Reflection

I actually just finally dropped off the keys to my internship office, albeit about 3 weeks late. I also dropped off the photographs I compiled for the Duncan Street Miracle Garden alleygating proposal. As for the future of this project, I have no idea. I plan on trying to stay in touch with Jen as much as I can to see how the project is going.

In general, the NDC internship was a good experience. I got to try my hand at conducting some oral interviews, which definitely made me pretty painfully aware of how immediately terrified I was to do this. Now having done it, I'd say I feel a lot more comfortable in that role. This should help a lot over the next year since a large component of my thesis research is going to involve oral history.

It was also a tremendously gratifying experience to work with Mr. Sharpe at the Duncan Street Miracle Garden. I've lived in Baltimore for nearly ten years now and this is probably the first time I've felt like I've really contributed something of note back to the community. The mural for Mr. Sharpe is supposed to be completed within the next two weeks and I definitely plan on stopping by to take a look it once it is finished.

Having said all of that, I still feel a bit aimless in my career goals. Baltimore is going to be my home for the foreseeable future and I'd still like to find a space/place where I can engage with it's diverse, and often underappreciated, community even if not professionally. It remains to be seen. Jen told me about a project that she will be assisting with in Curtis Bay which might involve conducting some historical research on various sites. The idea being to create a catalog of the unique and important history of the neighborhood in order to preemptively stave off potentially irresponsible development in the near future. Basically the same kind of work that NDC helped with on the Old Goucher Vision Master Plan. This is something I most certainly would be interested in, time permitting. Ironically enough most of my internship didn't involve much actual historical research, which is something I do regret a bit.

What did the (aspiring) public historian do?

I have completed my internship at the B&O Railroad Museum, Ellicott City Station and I can say that it prepared me more than I ever thought it could. I remind you of my second post in which I talked about what deems something to be preserved. We went through all of the archives, inventory, and exhibits to see what the main museum, the B&O in Baltimore, wanted to keep preserved. Through many meetings, the site manager and the directors from the Roundhouse decided to lease large exhibit pieces to Howard County. After that, I do not know what will happen. My point in telling you this is that being able to see this process and experience it made me see the realities of the field that I want to be in. Sometimes the days will be tough, sometimes you will not be able to do something you had your heart set on, but the days that are good make the struggle worth it. I was able to have conversations and give tours on a small level and this made the environment better for communication and interpretation. I believe that my experiences talking to people on small to medium size group levels prepared me for my future. I learned how to approach people with the museum’s interpretation and communicate it accurately across barriers. I also learned the process of creating, researching, and planning exhibits and events. I believe that having the opportunity to complete my internship at a small, local museum made a huge difference in how I will approach my professional goals. This experience taught me that it is less complicated to reach people than I previously thought. My internship has prepared me to take on a professional career in public history and I couldn’t be more satisfied.

Internship at Casais & Prias PLLC Law Firm 3

My final weeks were spent researching and developing answers and affirmative defenses for the case from the beginning of my internship. During this time, I was also able to reflect on my time at Casais & Prias PLLC and the similarities between the history and legal fields. In addition to the similarities between the two disciplines some of the things I experienced also recalled historical court cases from my studies.

The motion we had previously filed to strike the plaintiff’s counts was not approved so we had to proceed to answers and affirmative defenses. This entailed returning to the original counts and now disassembling the counts point by point. This part of my internship reminded me greatly of analyzing sources and the writing of historians. In the history discipline breaking down arguments and examining their strengths and weaknesses are essential not just for reading but writing your own arguments.

This ability to closely examine arguments was just another aspect of the legal field shared with history. Through my internship I had the chance to utilize skills from my studies in history directly in research, assessing evidence, in addition to analyzing arguments. At the start of my internship I expected some cross over between the skillsets of both fields, but I did not expect the similarities to be this thorough. At its bare bones, the historical discipline teaches us to analyze information and then develop arguments. In that development, we have to recognize and expect opposing viewpoints. These skills prepare students of history for various different fields, one of which is the legal field.

In reflection of my time at the internship I’ve gained an appreciation for some other historical writings. I’ve previously noted the connection between Natalie Zemon Davis’ writing on Jean De Coras, but my internship made me reflect on Lying about Hitler by Richard Evans. What was originally a frustrating read about the David Irving trial I have a better appreciation for. David Irving was a holocaust denier who sued Deborah Lipstadt on libel for declaring he was not a historian and a holocaust denier. Richard Evans was one of the historians hired to analyze David Irving’s writings. They poured through his footnotes and sources to prove he was in fact not a historian by his manipulation of sources and research for his holocaust denying. This event showed how closely tied these two disciplines can be. After seeing all that goes into legal arguments I also have a newfound appreciation not just for Evans’ analysis, but also for Lipstadt’s lawyer, Anthony Julius, and the construction of his argument.

PHG 3

During the third month of my internship, I continued to gather more information about the sites I had researched.The second week of August, I met with Dr. Meringolo and my internship supervisor, Mary Catherine, in order to discuss the sites that I had researched and how they would be divided and presented to the students. This meeting was very helpful, as we discussed how I was able to build partnerships with members of the communities in order to better understand the history and people of each community.

During our meeting, we planned a walking tour during the first few weeks of the semester, when students will meet with partners from Elkridge and Relay, and they will be introduced to them and be able to become familiar with the neighborhoods in which they will be researching. Throughout the semester, my hope is that students will take many trips to the communities in which they are working. Forming strong partnerships will help to increase the students experience in the class, and will help them understand what it is like to work in the field of public history.

Mary Catherine had a great suggestion, which was at the end of the semester, students could present their final projects in the Relay Town Hall to their peers and members of the community. If this is at all possible, I think it would help to reinforce the beginning of a wonderful partnership between UMBC and the communities of Relay, Halethorpe, and Elkridge. By having students come to the town and present their research and interpretations, it would showcase the importance of small town community history.

Although my internship has ended, I hope to be updated with the students’ progress, and will help to facilitate communication between the students and community members if need be. Lastly, I really look forward to seeing and hearing the students’ final projects and presentations at the end of the semester. Working for a non profit organization and with members of these communities has been a very positive and rewarding experience, and I will use the skills and lessons I have learned with me throughout my career.