staff and may take a number of different forms. Choices will be made based on intern expertise and museum interest. Possible topics include the following: 1) Women inventors; 2) Technology and Power (thinking about how machinery and gunpowder provide both mechanical as well as political power); 3) Patent models; 4) From Inventors to Designers; 5) Pennsylvania Station in New York City. Interns will spend the summer period at the Museum, researching and documenting Hagley collections. The project may include research based on the collections, an overview of Hagley’s holdings in a particular area, or extended finding aids to the collections. During the Fall 2006 term, interns will then design and implement a website based on a specific collection, under the guidance of Prof. Carlson, along with assistance from the Virginia Center for Digital History.
Outcome: During the January 2007 intersession, interns will return to Hagley to present their web design to the staff, and then load the project onto a Hagley computer so that the project becomes part of the Hagley web site.
Background: The Hagley Museum and Library is one of the country’s premier private collections on business and technology in America. The collections focus on papers of individuals ranging from eighteenth-century merchants to modern telecommunications and illustrate the impact of American business and industry on society. The Hagley is located on 235 acres in and near Wilmington, Delaware, and is on the site of the gunpowder works founded by E. I. Du Pont in 1802. The site includes restored mills, a workers’ community, and the ancestral home and gardens of the du Pont family. Web address: http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/
Institute for Public History: Charlottesville, Virginia (Explorations in Black Leadership - Research/Educational Web Materials) - TWO INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
Terms: Advanced undergraduate and/or graduate student with excellent research skills in historical materials and good organizational abilities. Must be able to work well independently. All disciplines considered. Knowledge of high school curricula for web-based learning modules would be very desirable.
Goals: The Institute for Public History is continuing an ambitious project called Explorations in Black Leadership. The project is built around a series of videotaped interviews and public presentations with distinguished African-Americans. Now that a sizeable number of interviews exist on a website, the goal of the project is to develop modules for classroom use in areas such as History, African American Studies, Social Studies, Sociology, Leadership, and/or Civil Rights. The role of the intern will be to assess possible uses of this materials in classroom settings, and to design and complete web-based learning modules based on this material in consultation with the project director and classroom teachers. In addition, the intern will prepare briefing notebooks for use during new interviews to be conducted during the 2006-2007 academic year by project directors.
Outcome: Completion of web module(s) and notebooks with interview questions.
Background: The Institute for Public History, founded in 1996, sponsors summer internships for U.Va. students, research projects that include the voices of those whose memories are not part of the written record, and courses of general interest to undergraduate and graduate students. This project on Black Leadership is being sponsored in conjunction with the Darden Business School. Web Address: http://www.virginia.edu/publichistory
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection at UVA: Charlottesville, Virginia (Grant source reference materials, tracking system for applications, a small completed grant application. )
Terms: A graduate student or highly motivated undergraduate student, preferably in the field of anthropology, art history, art or education, to serve as an intern in an Australian Aboriginal art museum. Experience with any part of the grant writing process is desired. Good organizational and research skills and an ability to categorize information would be helpful.
Goals: The intern will work directly with the curator and associate curator to determine various possibilities for grant funding for the purpose of electronically cataloguing the materials in the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Study Center, as well as possibilities for conservation funding. In addition, the intern will compile the basic information commonly required by most funding agencies about the institution submitting the grant proposal; 3) the intern will complete a small grant, possibly from a local source, and have it ready for submission. The intern will also assist with office duties (mailings, computer work) and other tasks necessary to running a small museum (help with exhibits and special programs).
Outcome: 1) A compilation of grant funding agencies for which the KR Study Center is eligible; 2) a tracking system for grant deadline dates, grant submission dates, and award dates; 3) the compilation of basic information about the Kluge-Ruhe that is commonly required in grant proposals; 4) the completion of a small, possibly locally sourced, grant application
Background: The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection is the finest
collection of Australian Aboriginal art outside Australia. It is
located at 400 Worrell Drive, Peter Jefferson Place, off the 250 East
Bypass at Pantops. Programs include rotating exhibits in the gallery
(open Tues – Sat 9 am – 3 pm), research, collections
management, conservation, publication and public education.
Web address: http://www.virginia.edu/kluge-ruhe/index.php?p=_home_
The Library of Virginia: Richmond, VA: (Website development for major exhibit)
Terms: Advanced undergraduate or graduate student with knowledge of web design and language, and a broad knowledge of American and Virginia history. Ability to work well with a variety of people as part of a tem. Familiarity with state SOLs desirable
Goals: Working with the exhibitions coordinator in the Library of Virginia's Division of Publications and Educational Services, the intern will develop an educational web site to complement the major exhibition, "Myth and Memory: Four Hundred Years of Virginia History," that will be on display at the Library of Virginia throughout the calendar year 2007. The intern will work with historians, archivists, librarians, graphic designers, and educational specialists to prepare a prototype web site that will make use of the images, artifacts, documents, as well as other resources from the library to be included in the exhibition The web site should be easy to navigate, aesthetically pleasing, and include easy-to-use references to the Virginia Department of Education's Standards of Learning for the Social Studies, specifically to the standards for teaching American and Virginia history.
Outcome: Completed website reading for testing for the exhibit.
Background: The Library of Virginia is a major research library with printed and archival collections that make it a comprehensive source for information on Virginia history and culture. It serves as the library agency of the state, the archival agency of the Commonwealth, and the reference library at the seat of government. The official repository for all state records, the archives also provide access to extensive county and city records, a wide variety of personal papers, business records, church records, organizational records, and maps. More than 150,000 individuals visit the Library of Virginia annually, not only to conduct research but also to attend lectures, participate in workshops, and to view exhibitions. Web address: http://www.lva.lib.va.us/
Louisa County Historical Society: Louisa, Va. - TWO INTERNSHIPS
Louisa County: Position #1 (Archival Administration)
Terms: Rising third or fourth year undergraduate student pursuing a degree in history or related subject. Student should have an interest in the practice of public history in a small institution such as a museum or Historical Society. Intern must be computer literate and able to learn new programs quickly. The museum director will provide guidance concerning the museum’s collection management for this small museum located on court house square in the Town of Louisa.
Goals: The intern will work with the museum director to compile an annotated bibliography of certain portions of the museum’s collection of oral histories, written accounts of historical events and other descriptions of historical significance. Duties will involve inventorying, organizing, arranging, and sorting these archived collections into appropriate categories and writing an accompanying description of their content. This museum is a small collection of artifacts unique to Louisa County. This is a “hands’on” history opportunity through which the intern will be immersed in the work of a small public history institution.
Outcome: The intern will produce an annotated bibliography of the museum’s collection of certain written records. This annotated bibliography will greatly enhance the usefulness of this material to individuals and organizations such as the local newspaper. The goal of this project is to have this information on a compact disc in Word Format. This project represents a unique learning (and resume) opportunity.
Background: Chartered in 1966, the Louisa County Historical Society preserves, protects, and promotes Louisa County History. The Society manages a small museum of collections unique to Louisa County. Web address: http://trevilians.com/lchs.htm
Louisa County: Position #2 (Museums collections database)
Terms: Rising third or fourth year undergraduate student pursuing a degree in history or related field. Student should have an interest in the practice of public history in a small institution such as a museum of Historical Society. The intern must be computer literate, and able to learn new programs quickly. Our museum director will provide guidance concerning collection’s management for this small museum located on courthouse square in the Town of Louisa.
Goals: The intern will work with the museum director and transfer the museum’s collection records to the collection’s management software for small museums mentioned above. Duties may involve inventorying, organizing, arranging, and sorting collections into appropriate categories. This museum is a small collection of artifacts unique to Louisa County. This is a “hands-on” history opportunity through which the intern will learn a great deal about Louisa County and the work of a small public history organization.
Outcome: The intern will initiate the museum’s input of its collection’s records into the above mentioned small museum collection’s management software. This software is widely used for collection management and represents a unique opportunity.
Background: Chartered in 1966, the Louisa County Historical Society preserves, protects, and promotes Louisa County History. The Society manages a small museum of collections unique to Louisa County.
Monticello - Jefferson Library, Thomas Jefferson Foundation: Charlottesville, Va. (Digital Archive)
Terms: Upper-level undergraduate student with basic knowledge of early American history and a willingness to learn about Thomas Jefferson's life, times, and legacy. Skills in communications, basic computer processing, and research methods are required. Scheduling within a Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. timeframe required. Four day work weeks are possible.
Goals: This project will digitize, catalog, and make easily accessible key intellectual assets of the Foundation. Resources created and owned by two dozen departments and individual researchers will be compiled for the first time. Materials not owned by the Foundation will also be included for collation of all relevant resources. Every aspect of Thomas Jefferson's life, times, and legacy, will be addressed. Objects will include slides, photographs, transparencies, maps, audio and video files, documents, books and essays, and statistical and spatial data. The summer intern will help with collecting images, scanning, creating metadata, archiving, testing the Internet public side, archiving, acquiring copyright permissions, etc.
Outcome: The intern will put together an end report that documents the tasks completed for use of both Monticello and the Institute. Background: The Jefferson Library is a new research facility (dedicated April 13, 2002) serving the staff of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and research fellows of the International Center for Jefferson Studies. Library electronic outreach programs serve a worldwide audience of students, teachers, scholars, and citizens. Incorporated in 1923, the Foundation is a private non-profit organization whose mission is Education and Preservation. The mission of the Jefferson Library is to provide information about Thomas Jefferson’s life, times, and legacy. Web Address: http://www.monticello.org/library/
Terms: Upper-level undergraduate or graduate student with strong writing skills, and able to research a broad topic, in order to produce a research paper (with annotated bibliography), which will guide the creation of an exhibition during 2007. Needs to be able to work independently. Intern need not be present on location during the internship, but a personal presentation in Norfolk during Fall 2006 would be scheduled, and travel reimbursement would be furnished for this scheduled event.
Goals: The project focuses on the creation of an exhibition to be created during 2006/2007 commemorating the 400th anniversary of the 1607 landing at Jamestown in Virginia. The intended exhibit will concentrate on the significance of religious freedom for the settlement of Jamestown and the development of the region. An important question to explore is whether Jewish immigrants were equally motivated by this quest for religious freedom as were other denominations. The first documented Jewish immigrant arrived in Virginia in 1654, and the Archives Committee feel that this is “close enough” to 1607 be able to draw a reasonable comparison for reasons for immigration. An extensive bibliography of secondary works on the religious history of America and the history of Jews in America (including such works as those of Melvin Urofsky and Hasia Diner) will form the starting point for this study. The Archives of Ohef Sholom (in Norfolk) and Beth Ahaba in Richmond may also prove useful. The goal is to develop new materials that focus specifically on the reasons for Jewish settlement in the New World, with a specific focus on Virginia.
Outcome: The intern will write a research paper (with annotated bibliography) on the topic assigned, though the exact focus can be negotiated as necessary during the first third of the internship period, via communication with the Archives Chairperson.
Background: Ohef Sholom Temple Archive is recognized as a significant regional resource-not just for Southeastern Virginia's Jewish Community, but for all of Virginia. The archive is a repository for everyone's memories and are among the most comprehensive in the area. The Boston Globe, National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," and The History Channel have all identified the archives as a resource for a compelling social history of Jewish life in Southeastern Virginia. The collection contains 1,555 items. Over sixty percent of the materials have been digitized and placed into a comprehensive collections management system, Re:discovery. Much of the photography portion of this database is available at no charge to Internet users on the Temple website, http://www.ohefsholom.org/aboutus/archives/
Comprehensive organizational records of Ohef Sholom Temple are maintained, as are a number of prominent founding family’s records. Treasured artifacts are displayed, photographed and loaned to other Virginia Association of Museum member organizations as part of the Archives mission, and the overall temple outreach program. The sermons of prior Rabbis during important moments in Southern Jewish history are also cataloged, and in fact, many videotaped events have been transferred to archival DVD format, and are being transcribed during the 2005-2006 year.
The Scottsville Museum and Historic Landmarks Foundation: Scottsville, Va. - TWO INTERNSHIPS
Scottsville Museum: Genealogy Intern (Position #1)
Terms: Upper level undergraduate student or possibly graduate student with good research skills and an interest in archival research. Many of Scottsville Museum's recent exhibits are based on the products of the Museum's 'Capturing Our Heritage' program, which focuses on individuals and families from this town's past. The student will need to become familiar with the town of Scottsville, its history, and its museum. This familiarity will be aided by talking to townspeople, listening to some of our recorded oral histories, and by reading materials on the past of Scottsville and the James River Canal. A car is necessary as much of the work will be in and around Scottsville (there is a stipend for wear-and-tear).
Goals: Many visitors (and potential visitors) to the Scottsville Museum are interested in finding out more about family members who have lived in Scottsville and southern Albemarle County. They are encouraged in this because the museum exhibits look at individuals and families from the past. At present what they are able to learn depends on the local knowledge of the docent and the accident of what happens to be on display. Docents are volunteers from the neighboring community, and they vary tremendously in their knowledge of local history, families and local genealogy. This intern will compile a collection of materials which would be on hand to aid museum docents in helping these visitors. We envision the intern compiling materials such as the following: a list of those buried in local cemeteries, along with cemetery plans, birth and death records from Albemarle County, christening records from local churches, obituary files from newspapers. We need a list of the older houses in town and surrounding area with dates of construction, photographs, and the names of the families who lived in them. All this material (or as much as can be collected) should be put in hard copy form, easily accessible, with indexes and tables of contents. The use of hard copy will make the materials more accessible to our docents who prefer it to computer presentations. However, time permitting, these materials should also be compiled into a searchable database and placed on the web. An initial meeting with museum board members will help the intern obtain the introductions needed, and give ideas about how the materials can be obtained.
Outcome: The intern will summarize the summer's work with a four or five page report for the museum. In addition the intern will give a 15 or 20 minute talk summarizing his or her work to the Scottsville Museum Board at their August 5, 2006, meeting. These reports will represent outcome reports for the intern. These reports, along with the compiled information for docents and for the general public on the web, will become part of the museum's permanent collection. In all these cases the materials will become the property of the Scottsville Museum, with acknowledgement of the intern’s authorship.
Background: The Scottsville Museum has profited greatly from the work of student interns. Interns from previous years have greatly enjoyed working with the enthusiastic and supportive community volunteers who are developing the historic and cultural content of the museum. This internship, with its focus on genealogy and archival past will aid in making these collections more available and useful to the local citizenry. The intern will become enmeshed in the Town of Scottsville with its important riverboat past. The intern will not be faced with a rigid time schedule and can do a considerable part of their work at home.
The Scottsville Museum and Historic Landmarks Foundation is nonprofit and incorporated, and it “seeks to preserve for public benefit the historical, natural, and artistic heritage of the Scottsville community.” It is housed in a former Disciples of Christ Church built in 1846 and its adjacent parsonage, the Barclay House. The latter building has been renovated to permit research space and to house our technical systems, archives, and library. The museum is in downtown Scottsville and displays permanent and rotating exhibits on James River transportation, the Civil War, Native American artifacts, and life and events in this town over the past 250 years. The museum is open to the public on weekends from April to October. Should prospective interns be interested in seeing the museum, a private opening can be arranged by calling Charles Fry at (434) 286-3590. Please see our web site: http://avenue.org/smuseum/home.html.
Scottsville Museum: Oral History Intern (Position #2)
Terms: Advanced undergraduate or graduate student with good writing and computer skills who is at ease in interview situations with older people. Skills in digital photography and audio, Photoshop, and web design would be useful but not required. The student should have, or be willing to develop, skills in oral history collection and come to be interested in how a national historical event like WWII was experienced and changed the soldiers and their relatives in our small town. A love of history is important and a love of Scottsville will develop over the summer. A car is necessary (a stipend for wear-and-tear is included).
Goals: The Museum continues to explore the experiences and perspectives of Scottsville area senior citizens. This is a multimedia study with potential for additional dimensions to suit the intern’s interests. Over the past five years, interns have gathered sixty approximately 45-minute oral histories from Scottsville seniors. The current project will focus on memories of Scottsvillians about the WWII period from 1940-1945. The memories will both be of those in service, stateside and abroad (mostly men) and those on the home front in Scottsville at Army camps and elsewhere (mostly women). To facilitate cooperation, first contact with these interviewees will be made by Museum Board members. Subsequent interview scheduling will be arranged by the intern. Usually interviews take place in the museum, but, when necessary, a few are done in private homes. Interviews have been recorded on CD ROMS and are then summarized and annotated by the intern. If possible they will include brief responses to a questionnaire, and appropriate photographs and artifacts (provided by the participant or by the museum). More elaborate individual memories about their lives during this time frame are also included, in part triggered by in-depth probes.
Outcome: The intern will aid in developing the questionnaires and the in-depth probes. The intern will write a final report reviewing their summer work. In addition the intern will give a brief oral summary of his/her work to the Scottsville Museum Board at their August 5, 2006 meeting. These reports will represent outcome reports for the intern. The interns will not have to transcribe the interviews, but will summarize, annotate, and index the interviews allowing cross-referencing of interview topics from the various interviews. We hope to be able to see what it means to enlist or be drafted, to eat K-rations or have food or gas rationing, to be sent to the European or Pacific theaters, to experience battle or type your way through service obligations as a stateside clerk. Then what is it like to return to Scottsville after service. Conversely, on the home front what were the effects of family separations, the fears of death or disability for sons overseas, gas or food or shoe rationing, at home. The interview summaries and associated CD ROMS will constitute outcome and become part of the museum’s collections.
Background: In summer 2001, two interns piloted our oral history project. In 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 about 60 interviews were gathered by two interns each summer. Our state-of-the-art digital recorders, cameras, and computer systems recorded the interviews and related photographs and artifacts. Interns were trained to use the equipment and to conduct the oral history sessions. The interviews have been recorded and indexed, and the artifacts and photographs they shared with us copied, digitized, and are now part of the museum’s archives. The intern work in the summer of 2006 will allow us to expand these archives in a new direction by adding interviews about a specific and disruptive time in Scottsville and in the world.
Interns from previous years have encouraged us to add that interning at the Scottsville Museum is an exciting experience. The persons interviewed enjoy it tremendously and are enthusiastic about reviewing their experiences with someone who really is interested. This is exciting stuff in a small town where everybody knows everybody. The interviews are unique as they often explore tangents of the participant’s forgotten memories. The intern is given freedom to follow and respond to these lines of thought. The intern can do a considerable part of their work at home.
The Scottsville Museum and Historic Landmarks Foundation is a nonprofit and incorporated organization, which “seeks to preserve for public benefit the historical, natural, and artistic heritage of the Scottsville community.” It is housed in a former Disciples of Christ Church, built in 1846, and its adjacent parsonage, the Barclay House. The latter building has been renovated to permit research space and to house our technical systems, archives, and library. The museum is in downtown Scottsville and displays permanent and rotating exhibits on James River transportation, the Civil War, Native American artifacts, and life and events in this town over the past 250 years. The museum is open to the public on weekends from April to October. If the prospective intern wishes to in see the museum, a private showing can be arranged by calling Charles Fry at (434) 286-3590. Please see our web site: http://avenue.org/smuseum/home.html.
Terms: Graduate student with excellent research and writing skills who will work as a research assistant to a Professor of Medicine. The intern must be able to work well independently, and will be expected to thoroughly explore archives and manuscripts related to the history of the Medical Department of the University of Virginia from 1825-2005. Tracing the early history of medicine at the university is particularly challenging, and the focus will initially be on the nineteenth century university. Regular consultation with the project director is necessary.
Goals: A two or three volume history is planned, and the intern will make a significant contribution toward the research on the period from 1825-1900 and on the organization and development of undergraduate medical education. The work will include both research and writing up the results of the project.
Outcome: The intern will be asked to present the results of the research in a form that can be used by the professor for his further work.
Background: The role of Thomas Jefferson in medical education reform provides the impetus for this project. The study critically examines the chronology of academic medicine at the University of Virginia and places it in historical context by incorporating aspects of the socioeconomic, political and regulatory history of health care in 19th and 20th century America. The goal of the project is to be accessible to a wide audience.
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH): Charlottesville, Va: – TWO INTERNSHIPS:
VFH: Virginia Center for the Book (Poster and on-line Exhibit; Research)
Terms: Advanced undergraduate or graduate student with an interest in printing, art, graphic design, historical research to assist in documenting the history of printing from 1607 through 2007. Student will locate, examine, and describe documents, artifacts, events, and people connected with the history of printing in the Commonwealth.
Goals: The intern, using a timeline, will produce a notebook/portfolio with detailed descriptions of the significance and historical value of each entry.
Outcome: Research will be the basis of a poster and on-line exhibit of “Printing in Virginia: 1607-2007” unveiled in 2006. Poster and exhibit will be promoted to educators and students in art, media studies, history, and literature and to the general public.
Background: The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities is the home of the Virginia Center for the Book. The Center’s mission is to promote books, reading, literacy, and the literary culture of Virginia. The project combines the Center’s Virginia Arts of the Book Center (VABC) at www.virginiabookarts.org ; the Virginia Festival of the Book at www.vabook.org ; and the upcoming VFH “New Virginia Encyclopedia,” an on-line encyclopedia being created now.
VFH: South Atlantic Humanities Center
Terms: Advanced undergraduate or graduate student to assist in building a network of allied humanities organizations throughout the U. S. South Atlantic region. Excellent writing, speaking, and computer skills are a must. A demonstrated strong background or interest in public humanities is highly desirable. Spanish language skills are a plus, though not in any way required.
Goals: The Intern, working closely with the SAHC Program Director, will work to build the organization’s outreach to a wide range of humanities organizations throughout the South Atlantic region, both to make them aware of SAHC and to bring their resources into a database and other frameworks – mostly digital – in development.
Outcome: The Intern will acquire experience in the building of communication tools aimed at fashioning humanities-based alliances with local, regional, and national reach. The Intern will help shape the growth and direction of a new regional humanities center whose regional and national influence will increase significantly in coming years.
Background: The South Atlantic Humanities Center, based at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH), is a three-way partnership of Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, and VFH, in collaboration with allies all across the region and beyond. The South Atlantic region comprises Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. SAHC aims to work closely with all manner of allies—including museums, colleges, universities, state humanities councils, research institutes, performers and performance centers, writers, scholars, heritage trails, historical societies, public radio stations, just to name a few—to help them create productive, creative collaborations across the region and to help them bring their humanities projects to the widest possible public. The humanities, as we understand that term, include a broad range of inquiry and practice of human culture, including but not limited to history, anthropology, folklore, literature, architecture and town planning, and the arts. Web Address: http://www.virginia.edu/vfh/
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: Staunton, Virginia - THREE OR MORE INTERNSHIPS
Exhibition research and development, digital projects, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library (Exhibition research and development)
Terms: Upper-level undergraduate or graduate student with basic knowledge of nineteenth and early twentieth-century history, American political history or military history and a willingness to learn. Excellent communications and writing skills required. Interest in design or theater encouraged. Need to be flexible in terms of scheduling. Interns also need a means of private transportation.
Goals: Primary responsibility will be to work with the curator to research and develop one of the following: (1) an exhibition plan for a future exhibit on World War I; (2) a temporary exhibition on Woodrow Wilson’s White House and the development of the West Wing; and/or (3) an exhibition that highlights recent aquisitions and “treasures” from our archive.. In addition, the intern will assist in some of the following: entering data for collection management; preparing materials for entry into a digital archive; reviewing collection for purposes of collections management.
Outcome: Intern will compile a brief packet of information illustrating the accomplishments of the summer. This will include an overview of the exhibition and examples of work accomplished as a collections intern.
Background: The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library is a private non-profit museum in Staunton, Virginia. The Library includes Wilson’s birthplace (opened to the public in 1932), a eight galley museum, and research Library. With a new director, this library and museum is initiating major new projects and plans significant growth. Web Address: http://www.woodrowwilson.org
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: (Digital Archive)
Terms: Upper-level undergraduate or graduate student with strong organizational skills and interest in digital imaging. Some background in twentieth-century American history and culture and web design desirable. Needs to be able to work independently.
Goals: The project focuses on an archival collection that must be scanned, catalogued, and accessioned. In addition, intern(s) will carry out research related to the documents that focus on history and culture of Woodrow Wilson and his era in American History.
Outcome: Intern will compile a brief packet of information illustrating the accomplishments of the summer. This will include an overview of the work accomplished as an intern with the digital archives.
Background: See above
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: (Exhibition research and development)
Terms: Upper-level undergraduate or graduate student with basic knowledge of mid-nineteeth-century culture and history and a willingness to learn. Excellent communications and writing skills required. Interest in design or architectural history encouraged. Need to be flexible in terms of scheduling. Interns also need a means of private transportation.
Goals: Primary responsibility will be to work with the curator to research the appearance and uses of the interior spaces of Woodrow Wilson’s birthplace as part of a restoration plan. In addition, the intern will assist in some of the following: entering data for collection management; preparing materials for entry into a digital archive; reviewing collection for purposes of collections management.
Outcome: Intern will compile a brief packet of information illustrating the accomplishments of the summer. This will include an overview and examples of work accomplished.
Background: See above