Graduate History Blog

The Readington Museums, a small, township-owned museum located in Hunterdon County, New Jersey (the “Museums”), is continuing its paid internship program for 2016.

The internship is suitable for a student with the abilities of a dedicated historian to experience all aspects of museum operations from program development to collections administration to first person interpretation. During a period of up to 15 hours per week for up to 13 weeks, the intern would work with the Museums’ Administrator and Committee to: * Research, develop and improve school and community programs; * Conduct the Partners in History school programs; * Expand, maintain and preserve the Museums’ collections of artifacts relating to the history of Readington; * Assist as needed with the day to day operations of the Museum. During this period, the intern would receive a stipend paid by Readington Township. The qualified candidate requires: * Ability to research and apply colonial American and Dutch history and customs * Willingness to perform first person historical interpretation * Desire and ability to work with children * Knowledge of conserving and curating historical artifacts * Flexibility (some weekend and some evening work required). Interested students should email a resume to readingtonmuseums@gmail.com. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the internship proposal further, please contact me at the above email address or at 908-236-2327. Very truly yours, Margaret Smith Museum Administrator Readington Museums P.O. Box 216 Stanton, NJ 08885 Phone 908-236-2327

Duke University is hosting a graduate student conference.  The call for papers is below. Note that if you propose a paper and are accepted Rutgers Camden can support your travel.

“Where I fare well, there is my home”: Migration, Past and Present Graduate Student Conference March 4, 2016 Durham, NC Migration is a global phenomenon that has had a profound influence on human history. Indeed, it is not a stretch to say that migration is an integral part of the human condition. And yet precisely because of its broad, ubiquitous nature, migration presents researchers with a number of methodological, theoretical, and ethical questions. What does it mean to research and write a history of migration? What does migration tell us about community, association, economy, borders, and culture? How are patterns of migration influenced by global circuits of discourse, exchange, and trade? Who migrates and why? And how does depopulation affect the peoples and spaces left behind? The Duke University graduate student conference on migration seeks to explore these questions, and more, on March 4, 2016. The conference committee welcomes proposals from a wide array of disciplines including, but not limited to, Cultural Anthropology, English, Geography, History, Literature, Political Science, and Sociology. We also welcome undergraduate submissions. Please submit a 300-500 word abstract, working title, and CV to DukeHGC2016@gmail.com by December 4, 2015. Successful proposals will be notified by Friday December 18, 2015. Participants should submit a draft of their conference paper no later than February 19, 2016. For further information or questions, please contact James Nealy at james.nealy@duke.edu

The Woodlands, a non-profit National Historic Landmark and interpretive center in Philadelphia, seeks a part time research assistant to do archival research, document collection and transcription for a Pew Discovery grant “Not Your Typical Eighteenth-Century Gentleman.” The grant seeks to research the lives and social networks of the Woodlands’ eighteenth-century occupants: principally the lifelong “bachelor,” gentleman collector/natural scientist William Hamilton, and his house-hold staff at The Woodlands, including George Hilton, an African-American indentured servant turned free laborer, and his family.

The Pew Discovery Grant is designed to do a thorough archival excavation of the principal household members, and will require both research ingenuity and precise documentation. The research assistant will work under the direction of the lead historian, working in the relevant archival collections primarily located in Philadelphia. Position duration is four to six months, working approximately 400-600 total hours, at an hourly pay rate of $16 per hour. Work to begin in November, flexible hours.

Requirements:

• Advanced academic training in history (M.A. or Ph.D. ABD preferred)
• Ability to work independently
• Archival research experience (experience in social history methods preferred and in Philadelphia’s history and/or eighteenth-century colonial/revolutionary history helpful.)

To express interest, send a brief letter of interest and current CV to jobs@woodlandsphila.org. Applications will be reviewed upon receipt.