History of Disability in the 19th c. [Research Assistantship]

Professor: Maria Frawley
 
Department: English and Honors
 
Title: Source Materials: History of Disability in the 19th c.
 
Description: If you enjoy the feeling of sleuthing in looking through databases and archives for materials, this is the project for you. I’ve recently been invited to help prepare a multi-volume series on primary sources related to the history of disability in the 19th century. I need research help with finding visual and printed material (e.g., examples of implements used by the blind and deaf; stories by and about people with chronic illnesses or “afflictions,” paintings and photographs, medical records, diary extracts, etc). Once collected, the work will entail writing short “headnotes” to describe items and explain their significance. This project could be useful for anyone interested in fine-tuning their research skills, but would be esp. useful for people with interests in history, the history of medicine, disability studies, and museum studies. The kinds of materials we find will shape how volumes are divided, so you’d be part of the conceptualizing of a big project that will be available in print and as e-texts. Number of hours worked per week can vary to accommodate anything up to three credits.
 
Duties: Meet with me to develop an organized plan to searching; meet or confer weekly to discuss findings and develop new searching strategies; keep records of sources; research terms of reproduction / copyright for each source. Write draft headnotes for some sources. Dialogue with me about possible categories for presenting the materials within the printed volumes. Time and credit hour commitment can vary according to the research assistant’s needs.
 
Time commitment: 7-9 hours per week (average)
 
Credit hour option*: 3
 
Submit Cover Letter/Resume to: mfrawley@gwu.edu
*If credit is sought, all registration deadlines and requirements must be met. Students selected to be research assistants should contact Ben Faulkner at benfaulkner@gwu.edu whether they intend to pursue credit or not.