Summer 2019 Internships

Carr-Greer Family History Project POSITION FILLED
Charlottesville, Virginia
One internship available

 

Terms:  An advanced undergraduate student (May graduate also fine) with an interest in either archival research or African American history who enjoys digging in library collections for evidence of vanished lives and places. Must be willing to spend time meticulously going through and deciphering old letters, legal documents, etc. in Special Collections. An understanding of digital collection management tools would be terrific, but is optional. This internship pays $10 an hour—roughly $3,000 for the summer.

Goals: The goal of the internship is to illuminate the historical importance of Hugh Carr, a leader in the civic, political, and economic life of Charlottesville during Reconstruction, and of Carr's daughter and son-in-law, Mary Carr Greer and Conly Greer. An emancipated slave, Hugh Carr established a farm on what is now Hydraulic Road which became a center of a large community known as Union Ridge-Hydraulic Mills. The farmhouse he built in 1883 still stands on land now owned by the Ivy Creek Foundation. Carr's daughter, Mary, was a well-known teacher and principal at Albemarle Training School, while his son-in-law served as Albemarle's African American agricultural extension agent from 1917 to 1953. The Carr-Greer Family Papers in Special Collections, which contain a wealth of information about the Carrs, Greers, and other African American families from the same period, will be the main focus of this internship.

Outcome: The intern will begin the process of identifying, synopsizing, transcribing, and organizing the letters and other documents in this manuscript collection. At the end of the internship they will write a 4- to 5-page overview of what they have found, which may form the basis for a Finding Aid for the collection. As time permits, they will also be involved in discussions about a long-term data management strategy for papers related to the Carr family.

About the Carr-Greer History Project: The History Project is the work of community historians, archaeologists, and preservationists working with the Ivy Creek Foundation to document the history of the families and to preserving the Carr-Greer Farmhouse, located on the grounds of Ivy Creek Natural Area. One of Preservation Virginia’s “Most Endangered Places” of 2018, the farmhouse is one of the few remaining buildings from the Union Ridge and Hydraulic Mills communities.

Charleston, South Carolina
One internship available

 

Collections management and curatorial research
Terms: An undergraduate or graduate student with a particular interest in American art history. Background in art history, American studies, Historic Preservation or museum studies is required. This internship pays $7.25/hr for 300 hours over the summer--roughly $2,175. Must provide own housing. 

Goals: An internship at the Gibbes Museum of Art in summer 2019 will provide a collections-focused experience while also exposing the intern to other Museum departments providing insight into institution-wide project management.  The Gibbes is now in its third year of being open after a  major renovation and expansion (completed in 2016). We have settled into our building and are actively creating unique experiences for visitors and patrons in our expanded gallery spaces, artist studios and classrooms and state-of-the art Collections Storage Center. The UVA intern will work with the Curatorial and Collections Department staff (Director of Collections, Director of Curatorial Affairs, Associate Curator of Contemporary Projects and Preparator) on a variety of projects related to collection and exhibition planning and management.

Outcome: The intern will be expected to complete specific curatorial and collection tasks which may include: assisting with annual collection inventory, cataloging new acquisitions, preparing works for outgoing loan, researching and writing label copy for upcoming exhibitions, and preparing brief reports with representative samples of work. At the end of the summer, the intern will have a broad understanding of curatorial and collection management procedures at an art museum.

About the Gibbes Museum: 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 nationally significant collection of American paintings reflects Charleston's past and present and is a source of community pride. From portraits and landscapes of the Colonial South to the era of Porgy and Bess to significant works by contemporary artists such as Kara Walker and Jasper Johns, visitors come face-to-face with the history of Charleston and art in the south. Of special importance at the Gibbes is the country's premiere collection of over 600 jewel-like miniature portraits. The Gibbes collection consists of approximately 8,000 objects ranging from paintings, prints and drawings, to photography, sculpture and archival materials.

 

Terms: Advanced undergraduate or graduate student with background in American history. The intern will work with the Jefferson's University: The Early Life project team on creating and expanding a UVA Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH)-sponsored digital humanities archive and website on the early history of the University of Virginia. This will involve professional transcription/editing of historical documents and XML keying of already digitized and transcribed documents. Intern should demonstrate strong organizational and analytic skills, ability to work independently, and write clearly. This internship pays $10 an hour—roughly $3,000 for the summer.
Goals: Primary responsibilities include professional documentary transcription (we will train first), proofreading, XML mark-up of digitized and transcribed documents, and writing of descriptive primary document-based essays.

Outcome: The intern will be expected to complete specific tasks as outlined above. At the end of the summer, the intern will have a detailed understanding of both the technical processes involved in the digital humanities and the early history of the University of Virginia. 

About JUEL: The "Jefferson's University--Early Life Project, 1819-1870" (JUEL) was cofounded by Kirt von Daacke, Associate Professor of History and Assistant Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; and Maurie McInnis, former Professor of Art History and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at UVa and now Provost of the University of Texas-Austin. JUEL is funded by The Jefferson Trust, an Initiative of the University of Virginia Alumni Association, and the University of Virginia. It is housed within the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH).

 

 

Terms: The Department of Archaeology at Monticello seeks an advanced undergraduate or graduate student with experience or interest in archaeology, 18th- and 19th-century American history, and public outreach. The intern will work with the Curator of Archaeological Collections and archaeology staff to oversee, organize, and create archaeology programs for the public related to recent and ongoing archaeological excavations at Monticello. This internship pays $10 an hour—roughly $3,000 for the summer.

Goals: Primary responsibilities will include serving as the department liaison for all summer archaeology programs; leading the archaeology day of Monticello’s summer camp; assisting with plantation walking tours, Let’s Go Dig Family Workshop, and Archaeology Teacher’s Workshop; and provide material for social media related to aforementioned programs. In addition, the intern will work with the project team to develop a new public archaeology program tailored to the applicant’s interest and background. New programs could include the development of an educational unit for K-12 teachers, a new artifact display for outreach days, or a new public tour.

Outcome: The internship will offer the undergraduate or graduate student professional development opportunities in archaeology, American history, outreach, and team-based program management.

About Monticello: Monticello Plantation was home to Thomas Jefferson, his family, and hundreds of enslaved African Americans and their families from 1770 until Jefferson’s death in 1826. Monticello’s multidisciplinary educational initiatives are conducted through the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies (ICJS). As part of the ICJS, the Department of Archaeology is dedicated to studying and preserving Monticello's archaeological record and deciphering its meaning through comparative research. The Department’s primary research focus is the social, economic, and ecological dynamics of the 5000-acre plantation, occupied by Jefferson and his family, and to scores of free workmen and hundreds of enslaved African-Americans and their families, whose skills and labor powered Jefferson’s agricultural and industrial enterprises. The Department is home to the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery, an Internet-based initiative designed to foster collaborative research and data sharing among archaeologists. It also houses extensive artifact collections from past and ongoing archaeological fieldwork at Monticello and offers numerous public programs and workshops about current excavations and archaeological methodology.

 

Monticello "Getting Word" oral history project POSITION FILLED
Charlottesville, Virginia
One internship available 

 

UVA Law Library: Special Collections and Archives  BOTH POSITIONS FILLED

 

Internship #1 - Historical Research: Slavery and the UVA School of Law POSITION FILLED
Terms: The Special Collections department of the UVA Law Library seeks a graduate student or advanced undergraduate student to research the historical role of slavery and the enslaved at the UVA School of Law. This internship will align with and supplement the work of UVA’s Commission on Slavery and the University with new research specific of the law school, its faculty and students, its curriculum, and its location. The intern must have strong skills in historical research and writing. This internship pays $12.50/hr for undergraduates and $15/hr for graduate students.

Goals: The intern’s main responsibilities will be conducting historical research into the role of slavery at the UVA School of Law and synthesizing this research into a written report. The intern will work closely with Law Special Collections staff to formulate a research plan to conduct archival research at the UVA Law Library and Small Special Collections. The final research report will form the basis for a new webpage on the law school’s historical relationship to slavery or another form of publication.

Outcome: The internship will offer professional development in historical and archival research, historical writing, web platforms for online exhibits, and team-based project work in an institutional and academic archive.

About Law Special Collections: The UVA School of Law was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and is the second-oldest continuously running law school in the United States. Law Special Collections is the institutional repository for the UVA School of Law and preserves and provides access to a diverse archive of legal history materials. Our collections include rare books, manuscripts, archival records and publications, faculty writing, and photographs. An important part of our mission is preserving, researching, and making accessible the history of the UVA School of Law.

 

Terms: The UVA Law Library's Special Collections and Archives department seeks a graduate student or advanced undergraduate student intern with experience in historical research, writing, and an interest in website development. The intern will assist the Digital Collections Team and Professor Sarah Milov (College of Arts and Sciences, History) in developing a website that will serve as a research portal into the study of eugenics at the University of Virginia. This internship provides a unique experience for students interested in digital history, digital curation, modern American history, and the history of the University. The intern will spend part of his/her time in Special Collections finding eugenics-related material (with guidance and supervision). The intern will take then take the lead in adding interpretive content to the digital archive and in developing a plan for improving the interface and research value of the archive. This internship pays $12.50/hr for undergraduates and $15/hr for graduate students.

Background: Eugenics was a movement to improve human populations by controlling reproduction, which unfolded internationally, nationally, and within the state of Virginia. For the first half of the twentieth century, the University of Virginia was a crucial site for the production and dissemination of eugenic knowledge. There are a plethora of archival holdings at Small Special Collections that can illuminate the dimensions of eugenic thought at the University, helping scholars better understand important questions about race, law, and higher education: what role did the University play in the development of eugenic laws in the State of Virginia in the early 20th century? How did eugenics shape the research agendas and spending priorities of faculty and administrators? How did eugenic ideas shape the student body of the university—both demographically and ideologically?  How did UVA’s reputation as a bastion for racial thought shape efforts to desegregate the University? The Small Special Collections library possesses four collections that bear directly upon these questions. The papers of John Powell, Ivey Forman Lewis, Edwin Alderman, and records related to the Phelps-Stokes fund will serve as starting points for this research.

Goals: The intern will be responsible for contributing to the digitization and description of archival materials, and for assisting with the curatorial process of integrating these materials into a web portal for the study of eugenics in the state. The intern will also produce short historical interpretive essays about these materials.

Outcome: The internship will offer professional development in archival curation and digital humanities/digital history, web platforms for digital archives and online exhibits, and team-based project work in an institutional and academic archive. The intern will also have the opportunity to The intern will have the opportunity to write short blog-posts that reflect on her/his experience or highlight particular research findings.  The intern’s work will be published online and available through the Law Library webpage. The intern will also be part of a the “Virginia Eugenics Working Group,” a small network of scholars in the state of Virginia working toward raising awareness of the history of eugenics in the state. The intern’s work will be published online and available through the Law Library webpage.

About Law Special Collections: The UVA School of Law was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and is the second-oldest continuously running law school in the United States. Law Special Collections is the institutional repository for the UVA School of Law and preserves and provides access to a diverse archive of legal history materials. Our collections include rare books, manuscripts, archival records and publications, faculty writing, and photographs. An important part of our mission is preserving, researching, and making accessible the history of the UVA School of Law.

 

Internship #1: Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park  POSITION FILLED

Terms: In partnership with the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History, the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park is seeking an undergraduate intern with a background in nineteenth-century American history to work at the national park. This internship pays $7.25 an hour--$3,480 for the summer (40 hrs a week for 12 weeks). Internships start and end dates will be determined by the NPS supervisor. The summer internship includes housing at the Park. This internship is generously funded by the Carl Sewell family.

Goals: Duties will be determined by conversations between staff at the Park and at UVA's Nau Civil War Center and could include research, engagement with visitors to the Park, and preparation of historical papers, and work for the NPS websites.

About the National Military Park: The National Park Service unit headquartered in Fredericksburg encompasses four major Civil War battlefields, cemeteries containing soldiers from the United States and the Confederacy, monuments from the commemorative era, and historic structures dating from the 18th through the 19th century. The site interprets a wide range of events, including the battles of Fredericksburg (1862) Chancellorsville (1863), the Wilderness (1864), and Spotsylvania (1864); the experience of black and white refugees; the trauma of civilians caught in the path of war; and postwar activities that recalled and interpreted the conflict.

 

Terms: In partnership with the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History, the Richmond National Battlefield Park and Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site is seeking an undergraduate intern with a background in nineteenth-century American history to work at the national park. This internship pays $7.25 an hour--$3,480 for the summer (40 hrs a week for 12 weeks). Internships start and end dates will be determined by the NPS supervisor. The summer internship includes housing on Park Service land. This internship is generously funded by the Lockhart family.

Goals: Duties will be determined by conversations between staff at the NPS units and at UVA's Nau Civil War Center and could include research, engagement with visitors, preparation of historical papers, and work for the NPS websites.

About the National Park Service sites: These two National Park Service units headquartered in Richmond administer several major Civil War battlefields from 1862 and 1864-65, the Chimborazo Medical Museum, prisoner-of-war installations, portions of the Tredegar industrial site, several national cemeteries, monuments from the commemorative era, historic structures from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Maggie L. Walker house. The two sites interpret military events and civilian life during the Civil War, the process of emancipation, race relations during Reconstruction and the late 19th century, and the development of commemorative traditions relating to the war.

 

Terms: In partnership with the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History, the Antietam National Battlefield Park is seeking an undergraduate intern with a background in nineteenth-century American history to conduct historical research on Civil War soldiers who fought at Antietam. Intern should be able to work independently and write clearly for a public audience. This internship pays $10.00 an hour--$3,000 for the summer (30 hrs a week for 10 weeks). Travel to and from Antietam will be required at the beginning and end of the internship. The NPS site will reimburse these expenses up to $1,000.

Goals: The purpose of this internship is to research primary on-site materials at the University of Virginia and any relevant digital materials that provide written accounts from those who participated in the Battle of Antietam about their motivations, views, involvement and reactions to secession, the enslaved and the Emancipation Proclamation. The intern will be supervised by the Chief of Resource Education and Visitor Services at Antietam and Nau Center Managing Director William Kurtz while at UVA.

Outcome: The end product of this project is a better understanding of how those who participated felt about why they fought, and this revolutionary outcome of their battle. This research will inform future exhibits and programming at Antietam.

About the National Battlefield Park: Antietam National Battlefield is located in western Maryland, 10 miles south of Hagerstown in Washington County. The battlefield is approximately 3,000 acres in size. More than 100,000 Union and Confederate soldiers fought at Antietam. The most important outcome from the battle was President’s Lincoln’s issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

 

Terms: Undergraduate student with background in American history. The intern will work directly under the Nau Center's digital historian assisting in efforts to gather data and information as part of the Center's various digital projects. Those projects include studying black Civil War soldiers from Albemarle County, UVA students who fought for the Union, and a study of Civil War prisons. Intern should demonstrate strong organizational and analytic skills, ability to work independently, and write clearly. This internship pays $10 an hour--roughly $3,000 for the summer (30 hrs a week for 10 weeks).

Goals: Primary responsibilities include data entry, research in digital databases and at UVA's Special Collections Library, writing essays about the Civil War and the 19th century, and other tasks to be determined in conjunction with the Nau Center digital historian.

Outcome: The intern will be expected to complete specific tasks as outlined above. At the end of the summer, the intern will have an understanding of the technical processes involved in the digital humanities and have practical experience in researching the American Civil War.

About the Digital Research Center: Our studies of "UVA Unionists" and "Black Virginians in Blue" began in 2015 as a way to tell another side of our local community's Civil War story, which in the past often has been dominated by the Confederate "Lost Cause" narrative. Very little is known about what black men from central Virginia did during the conflict and we hope to uncover a larger story tracing their lives from the antebellum period, to the war, to Reconstruction and the end of the century. Similarly, UVA students who fought for the Union were left out of the university's Civil War story. Prisoners of war is a neglected topic in Civil War scholarship, and he hope to create a digital map that will be useful to scholars and the general public alike.

 

Terms: Upper-level undergraduate student with a strong history background; familiarity with Virginia Civil War and social history a plus. Accuracy and attention to detail required. This internship pays $10 an hour--roughly $3,000 for the summer. Intern must provide own housing.
Goals: Duties will include sorting, arranging, analyzing, re-housing, and describing Civil War-era papers.
Outcome: Under the supervision of archival team members, the intern will be part of a major effort to process a significant group of Civil War-era manuscripts, with the goal of producing finding aids that will guide researchers to the materials.
About the VMHC: The Virginia Museum of History and Culture (formerly Virginia Historical Society) maintains a strong commitment to educational outreach, exhibitions, and other programming, but is perhaps best known for its research library and collections. Those collections include manuscripts (personal and family papers, business and organizational records), printed materials and rare books, and museum artifacts. A commitment to preservation of and access to its richest resources has led to an initiative to process these materials.

 

Terms: The intern will conduct research on the cemetery’s early decades (1873-1900), in particular on the people buried in the cemetery who were born before or during the Civil War. Another focus will be the histories of the women who founded the cemetery. This internship pays $10 an hour—roughly $3,000 for the summer. 
Goals: The cemetery, a unique form of built landscape, offers a rich and largely unexplored site for documenting and interpreting the history of enslaved and free blacks in Charlottesville both before and after Emancipation. Founded during Reconstruction by the Daughters of Zion Society, a sororal organization, the private cemetery provided a dignified alternative to the segregated Oakwood Cemetery across the street; as such, it offers a unique framework for interpreting the history of the antebellum African Americans who founded self-help organizations and promoted African-American commerce, education, and entrepreneurship during Reconstruction. It also provides material for closer analysis of sororal African-American organizations, which have not received as much attention as their fraternal counterparts.

Outcomes: The intern will work closely with a UVA faculty member, as well as the Preservers of the Daughters of Zion Cemetery, to develop specific outcomes for the internship, which may include a website and written research reports. The chief outcome will be new, primary research that amplifies the Civil War and Reconstruction history of the cemetery, and by extension, Charlottesville.

About Daughters of Zion Cemetery: The cemetery was founded in 1873 by a group of African-American women who wanted to provide private burial services and a cemetery for black Charlottesvillians. The Daughters of Zion Society also owned a community center, called Zion Hall, which housed many local civic and religious groups and events. After decades of neglect, another group of committed local women, the Preservers of the Daughters of Zion Cemetery, formed in 2015 to restore the cemetery. Their approach to restoration, which includes restoring its public memory as well as its physical beauty, constitutes a new paradigm for presenting the public history of African-American spaces.

UVA President’s Commission on the University in the Age of Segregation ALL POSITIONS FILLED

 

Terms: Advanced undergraduate or graduate student with background in American history. The intern will work with the President’s Commission on the University in the Age of Segregation on the history of the University of Virginia, 1865-1965. This will involve archival research, document photographing, and professional transcription/editing of historical documents. Intern should demonstrate strong organizational and analytic skills, ability to work independently, and write clearly.These internships pay $10 an hour for undergrads and $15/hr for grads, for 300 hours.  

Goals: Primary responsibilities include archival research, document photographing, and professional documentary transcription (we will train first), proofreading, and writing of descriptive primary document-based essays as part of the university’s public confronting of its own difficult past.

Outcome: The intern will be expected to complete specific tasks as outlined above. At the end of the summer, the intern will have a detailed understanding of both the technical processes involved in archival research, public history, and the post-1865 history of the University of Virginia.

About the Age of Segregation Commission: The President’s Commission on the University in the Age of Segregation will explore and report on UVA’s historical relationship with the era of segregation, especially as it connects to the Charlottesville/Albemarle community. It is co-directed by Andrea Douglas, Executive Director of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, and Kirt von Daacke, Professor (History) and Assistant Dean, College of Arts & Sciences.

Charlottesville/Albemarle community. It is co-directed by Andrea Douglas, Executive Director of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, and Kirt von Daacke, Professor (History) and Assistant Dean, College of Arts & Sciences.

UVA Scholars' Lab - Take Back the Archive POSITION FILLED
Charlottesville, Virginia
One internship available 

 

Terms:  This will be a digital infrastructure internship, focused on updating and refining the architecture and design of Take Back the Archive (TBTA), which is devoted to the history of sexual assault at the University of Virginia. This internship pays $10 an hour for undergrads and at least $15/hr for grads; total number of hours (200-300 over course of summer) is negotiable depending on expertise.
Goals: The intern will work on interface design, web design/development and data management as it pertains to cultural heritage collections. Applicants should have some experience with, or interest in, front-end web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), data visualization, or web application development (PHP, MySQL).If time permits, the intern may also conduct historical research into the topic, identifying relevant artifacts and documents (both analog and digital) and then uploading them to the digital archive; and catalog and annotate the objects.
Outcome: Under the supervision of the Scholars' Lab and in collaboration with the director of the Institute for Public History, the intern will gain technical experience in digital public humanities. 
About TBTA TakeBackTheArchive is a collaborative public history project created by UVa faculty, students, librarians, and archivists. It is meant to preserve, visualize, and contextualize the history of sexual violence at the University of Virginia.

 

 

Internship #1: Manuscripts processing, Civil War archives POSITION FILLED
Terms: Upper-level undergraduate student with a strong history background; familiarity with Virginia Civil War and social history, experience reading 19th century handwriting, and strong research skills a plus. Accuracy and attention to detail required. This internship pays $10 an hour—roughly $3,000 for the summer. Intern must arrange own housing.

Goals: Duties will include sorting, arranging, analyzing, re-housing, and describing Civil War-era papers.
Outcome: Under the supervision of archival team members, the intern will be part of a major effort to process a significant group of Civil War-era manuscripts, with the goal of producing finding aids that will guide researchers to the materials.
About the VMHC: The Virginia Museum of History and Culture maintains a strong commitment to educational outreach, exhibitions, and other programming, but is perhaps best known for its research library and collections. Those collections include manuscripts (personal and family papers, business and organizational records), printed materials and rare books, and museum artifacts. A commitment to preservation of and access to its richest resources has led to an initiative to process these materials.

 

Terms: Undergraduate student interested in American history or museum studies. Familiarity with Virginia economic history a plus, as is coursework in American or Virginia history. Accuracy and attention to detail required. This internship pays $10 an hour for 300 hours of work—roughly $3,000 for the summer. Flexible schedule within the Institution’s 9-5 M-F open hours. Intern must provide own housing.

Goals: Duties will include helping to organize and process the records of a small-town Virginia businessman-turned politician. Intern will research, organize materials, and create additions to a draft finding aid to improve access to the collection and thus highlight its research potential. 

Outcome: Under the supervision of archival team members, the intern will be part of a major effort to provide better access and preserve a collection of business/political records that documents the social, economic, and political history of the commonwealth of Virginia.

About the VMHC: The Virginia Museum of History and Culture (formerly the Virginia Historical Society) maintains a strong commitment to educational outreach, exhibitions, and other programming, but is perhaps best known for its research library and collections. Those collections include manuscripts (personal and family papers, business and organizational records), printed materials and rare books, and museum artifacts. A commitment to preservation of and access to its richest resources has led to an initiative to process this collection.

https://www.virginiahistory.org/collections/reynolds-business-history-center