In my final week as an intern at the MHS, I finalised my timeline edits about the Boston Redevelopment Authority and completed any other work projects that needed final touches. In this week, I worked more closely with the other intern in editing his timeline, and we maintained an interesting and professional dialogue about his project; this showed me a new element of the office environment: group work and projects. Upon finishing the timeline edits and descriptions (which I have attached below), we went out to lunch with the other intern, my supervisor, the Director of my division, and a new staff member (an event planner for the summer teacher program the MHS is hosted). We discussed Boston history, among other more trivial topics.
In the evening, I attended my first MHS special author talk. The author was an assistant professor at Northwestern University named Jasmine Nicole Cobb (her book is pictured below the title of this post). Her talk focused on visual depictions of middle class free black people in the early 19th century, or the lack thereof. The presentation was fascinating and informative, and the setting was intimate, with an audience of regular MHS members in attendance. Cobb was a captivating speaker, someone who I hope to be like in five or ten years, having written a book and done extensive research on a historical field of interest. I also ran the front desk of the event, checking in members who had RSVP'd and collecting donations. This was a valuable insight into the inner workings of historical talks and seminars and the way in which these events are planned. As the final night in my time at the MHS, this was a valuable experience, and it provided a glimpse of what I hope to achieve in my future.
In the evening, I attended my first MHS special author talk. The author was an assistant professor at Northwestern University named Jasmine Nicole Cobb (her book is pictured below the title of this post). Her talk focused on visual depictions of middle class free black people in the early 19th century, or the lack thereof. The presentation was fascinating and informative, and the setting was intimate, with an audience of regular MHS members in attendance. Cobb was a captivating speaker, someone who I hope to be like in five or ten years, having written a book and done extensive research on a historical field of interest. I also ran the front desk of the event, checking in members who had RSVP'd and collecting donations. This was a valuable insight into the inner workings of historical talks and seminars and the way in which these events are planned. As the final night in my time at the MHS, this was a valuable experience, and it provided a glimpse of what I hope to achieve in my future.