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32 - Undergraduate Research in History

Into the Archives: Undergraduate Historians as Good Citizens

from Part III.4 - Humanities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2022

By
Kevin Ostoyich  and
Rebecca Ostoyich
Edited by
Harald A. Mieg ,
Elizabeth Ambos ,
Angela Brew ,
Dominique Galli  and
Judith Lehmann
Harald A. Mieg
Affiliation:
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Elizabeth Ambos
Affiliation:
Council on Undergraduate Research, Washington DC
Angela Brew
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Sydney
Dominique Galli
Affiliation:
Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis
Judith Lehmann
Affiliation:
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Summary

The chapter provides an overview of how undergraduate history students are often introduced to historical research as well as a possible corrective. We offer a new approach, which we believe improves the undergraduate research experience for history students. We claim that the logic of the discipline tends to lead to curricula in which the first years of study are mainly based on secondary texts while sustained interaction with primary sources is often left toward the conclusion of undergraduate studies.At Valparaiso University we implemented a hybrid internship/independent study course in which students work at the University Archives and Special Collections while pursuing historical research projects based on the collections. We believe the course strengthens the connection of students to primary documents and encourages students to conceptualize research as a civic enterprise.

Keywords

historyundergraduate researcharchival literacyarchival intelligenceinternshipindependent studyprimary documentspublic audienceuniversity archives
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate Research , pp. 313 - 320
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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