HP275-PG Holocaust Museum Internship

Syllabus

 

 

 

Instructor Information

 

Name: Professor Mary Furgol
Office Location: HU272 (RV)

Mailbox Location: HU272

Office Phone: 240-567-7285

Email: mary.furgol@montgomerycollege.edu

 

Office Hours: By Appointment

 
Course Information
 

Semester:  Spring 2009
Course Name/CRNs: HP275-PG 33977

Class Meetings: 

Class location: HU272, Rockville Campus

Class starts: 

Class ends: 05/15/2009

Final Project Due:  05/15/09

 
 

 
Course Description

 

Working with professionals at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), students will participate in museum research projects, help develop exhibits, help to prepare educational units, interact with museum visitors, lead museum tours, or work with staff on other projects. Interns are expected to be on site 16 hours per week for 15 weeks and to keep weekly journals. Interns will also attend monthly seminars at Montgomery College to meet regularly with fellow interns as well as the Paul Peck Humanities Institute Internship Coordinator. (Letter designators in the Credit Class Schedule will indicate the specific location of the internship). PREREQUISITES: Open to students who have completed 15 credit hours at Montgomery College, have earned an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher, have completed EN 101/101A and EN 102 or EN 109 with a grade of B or higher, and are full-time students matriculated in a degree program. Consent of the PPHI Internship Coordinator is required. 3 semester hours.

 

Goals and Learning Outcomes
 

The PPHI Student Internships afford students unique opportunities to experience the professional environment of a world class museum and research activities; to gain access to the original resources of the USHMM collections; and to have direct contact with scholars who are conducting research using museum’s  resources. In this honors course, students will:

 

·        Understand and explain the subject matter on which they are working during their internship

·        Perform research and evaluate primary source materials rather than relying solely on discipline texts

·        Appreciate the historical development and cultural and theoretical aspects of the subject matter associated with their internship placement.

·        Analyze the internship experience through synthesis of on-site activity, research, and reflective writing.

·        Comprehend the role of the internship site in meeting the mission of the institution.
Course Assignments

 

Students will be required to attend bi-monthly meetings at the Rockville Campus during the semester (see course dates and times listed at the top of this document), work at their onsite internships 16 hours per week, keep and submit a journal of writings, create an annotated bibliography, submit a final paper, and be evaluated by their USHMM Supervisor.

 

Daily Internship Journal: Students will maintain a journal throughout their internship, creating entries for each day worked at the internship site. Please see the separate sheet provided with explicit assignment instructions.

 

Annotated Bibliography: Students will be asked to produce an annotated bibliography of all readings completed during the internship at the USHMM as well as five (5) readings identified by the student. Please see the separate sheet provided with explicit assignment instructions.

 

Final Paper: Students will be asked to write an 8-10 page paper meeting specified content requirements. Please see the separate sheet provided with explicit assignment instructions.

 

Student & Curator/Researcher Evaluations: Students will complete an evaluation of their internship experience during the last course meeting. Curators/Researchers will also be provided with and asked to complete an evaluation critiquing the each intern’s performance during their course of work at the assigned institution.

 

IMPORTANT: Please be sure to turn in a copy of ALL writings that you complete at your internship that are requested of you by your museum/library mentor. If you’ve developed or edited a Web site, please provide the URL with a description of what work you specifically are responsible for on the site listed. If the work associated with your internship placement is particularly reading and writing intensive, please contact the instructor so that your overall assignment load for this course can be evaluated.

 

Course Grading

 

Course requirements will be weighted as follows:

 

Attendance at class meetings:          One letter grade deduction for each missed meeting

Daily Internship Journal:  30% of final grade

Annotated Bibliography:                    30% of final grade

Final Paper:                                          25% of final grade

Curator Evaluation:                            15% of final grade

 

Final Course Grades will be reflected as follows: <59=F, 60-69+D, 70-79=C, 80-89=B, 90-100=A

 
Course Materials

 

·         The MC Student’s Guide to Good Writing in the Social Sciences by Marilyn M. Moors, 1991 (available in MC bookstores)

·         A bound journal with blank pages for keeping notes and journal entries throughout the internship

·         Partial reading list includes (A complete list will be distributed by the instructor):

 

Spielvogel, Jackson J. Hitler and Nazi Germany: A History.

 

Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

 

Dawidowicz, Lucy. A Holocaust Reader

 

Wiesel, Elie. Night

 

 
Student Attendance

 

Academic Regulation 9.823 states:

 

Students are expected to attend all class sessions (which in our case is four on-campus meetings, and your regularly scheduled times at the Smithsonian Institution & Library of Congress locations). “Excessive absence” is defined as one more absence than the number of classes per week during a fall or spring semester (with the number of absences to be prorated for accelerated sessions).

               

In cases involving excessive absences from class, the instructor may drop the student from the class (resulting in a grade determined in accordance with regulation 9.645).  If excessive absence from the course takes place after the deadline to drop a course, the instructor may record a grade of “F.”

 

Student Conduct & Policy on Academic Integrity

 

Cheating, plagiarism and/or other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Refer to the Student Code of Conduct. Each student, as an active participant in the Montgomery College community, is responsible for performing academic work that holds to the highest standards of honesty.  Acts of cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to commit such acts are all forms of academic dishonesty.  Acts of academic dishonesty could result in a disciplinary action that may include, but is not limited to suspension or dismissal.  Consult the Student Code of Conduct for further information. *The Montgomery College Student Code of Conduct permits an instructor to assign either an “F” on an assignment or an “F” in the course for academic dishonesty. Students are expected to abide by the Student Code of Conduct. In order for learning to occur, it is necessary that the classroom environment be one of mutual respect.  If a student behaves in such a way that 1) demonstrates a lack of respect, 2) interferes with the educational process or 3) violates the Student Code of Conduct, instructors are responsible for advising the student of the inappropriate behavior and granting her/him an opportunity to correct it.  A student who fails to correct this behavior will be asked to leave the class and will be subject to disciplinary action, as outlined in the Montgomery College Student Code of Conduct.  For a complete statement of Academic Regulations and Student Code of Conduct visit:

http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/departments/academicevp/Student_PandP.htm

 

Statement on Disabilities

 

All classes offered at Montgomery College must meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Disability Support Services encourages the following announcement at the start of each semester:

 

“Any student, who may need an accommodation due to a disability, must provide a letter from Disability Support Services authorizing the accommodations.  Any student who may need assistance in the event of an emergency evacuation must notify the Disability Support Services office. http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/dispsvc/.

 

Weather Alert

 

Occasionally it becomes necessary to delay the opening of school, send students home early, or close the College entirely because of bad weather.  Area radio stations broadcast information about school closings or delayed openings beginning around 6 a.m.  If Montgomery College plans to close early, radio and TV stations will broadcast that message.  The stations will not broadcast “open as scheduled.” The Montgomery College Website should also have announcements posted: http://www.montgomerycollege.edu. In the event of closure of Montgomery College, or the Federal Government, students are NOT required to travel to their internship for the day. All efforts should be made to make up those hours with your assigned curator, if at all possible.

 

 

Stipends

 

A stipend of $1,000 will be paid to interns this semester. The money is paid 50% at the beginning of the semester and 50% upon successful completion of all course/internship assignments. Money will be released to you when tuition bills and outstanding College fines are paid in full.