The Mahindra Humanities Center invites applications for undergraduate internships in the public humanities.
Fall 2022 Internship in the Public Humanities: Archival Preservation & Print Culture Internship
Archival research and licensing is an essential part of film and television production, of the mounting of museum and other cultural exhibitions, of online education, and of digital and print publishing and advertising – as well as a wide range of other applications in the commercial world. The archival preservation and print culture intern will learn the basics of preserving, digitizing, and organizing archival magazines, books, and images in the private research collection of Elisa New, the Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature at Harvard.
Good archival research takes historical knowledge and curiosity, storytelling ability, understanding of copyright and intellectual property law, and an eye for visual culture. On the other hand, great preservation and stewardship of archival material requires meticulous attention to detail, mastery of industry standards of record keeping and asset tracking, understanding of 19th and 20th century American history, and an interest in material culture.
Tucked among the archives of magazines and books in Professor New’s Barker Center office, the intern will spend a portion of their time focused on the independent work of digitizing sections of the archive which pique their interest; then recording rights information; and organizing the files for storage on Poetry in America’s server. The intern will also work as needed alongside members of the Poetry in America team to conduct image research on particular topics or historical time periods, for use in online course modules, PBS television episodes, or promotional videos.
Students with a strong interest in early American history, print and magazine culture, poetry, library sciences, or the history of journalism are strongly encouraged to apply. Experience working or researching in libraries or archives would also be useful in this role, but is NOT required. This internship will be based on campus at Barker Center. Students applying for this internship should be ready to commit 7-10 hours per week throughout the duration of the internship. The period of the internship is 10 weeks during the Fall 2022, ideally beginning the week of September 19th and ending when fall term classes end. The intern will receive a stipend of $1,450 (half payable at the end of week 5 and half payable upon successful completion of the internship and submission of a brief report).
Students may apply to up to THREE “Fall 2022 Internships in the Public Humanities.” If you apply to more than one, please apply to each separately and rank them in your order of preference in each of your cover letters.
Preferred class levels: Students must be currently enrolled rising sophomores or juniors. Currently enrolled seniors are also eligible to apply for fall internships if graduating in spring 2023.
Required application documents: Cover letter explaining why you are interested in the internship and what experience you have relevant to the description; resumé; copy of unofficial Harvard transcript
Application deadline: Sunday, September 4th, 2022 at 11:59pm
