| Internships
· · · · · · · · Public History students have interned with nationally-recognized museums and archives both locally and around the country. These internships provide invaluable professional experience, as well as the chance to meet and network with public history professionals.
Where do Public History students intern?
Here are just a few:
Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park, Dayton, OH
Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH
National Aviation Hall of Fame, Dayton, OH
National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, OH
University of Dayton Archives, Dayton, OH
Clark County Historical Society, Springfield, OH
Greene County Office of Records and Information, Xenia, OH
National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, OH
Cincinnati Historical Society Archives, Cincinnati, OH
American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, OH
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, OH
John F. Kennedy Library Textual Archives, Boston, MA
Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, MO
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC
Historic London Town and Gardens, Edgewater, MD
Chancellorsville National Military Park, Chancellorsville, VA
Stones River National Battlefield, Murfreesboro, TN
What kind of work do Public History students do?
Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio: Wendy Wagener, Summer 2009. Much of her work was done in the Education Department, developing and implementing the first programming there for Autistic children. Other work included working in the Registrar's Office and learning the Museum System, working with the Adult Education Dept. to develop programming for teachers, doing archival work in the Library, and meeting with various other departments to learn their functions within the facility.
Historic London Town and Gardens, Edgewater, Maryland: Andrea Green, Summer 2007. Working with both Lisa Robbins (Education Programs Administrator) and Rod Cofield (Director of Interpretation and Museum Programs), Andrea created a supplement for the volunteer training manual concerning the early 18th-century foodways of Historic London Town. In addition to this research, she gave interpretive tours, participated in an archaeological dig, and got a behind-the-scenes look at various historic sites in the metro Washington, DC, area. http://www.historiclondontown.org
Strawberry Banke, Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Carla Lachecki, Summer 2006. Carla worked for John Forti, Curator of Historic Gardens & Landscapes the Victorian Era children's garden. She organized the research collected to date, sought out new sources to enrich the program, and created a training manual to be used by staff and volunteers. Her work contributed to the design of the overall garden space as well as to future exhibits, brochures, and Web information. http://www.strawberybanke.org/
Smithsonian Archives of American Art: Vanessa Catanzaro, Summer 2005. Vanessa interned in the Collections Processing department where she fully processed the personal papers of a major New York City art collector. She also combined two existing collections relating to an important American sculptor, as well as performing basic preservation work on a sketchbook collection and encoding finding aids using EAD. Click here to see one of Vanessa's EAD-formatted finding aids!
Montgomery County Historical Society: Steve Lucht, Summer 2004. Steve worked closely with the MCHS' Curator to perform the myriad of tasks found at a historical society. He researched and wrote historical exhibit text in addition to helping with the installation of area exhibits. Working with both artifacts and documents, Steve learned preservation techniques relevant to museum and archives. He also represented the MCHS as a tour guide and by working in donor and media relations.
John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, Massachusetts: Jessie Robinson, Summer 2003. Jessie worked in the textual archives, incorporating unprocessed and misprocessed materials into a large collection. In doing so, she handled important documents relating to the Kennedy family and their associates. Once she completed the integration, Jessie wrote part of the finding aid for the collection. She also accessioned a small collection, providing her with a richer view of the tasks performed by archivists.
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park: Donna Davis, Summer 2002. Donna designed and assembled a temporary exhibit, accessioned photographs into the Park's collection, conducted preservation updates and reports, and researched and wrote histories of area sites. Through her internship, Donna went on educational trips to other historic sites and participated in behind-the-scenes staff meetings, giving her an opportunity to be a part of the continued development of the Park.
Public History Internship Guidelines
The internship experience is designed to allow the student to gain valuable experience as a public historian, as well as the opportunity to learn “on the job” and to network within the profession. Internships can be completed in a variety of settings such as museums, archives, libraries, historic sites, etc. and must provide the student with a variety of professional level work experience. Internships are normally completed between the first and second year of the public history program of study. Students must meet the pre-requisites for the internship as listed in the catalog.
Requirements
The internship must be completed with an appropriate history institution or organization under the supervision of a professional public historian (curator, archivist, etc.) with appropriate education and experience. Students are required to work for at least 300 clock hours or 7 ½ forty hour work weeks. The student will fulfill the normal expectations of an employee during the period of the internship. In return, the internship should provide the student with as much varied professional experience as possible. Please refer to the NCPH Best Practices in Public History Internships that accompanies these guidelines.
Internship Opportunities
Opportunities for internships are abundantly available in the Dayton area, but many Wright State University students have chosen to intern elsewhere. The choice of an internship is up to the student and the sponsoring institution and contingent on approval by the public history advisor. Many national internships are competitive and applications must be made early. Information about the availability of internships may be obtained from the public history advisor. Students are also encouraged to research the availability of internships on their own through membership in professional organizations, networking and monitoring e-mail lists. Internships may be paid or unpaid.
Internship Prospectus
The student will compose a one to two page typewritten prospectus (in consultation with the internship supervisor) which must include the following: name and brief description of the institution/organization where the internship will be served, the name and qualifications of the internship supervisor, a description of the work responsibilities and projects to which the student will be assigned during the period of the internship, the beginning and ending date for the internship, and whether it is paid or unpaid. Both the internship supervisor and the public history advisor must approve the prospectus before the actual internship begins.
Internship Paper
The student will complete a ten to twelve page typed report detailing the work performed, the experience gained, knowledge learned and the contributions the student made to public history during the internship. The paper should conform to acceptable historical standards of writing and documentation. Students are encouraged to include photographs or documents created during the internship as examples of their accomplishments. All photographs must be scanned and all papers must be 8 ½ by 11”. The History Department will take care of the binding, so we ask that you paper clip, binder clip, or place your report in a regular folder. The paper will be due four weeks after the internship is completed.
Evaluation
The internship supervisor will forward an evaluation of the student’s performance to the history department/public history advisor. An internship evaluation form is available on the History Department’s web site or from the public history advisor. Supervisors are encouraged to write an additional letter summarizing the student’s internship performance. The evaluation is due four weeks after the internship is completed.
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