TERM PROJECTS
The purpose of the term project is to provide you with an opportunity to work in a
public history context. In your ordinary undergraduate and graduate training, there are
many opportunities to write traditional scholarly research papers. I would like to avoid
such a paper if at all possible.
The process of adapting to the public history context and its modes of communication is
just as important as the product. Each project will be different, customized to suit the
interests and opportunities of the individual student. If you are already working in some
public history context--as an employee or volunteer in an archive, museum, public agency,
etc.--you might wish to invent a project that dovetails with your work there. Otherwise,
you should consider the list below, the topics in the course readings and materials, and
use your imagination. Just make sure the project is in an area that interests you.
The following list contains descriptions of projects that other students have done in
terms past, and some suggestions for current topics of note.
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*Press kit for the opening of the lead coffins at the state museum in St. Mary's City,
where the student was a volunteer.
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*Brochure for a computer database of Chesapeake Bay shipping on which the student was
working as a volunteer for the Maryland Historical Society.
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*Oral history interviews on various topics related to students' ongoing research for MA
thesis or other classes.
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*One student actually launched and became editor of a geneological journal.
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*White paper on Freedom of Information Act Requests at the State Department where the
student was employed.
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*Exhibit proposals, feasibility studies, and scripts on various topics related to
students' ongoing research for MA thesis or other classes.
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*Archival collections assessment of materials concerning the Clinch River Reactor at
the Department of Energy, where the student worked as a librarian.
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*Organized, processed, and wrote guides to collections at the Baltimore Museum of
Industry, where the student was a volunteer.
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*Collection assessment and Finding aid to the Library of Congress collection of annual
reports of the American Historical Association. The student worked for a microfilm
publisher.
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*Wrote a manual for planning family reunions and providing family histories and
geneological services, and did market research for turning this into a commercial service.
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*White paper on the recent controversy involving the proposed Walt Disney theme park in
Prince William County, Virginia.
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*White paper on the recent controversy over the National Air and Space Museum's
proposal to exhibit the aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan.
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*Dry run or actual proposal to do a contract history in response to an issued request
for proposals.
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*One student did a feasibility study for a historic preservation license plate,
proceeds from which would be used to fund preservation activities.
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*Living history performance, backed up by script materials based on research in primary
and secondary sources.
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*Work in local historical societies organizing collections, writing finding aids, and
assisting with various projects.
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*Exhibit on history of Towson High School
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*World Wide Web Page on historical resources in a selected area
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*Analysis and survey of use of governors' houses in other states for historical
education and interpretation.
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