In 2011, I graduated from the
University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in both History and Religious
Studies. During my undergraduate career I began to develop an interest in the
history of urban working classes. This interest was sparked during a course
about nineteenth century Britain in which I wrote a research paper concerned
with the serving class and struggled to find sufficient primary sources from
this group of people. These people, who were often illiterate and who were not
considered important enough to have their thoughts or even details of their
lives recorded, fascinated me.
The following semester, I began an
internship at the University of Pittsburgh Archives describing and cataloging a
collection of photographs of construction projects throughout the city between
1912 and 1914. I became enamored by the men in these photographs, and wondered
who they were and what their lives had been like. In my spare time, I searched
for the bridges, tunnels, and pumping stations I had described at the archives.
I told anyone who would listen about the construction process and about those
forgotten faces featured in the collection, who had worked so hard to build the
structures Pittsburghers still use every day. At the completion of my
internship at the Pitt Archives, I was confident that I wanted to study the
history of the urban working class, specifically in America.
Later in my college career, I studied
abroad in London. My program included an internship aspect and I was fortunate
enough to be placed with the Education Officer at the City of Westminster
Archives Centre. With the education officer, I did research on stories from the
Blitz, for the early steps of an educational program being prepared for local
school children as the 70th anniversary of the Blitz was
approaching. It was during my time in Westminster that I learned about the idea
of “public history” and knew it was something I wanted to pursue in the future.
I am now beginning the masters program in public history at Temple University.
When I learned about the main project in the
Studies in American Material Culture course—researching an object as a part of
an exhibit of Drexel University’s Historic Costume Collection—I started
grinning from ear to ear. By
participating in this course, I hope to learn about the process of researching
and preparing a museum exhibit. Since my time in London, I have hoped to
eventually find a career involved in museum education and community outreach
programs. I am also hoping to gain more knowledge as to what a public historian
does on a day-to-day basis. I feel as though I know in theory what a public
historian is, but hope to gain experience in the actual practices they
participate in. At this point, I am anxiously waiting to be assigned my object
and am looking forward to diving into this course.
