Author: Quinn Christie

Archives as Time Machines: A Student’s Perspective

Hello! My name is Hope Mahakian and I am a senior majoring in History with minors in Art and Philosophy. This semester, I am an intern with Archives and Special Collections, but this is not my first time visiting the first floor of Walsh Library. Over the course of my four years at Seton Hall, I have gotten the chance to visit and work with Archives and Special Collections multiple times.

White woman with 1940s hairstyle presenting at a podium with a screen next to her showing World War II ration books
Hope Mahakian presenting on research using World War II ration books at the Petersheim Academic Exposition. Seton Hall University, April 2024. Photo courtesy of Sara Fieldston.

When I first came to Seton Hall, I had zero idea about the world of archives. I knew they existed, but I never considered venturing into one. That all changed the fall of my sophomore year. I was taking a course on Vikings, and my Professor, Dr. Wangerin, decided to take us to Archives and Special Collections. I got to see reproductions of books from the time and even a replica of a detailed cauldron with all its mysteries. The archivists and gallery staff were very kind and discussed how the university had acquired the items. This was my first exploration as to what Archives and Special Collections have to offer, but it would not be my last.

The next few semesters would have similar trips to the archives with different history classes, and each time I got to see something new. From getting to see travel brochures from the 1960s to a lock of Elizabeth Ann Seton’s hair, I was fascinated with what things the archives possessed. The archives have newspapers like The Setonian and student pamphlets organizing a protest against Ronald Regan’s visit to the campus. I was amazed at the wealth of knowledge tucked away.

My next adventure in the archives was the Time Machines project. One of my professors encouraged me to apply, and I am so very thankful she did. I applied and was accepted to research five ration books from World War Two. The archivists were very welcoming and explained to me how they maintain rare books, manage the gallery, and arrange classes to give students a space to explore the past. They were always available to answer questions and provide materials for my research.

One day, I made a realization that the ration book was missing a page of stamps, revealing a part of history that had been forgotten. This realization led me down a path to better understand the women who had owned these ration books, as the absence of stamps revealed what Americans were prioritizing in a time of restrictions. The time I spent researching allowed me to peek back at a time now gone and learn more than I ever would have from a few images online. I got to see and learn so much more from getting to hold and touch the objects.

As I start my internship, I encourage other students to use Archives and Special Collections as the possibilities of what you may discover and what rabbit holes you might fall into are endless. The archives have been a space for me to explore the past, and I hope more students will take the opportunity to visit history in a unique way.

Undergraduate History Internship Opportunity: Fall 2024

Student Opportunity: Seton Hall Archives & Special Collections Internship

Level: Undergraduate (Two positions available)

Mentor: Quinn Christie, Public Services Archivist

Project:

The student with an interest in archives will learn modern archival best practices, including physical rehousing, metadata description, and digitization.

The student will work under the Public Services Archivist on various tasks which may potentially include:

· Applying arrangement and rehousing best practices

· Working with a variety of format types and applying skills based on need of item

· Describing collections in ArchivesSpace and applying controlled vocabulary

· Flagging items in poor condition and creating unique housings for certain materials

· Digitizing materials for use in a digital exhibit

Learning Outcomes:

The student will learn:

· The benefits of item rehousing and recognizing common agents of decay

· To act on appraisal decisions and ethically dispose of archival materials

· To apply best practices for storing, describing, and digitizing materials

· About principles of digital curation and the production of digital exhibits

· About theory related to archival arrangement and description

Daily Work Schedule: flexible during 9-5, M-F schedule

To apply: Please send a resume and brief cover letter addressing your interest in the position to quinn.christie@shu.edu.

Please note: Registration in HIST 4710 is required for this internship. Contact Sara Fieldston to register for this course. Email: sara.fieldston@shu.edu

Undergraduate History Internship Opportunity

Come work with us! We have an exciting for-credit internship opportunity for two undergraduate students in Spring 2024.

Seton Hall Photographs Collection Internship

Level: Undergraduate (Two positions available)
Mentor: Quinn Christie, Public Services Archivist

Project: The student with an interest in archives will learn archival best practices around handling photo collections, including physical rehousing, metadata description, and digitization. The student will work under the Public Services Archivist on the specified tasks:

  • Apply arrangement and rehousing best practices
  • Work with a variety of format types and apply skills based on need of item
  • Describe collection in ArchivesSpace and apply controlled vocabulary
  • Flag items in poor condition and create unique housings for certain materials
  • Digitize a selection of photographs for use in a digital exhibit

Learning Outcomes: The student will learn:

  • The benefits of item rehousing and recognizing common agents of decay
  • To act on appraisal decisions and ethically dispose of archival materials
  • To apply best practices for storing, describing, and digitizing materials
  • About principles of digital curation and the production of digital exhibits
  • About theory related to archival arrangement and description

Daily Work Schedule: Flexible during 9-5, M-F schedule. 7-8 hours per week.

To apply: Please send a resume and brief cover letter addressing your interest in the position to quinn.christie@shu.edu

Please note: Registration in HIST 4710 is required for this internship. Contact Sara Fieldston to register for this course. Email: sara.fieldston@shu.edu

Learning Opportunities in Archives and Special Collections

image of students viewing artifact
Students in Dr. Laura Wangerin’s “VIKINGS!” class discuss a replica of the Gundestrup Cauldron from the university’s collections

The Archives & Special Collections Center at Seton Hall University welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with faculty on crafting enriching educational experiences for their students. Class visits to the archives often spark a sense of awe and curiosity, which encourages students to participate in active learning activities, engage in inspired conversations, and connect the past to the present.

Primary sources, which comprise the bulk of our archives, rare books, and gallery collections, are powerful instruction tools. All students benefit from learning how to find, analyze, interrogate, and reference primary sources. Past class visits have included a range of disciplines, including Viking and Early Latin American history, typography, Catholic studies, and women’s studies. If you’re not sure our collections will have materials related to your subject area, try us! We love finding gems from the collections to support your research and instruction needs.

We welcome our faculty to contact our Public Services Archivist, Quinn Christie, to talk about how we can work together. Email quinn.christie@shu.edu, find her on Teams, or call (973)275-2033.

Irish Immigrant Solidarity in New Jersey, 1870-Present: New Archival Collections

Flyer reading "For the Benefit of Irish Political Prisoners Dependents (An Cumann Cabhrac) -- Help the men who cannot help themselves -- 1st Prize Trip to Ireland, 2nd Prize Color TV, 3rd Prize Waterford Glass -- Drawing at Gaelic Park, New York -- Sun. Nov. 11 1973 -- Internment -- Donation $1.00." Drawing of two hands wearing shackles on either side of the text.

The Monsignor Noe Field Archives and Special Collections Center is pleased to announce the addition of six new archival collections related to the Irish-American experience. Thanks to a generous grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, we were able to process the following collections that are now available to researchers:

In addition to processing these collections, we have digitized roughly 1,200 files, at just over 9GB of data, primarily from the John Concannon and James Comerford collections.

Irish-American Experience in the 20th Century: Collection Highlights

The correspondence, research files, publications, photographs, and audio-visual materials in these collections provide an inside look at how Irish-American fraternal organizations worked together and separately to wield influence and political pressure on issues of importance to their communities — primarily immigration reform and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. These documents demonstrate how many of these organizations, notably the Ancient Order of Hibernians, maintained close ties with local political and religious leaders in New York and New Jersey.

For the first half of the 20th century, in the absence of larger governmental programs, membership organizations collected dues and shared out their funds to members in need of assistance. The AOH New Jersey and Knights of Columbus collections include ledgers and membership registers that record in granular detail how these organizations provided health insurance and sick benefits to their members.

Grand Marshal Malcolm Wilson walks in St. Patrick's Day Parade down a New York City street, with other men marching behind him wearing sashes.

In addition to serving as advocacy groups, Irish-American organizations provided a sense of community and maintained a full calendar of social events. The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade is widely documented in the John Concannon collection, as members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians helmed its operation for many decades. The collection includes internal documents, lines of march, invitations, correspondence, and hundreds of photographs.

Digital Exhibits

For an overview of these collections, we invite you to explore two digital exhibits:

 

 

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