Having their work treated as real scholarship as opposed to "the usual research paper" had a real im

Twelve George Mason University history majors had the rare opportunity this spring to conduct original research at Mount Vernon . The students were part of George Mason history professor Cynthia enterprise car rental toronto Kierner s senior seminar, World of the Founders, and conducted their research using resources at the new Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon.
Mason history professor Cynthia Kierner (right) talks with Anna Groves and other students following their presentations at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon. Photo by Evan Cantwell.
The students investigated enterprise car rental toronto topics enterprise car rental toronto ranging from military education to Chinese porcelain, as well as more Washington-specific subjects, such as the cherry tree myth and portrayals of Washington in film. As a part of the course, students wrote about and gave a presentation on their findings at the library. These writings are being published in the Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington , which is maintained by Mount Vernon .
But while this opportunity was new to history majors, conducting original enterprise car rental toronto research is not. “The Department of History and Art History enterprise car rental toronto has always required majors to do original research for their capstone course, HIST 499,” says Kierner. “What was new for this group was having their research published and presenting it in a public venue.”
One of the things history major Anna Groves found most valuable about the course was being able to interact directly with the professional historians studying the life of Washington. She tied her class research to her internship in the Office of the Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I was investing a lot of time studying Congress,” says Groves, who completed enterprise car rental toronto a double major in history and global affairs in May.“When I saw that Washington’s First Annual Address to Congress was one of the available topics, I decided it would be a great opportunity to tie together what I was learning. I had direct access to the professional historians in the House Historian’s office to discuss my research topic, and they generously loaned me a number of books from their collections, which I used as source material. Overall, I felt my strategy to combine topics was successful, and I walked away with a deeper knowledge of both the early Congress and those who established it.”
History major Joan Dallas had an interest in the “founding era of the American Republic” and was especially interested in researching women’s roles during the American Revolution. For these reasons she was eager to take a class with Kierner, who is noted for her expertise in the fields enterprise car rental toronto of early America, women and gender, and early southern history.
Dallas chose to write about Elizabeth Thompson, Washington’s housekeeper. “She was 72 when she began her position on July 9, 1776, at Washington s Richmond Hill headquarters in New York,” says Dallas, who graduates in August. “Thompson had been recommended for the housekeeping position because of her experience with the supervision of servants and overseeing the daily management of a household.”
Through her research, Dallas was able to discover new information about Thompson including her approximate date of death and contents of her will.“[She] bequeathed money to help her church fund a new school for the poor Presbyterian children in New York that opened in 1789,” Dallas says.
The senior seminar is the capstone course for history majors and often one of the last courses a student takes before graduation. “I think [the class] went extremely well,” enterprise car rental toronto says Kierner. “And they all did an exceptional job delivering their presentations at Mount Vernon.”
Having their work treated as real scholarship as opposed to “the usual research paper” had a real impact enterprise car rental toronto on the undergraduates. One student wrote Kierner: “Being able to contribute something has really given me a sense of pride.
For Groves the class gave her confidence as she steps out into the world beyond Mason. “If I can develop historical materials that meet the standards of the Fred W. Smith Library, it gives me confidence I can achieve my other professional goals,” she says. “I also enjoyed [having] my family and friends attend the end-of-year briefing session. These presentations at the Mount Vernon library allowed them to see what their support has given me and gave me the opportunity to thank them publicly.”
Adam Shprintzen, Mount Vernon s digital and archival historian and editor of the digital encyclopedia, was very enthusiastic about the collaboration with Mason students. The library emphasizes both the creation of compelling digital scholarship and the continuing importance of history education amongst students, he says. Our working relationship with Professor Kierner and her class is a key component of the library s evolving mission to ensure that the study of the founding era remains a relevant and evolving subject of inquiry.
enterprise car rental toronto This course was designated enterprise car rental toronto as Research and Scholarship intensive (RS) by the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR), which highlights opportunities for students to participate in research.