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Doing Cultural Studies at the Jamestown Settlement Museum: An Internship Experience

It is well known that museums are a very rich site for practitioners of cultural studies to apply their training in meaningful ways. This is what Natalie Simpson, a senior double-majoring in American Studies and Hispanic Studies, found out last summer, as she interned at the Jamestown Settlement Museum thanks to generous funds from the Woody Internship in Museum Studies. In fact, she was able to blend her two majors using a comparative approach. In Natalie's own words:

"Last summer, I interned at the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation via the Charles Center. At the Jamestown Settlement Museum, I worked with the educational department, crafting my research on the comparison of conversion practices between Spanish and English colonizers. This project seamlessly blended my studies into a program that the museum may potentially use for events during Civic Season (June 19th- July 4th). My responsibilities included reviewing and editing various content, and occasionally translating materials into Spanish. If you seek a meaningful dive into our school's history and desire valuable experience in the public humanities realm, I highly recommend applying for the Woody Museum Scholar internship through the Charles Center."

The HISP program encourages students to take advantage of multiple opportunities available to them in the form of internships. Every semester, the HISP program recruits students for the Teaching Internship that trains students in pedagogy, and in multiple other skills coveted in the job market.  The HISP program also offers internships via its study abroad programs. While spending a semester in Seville, students can participate in internships tied to Seville's changing social landscape (e.g., immigration, women and society, health care, human rights, etc.). When studying in fall or spring in La Plata, students intern with the Comisión Provincial por la Memoria in work that focuses on the protection and education in human rights. The opportunity to intern at the different areas of the Comisión is also available during summer as part of the Summer Intern Fellowship program.