The Swensrud Teacher Fellowship Program of The Massachusetts Historical Society

The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) is offering fellowships to public and/or parochial/independent schoolteachers during the Summer of 2002. The fellowships carry a stipend of $4,000 for four weeks of on-site research at the MHS. Applications are welcome from any K-I2 teacher who has a serious interest in using the collections at the MHS for the purpose of enhancing his/her American history, language arts, or science curriculum.

The fellowship will be granted to a teacher who demonstrates an interest in preparing a curriculum (or comparable) project, to be accompanied by supporting documents and visual aids, that centers on a discrete topic in American history. Applicants may propose their own ideas or refine one of the suggestions listed below:

Massachusetts Two Hundred Years Ago: Letters and Diaries, 1802/3
Letters and Diaries Written by Teenagers
Letters Home from War
Travelers' Impressions of Foreign Places
Medical Practices in Nineteenth-Century Massachusetts

A search of the Society's online catalog (at www.masshist.org) and/or preliminary consultation with the library staff (library@masshist.org) will help candidates focus their proposals.

In the course of the fellowship, the teacher will work closely with the library staff to develop the topic and to locate appropriate source material. Teacher fellows will work independently but will also have an opportunity to participate in the scholarly collegiality of the MHS.

The Massachusetts Historical Society was founded in 1791 for the purpose of collecting, preserving, and disseminating resources for the study of American history. The Society houses more than 10 million manuscript items in 3,500 separate collections of personal papers and institutional records. Its holdings also include more than 200,000 books and pamphlets, over 5,000 maps, more than 10,000 broadsides, and 150,000 microforms. For additional information about the Massachusetts Historical Society, visit our website at www.masshist.org.

Applicants should provide the following materials:

A current resume.
A letter of intent (no longer than two pages, double spaced) outlining the
topic of interest, nature and scope of project proposed, and desired outcomes.
A letter of support from the school principal or department head.

Application guidelines:

Please submit two, single-sided, 81/2." by 11" copies of your application packet.
Copies should not be stapled, paper-clipped, or folded.
Pages should be numbered, and your last name and school affiliation should appear
in the upper right-hand corner of each page.
We cannot accept faxed or e-mailed applications.

Applications must be received by 22 April 2002. Mail to:

Linda Smith Rhoads
Chair, Education Committee
Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215

Please direct questions to Linda Smith Rhoads at lrhoads@masshist.org; (617) 646-0519.