Announcing the Student Public Historian Internship

The Washington University Libraries Julian Edison Department of Special Collections invites applications from WashU undergraduate and graduate students for its Student Public Historian internship during the summer of 2024. The internship provides a valuable professional development opportunity in which the candidate will gain exposure to reparative archival and public history work. The intern will meaningfully contribute to identifying and then researching university archives and special collections relevant to the study of enslavement and other anti-racist topics.

The Student Public Historian will learn the contours of working in archives and special collections by working closely with the reparative public historian and university archivist. The ideal applicant has an interest in using archives to communicate marginalized or challenging histories and has a passion for sharing history with others.

The student will primarily work with university archival collections to assist with reparative descriptions in finding aids and contribute to the WashU & Slavery Project digital archive. In addition, the Student Public Historian will be able to contribute to related University Libraries projects based on their demonstrated interest. Such opportunities may include but are not limited to facilitating crowdsourced contributions to the WashU & Slavery Digital Archive, conducting research on early university leadership and the people they enslaved, or contributing to a digital humanities mapping project.  

Position and Application Details

The Student Public Historian will contribute at least 300 hours in person from June to August 2024 at John M. Olin Library and receive a $5,000 stipend (the recipient is responsible for securing their housing).

Apply for the Student Public Historian Internship.

Submission Deadline

Applications are due by February 29, 2024. Applicants will be notified of a decision in March 2024.