By 凯特·梅尔基奥,MHS,和艾拉·阿穆亚尔
每年, MHS选择一个或多个高中学生为我们的约翰·温斯洛普学生奖学金. This award encourages high school students to make use of the nationally significant documents of the MHS in a research project of their choosing. Students perform historical research and create a project (usually an assignment for class) using materials at the MHS, 无论是在我们的档案中还是在网上数字化. 这个项目可以在课堂上布置, 国家历史日项目, 或者是学生的发明! 学生和老师每人都得到350美元来支持他们的研究. 2020年学生奖学金的申请截止日期为2020年2月11日. 了解更多并申请!
In 2019, Ella Amouyal and her teacher Jenna Wolf from the Cambridge School of Weston were awarded one of our student 奖学金 to research 阿比盖尔·亚当斯’ diplomatic mission to France and England in 1784-88. Ella spent several months working in the MHS library with the support of our research librarians and produced an online exhibit. 读一下艾拉对她在卫生部经历的描述, 她在哪里描述了对藏品的探索, 与历史学家交谈, 第一次使用缩微胶片阅读器.
调查阿比盖尔·亚当斯:我作为约翰·温斯洛普学生的时光
埃拉·阿穆亚尔,剑桥韦斯顿学院My experience as a John Winthrop Student Fellow in the Spring of 2019 was an incredible learning opportunity. 我的研究集中在阿比盖尔·亚当斯在欧洲的那段时间, 我的最后一个项目是创建一个在线展览, 我的目标是产生一种吸引力, 能够影响和教育更多用户的互动体验.
我的展览通过三个镜头探索阿比盖尔·亚当斯在欧洲的时光:爱国主义, 经济与教育. 这些镜头使我能够清楚地说明欧洲影响阿比盖尔·亚当斯的方式. 当我开始我的研究, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of secondary and primary sources; I had so many questions–too many, 也许. I found that honing in on more concise channels helped me tremendously with scope and organization.
我通过阅读二手资料开始了这个项目,以帮助我在更广泛的背景下构建我的研究. 这是关键的第一步, 因为它让我更了解我的主题所基于的时间和地点, 让我面对这些问题, 专业研究人员的想法和观察. 我对未来的学生的建议是从 探索马萨诸塞州历史学会已经出版的二手资料. 这些资源将帮助您在发现阶段发现新的主要资源, 它们会帮助你更广泛地理解这个主题. The MHS is an institution available to all learners; being a fellow affords you more access to the Society’s incredible collection of materials and helpful experts.
我的下一步是参加该协会定期举办的众多讲座之一. 你也应该这么做. 我有幸参加了亚当斯家报纸负责人主持的一场即兴演讲. 如果你是一个家伙, 参加MHS的讲座或其他活动是接触专家的好方法, 问问题, 提高你的知识. Talking about your research–and hearing about experts’ research–is one of the most important aspects of conducting research. 历史学家的任务是教育,所以没有什么好害怕的. 更重要的是,他们可能会很高兴看到一个对这门学科感兴趣的年轻学者. 利用这个机会并抓住它. The process of being a fellow is not just to learn about the past; it is also to learn how to communicate, 问问题, 保持条理,独立研究.
当你进行自己的研究时, 记住,你的工作不必局限于MHS提供的主要来源. Your research will become stronger when you explore many routes for learning and balance your evidence–primary sources, 第二手来源, 它们的背景和分析. 然而,寻找和分析第一手资料是这项工作中最重要的部分. 这是工作.
当你使用在线目录进行研究时,阿比盖尔, 记住一件事:它有一个学习曲线. 它可能很奇怪. Some quick tips: I found that looking up specific words and phrases can be confusing and yield thousands of results, 哪些是无法导航的. One way to mitigate this potential problem is to search by specific dates; for instance, 我的研究重点是阿比盖尔·亚当斯1784年至1788年赴欧洲的外交使团, which allowed me to limit the primary sources by the correspondences she wrote during this four-year period.
如今的学生在成长过程中相信互联网掌握着打开每扇门的钥匙, 请记住,并不是所有的协会馆藏都是数字化的. This is where the excitement of visiting the MHS came in; I had the opportunity to spend hours pouring over documents in the Reading Room and Library. 社会是一个温暖、吸引和开放的环境. I was initially scared to visit because I was unfamiliar with historical archives or larger research libraries. 不要紧张. 记得协会的使命是教育,所以我立刻感到被接受和邀请. 此外,这座建筑本身就是一件艺术品——有很多值得一看的东西. 唉,我的大部分时间都是在一种新机器上度过的——缩微胶卷.
这个精巧的装置是, 很简单, 一卷胶卷,包括历史资料的照相版本. 图书管理员非常好,帮助指导我完成使用缩微胶卷的步骤. I previously had no knowledge of microfilm but I think it is an amazing device because it helps preserve the original letters and makes it easier to access the material safely. 更重要的是,阅读历史笔迹也可能是极其困难的. 我问图书管理员我正在看的这些信是否被抄写过, 这能让我更清楚地看到它们, 现代字体.
与MHS进行研究是一个了不起的机会,我学到了很多. I learned about the fascinating intellect and ideology of 阿比盖尔·亚当斯 and about new historical figures like Mercy Otis Warren–Adams’ friend and confidant–someone previously unknown to me. 我也学到了研究并不总是坐在图书馆里, 花几个小时分析一封原始信件. 这也与组织有关, 重新安排一个问题或探索的途径, 最重要的是, 时间管理. Research is not always about reading books either; sometimes it entails pouring over transcribed documents online in your pajamas while drinking tea, 或者甚至笨拙地学会滚动缩微胶卷. 但正是在这些时刻,你学习和成长最多. 这就是为什么做研究对每个学生来说都是一个有益的机会, 即使是那些不想成为历史学家或档案保管员的人. Research teaches you skills that are important for every subject and job – skills such as empathy and critical thinking. This is why I am going to propose a mini-unit this Spring to the history department at my high school on analyzing primary sources utilizing the free resource of the MHS Abigail catalogue.
I often wondered what 阿比盖尔·亚当斯 would have thought about a teenage girl 300 years later looking at the intimate letters she wrote to her friends, 家人,熟人,还有她收到的信. 我不知道她会感到震惊还是高兴. 阿比盖尔一直是女性教育的有力支持者, 这也是我觉得她迷人又鼓舞人心的原因之一. Her knowing that women would be able to research her words equally to any man would probably have brought her immense pride and joy.
If you have any interest in history and research, I would highly recommend applying to be a fellow. The John Winthrop Student Fellowship gives you access to thousands of letters and material and is truly a unique, 对所有对钻研美国历史感兴趣的学生来说都是一次启发性的经历.
If you are interested in learning more about the John Winthrop Student Fellowship or any of our other programs, 请浏览 历史教学中心网站 或电邮至 education@uupt.net. 我们期待收到您的来信!