History Beyond the Classroom

UNE History students extend their education, engage in research, and experience history beyond the classroom giving students real-world career skills and the opportunity to learn-by-doing. Honors and Scholarships recognize superior academic achievement and Social Events bring faculty and students together.
 
Student-Designed Museum Exhibits 
 
Hands-on projects where students create an exhibit from start to finish: thematic concept to painting the walls. Students conduct background research, write exhibit labels, design the space, install the artifacts, and create public programming. 

During spring 2008, a class taught by Prof. Elizabeth De Wolfe created the exhibition “Mary Bean: The Factory Girl, or, The Victim of Seduction”  at the Saco Museum. 

During spring semester 2011, a class taught by Prof. De Wolfe and Saco Museum Education Manager Camille Smalley '08, who participated as a student in the 2008 exhibition, designed the exhibition "Voyages and the Great Age of Sail" at the museum. Find out more about this exhibition and view a slideshow of the semester's work.

Undergraduate History Research Grants

UNE students working on historical projects are eligible to apply for the History Department Research Grant. Grants support research costs for student projects undertaken during the academic year or summer. Recent recipients: 

• 2011 Constance Glynn: Research on the Book of Kells in Ireland (independent study).
  
• 2009 Betsy DeBrakeleer: Funding supported travel to New England living history museums to examine blacksmith shops (senior thesis research).
• 2008 Amanda Wertman: Research on the history of the zombie in horror films (senior thesis research).  

History Student of the Year

Awarded each spring to the most outstanding UNE history major or minor, by vote of the History Department faculty.

Phi Alpha Theta

History students achieving a 3.1 GPA in History courses and a 3.0 GPA overall are eligible for membership in Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society.

History Department Events

From trips to Lexington and Concord, to resumé writing workshops, to pizza parties, the History  faculty enjoy getting to know our students in and out of the classroom.  Our office doors are always open.

LASKA Scholarship

Sponsored by the New England History Teachers Association, the LASKA Award is a New England-wide competition for a $2000 scholarship. All history students are eligible to apply.  In 2009, UNE senior Betsy DeBrakeleer received the LASKA Scholarship. http://www.nehta.net/

Internships
 
UNE history students have earned credit toward graduation while gaining valuable career experience. Recent internship sites have included: the Saco (Maine) Museum, the McArthur Library Archives (Biddeford, Maine), the Saco school system (Maine), the Titanic Museum (Branson, Missouri), in politician’s offices, law offices, Pratt-Whitney, the R.I. Children’s Museum, Casco Bay Weekly (newspaper), and the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.
 
History Department Research Assistants

The History Department provides a work-study position to a history major or minor, thus combining financial aid with the opportunity to assist in the day-to-day activities of the history department. In addition, faculty select student research assistants to assist with research and other ongoing projects. Camille Smalley ’08 (above) assisted Professor Elizabeth DeWolfe with transcribing and proofreading Shaker documents from the early 19th-century.  Jon Planer '12 assisted Professor Eric G.E. Zuelow by conducting research for a book about the history of global tourism.  Jennifer Cox '12 and Caitlin Tetreau '13 worked with Cally Gurley, Director of Special Collections, to organize and catalog 21 collections of World War II letters archived at UNE.

History Club

Sponsored by the Undergraduate Student Government, the UNE History Club organizes events including lectures by noted scholars and trips to places of historic interest.

• Visit UNE on iTunes U to listen to or view a lecture by Jeremi Suri, Ph.D., professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who spoke on “Henry Kissinger and the Transformation of International Society: Total War, Nuclear Politics, Migration” Feb. 12, 2009. The lecture was sponsored by the History Club.

Academic Conferences

UNE History students have presented papers at the annual conference of the New England Museum Association and at the Maine Women’s Studies Consortium conference, gaining experience sharing their research with scholars from across the region, meeting graduate students and faculty, and participating in the profession of history.