HTY 597: Field Work in Historical Institutions
Enroll in HTY 597 to intern at a local institution for History course credit
HTY 597 is a three-credit independent-study course titled “Field Work in Historical Institutions.” It is designed to allow motivated undergraduate and graduate students to gain real-world experience by volunteering in a local organization to deepen their understanding of how the skills developed through the historical discipline can play a vital role advancing the mission of a huge range of institutions such as museums, state agencies, historical societies, and just about any cultural organization. As an independent-study course there is a great deal of flexibility to adjust it to meet the particular needs of each individual student, organization, and faculty member. This course cannot be repeated for credit.
How do I set-up a HTY 597 internship?
1) Contact the local organization with which you would like to volunteer. Find out if they have a project that you could contribute to in a meaningful way. For a three-credit course, you should expect to work on your project for 6-7 hours a week over the course of a 15-week semester (about 100 total hours), or you can also design the course for 1 or 2 credits.
2) Contact a History Department faculty member to discuss if this is a viable project for an HTY 597 internship. The faculty member should have a related teaching field, visit faculty descriptions online (https://umaine.edu/history/faculty/) for more info.
3) Draft a short contract/syllabus explaining the basic expectations for the internship. In most cases HTY 597 should include an informal written journal that describes the work performed on a weekly basis and a final paper (3-6 pp.) that explains the overall accomplishments of the course. The contract/syllabus must be signed by the student, a representative of the host institution, and a History faculty member who all agree to participate in the course.
You can create an internship at any institution that is willing to host you and that a faculty member agrees to oversee. The following places have expressed an interest in partnering with UMaine students for HTY 597 course credit. They might be the best places to start!
1) Bangor Museum and History Center, Contact: Jennifer Pictou, Executive Director, Email: director@bangormuseum.org, Telephone: 942-1900
2) Bangor Public Library, Contact: Greta Schroeder, Local History and Special Collections Librarian, Email: greta.schroeder@bangorpubliclibrary.org; Telephone: 947-8336, ext. 106
3) Maine Folklife Center, UMaine, Orono, Contact: Pauleena MacDougall or Katrina Wynn on FirstClass
4) Margaret Chase Smith Library, Skowhegan, Contact: David Richards, Executive Director, Email: davidr@mcslibrary.org, Telephone: 474-7133
5) Penobscot Maritime Museum, Searsport, Contact: Kathleen Curtin, Director of Education, Email: kcurtin@pmm-maine.org, Telephone: 548.2529, ext. 206
6) Penobscot Theatre, Bangor, Contact: Jasmine Ireland, Director of Education and Outreach, Email: jasmine@penobscottheatre.org, Telephone: 947-6618 ext. 104
7) Special Collections, Fogler Library, UMaine, Orono, Contact: Richard Hollinger, Head of Special Collections, Email via FirstClass; Telephone: 581-1688
8)Maine State Archives, Augusta, Contact: Tammy L. Marks, Director of Records Management, Email: maine.archives@maine.gov, Telephone: 287-5799
9) Galen Cole Family Foundation and the Cole Land Transportation Museum, Bangor, Contact: Jim Neville, Director, Telephone: 990-3600
10) Franco-American Centre, UMaine, Orono, Contact: Susan Pinette on FirstClass or at 581-3791
11) “Penobscot Nation’s Cultural & Historic Preservation, Indian Island, Maine,” Contact: Mr. James Eric Francis, Director, Department of Cultural and Historic Preservation, Penobscot Nation, 12 Wabanaki Way, Indian Island, Maine 04468; office: 817-7472; e-mail: james.francis@penobscotnation.org