The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) is offering fellowships to public and/or parochial/independent schoolteachers and library media specialists during the summer of 2008. The fellowships carry a stipend of $4,000 for four weeks of on-site research at the MHS. Applications are welcome from any K-12 teacher who has a serious interest in using the collections at the MHS to prepare primary-source-based curricula, supported by documents and visual aids, in the fields of American history, language arts, or science.

The fellowship process is competitive. Awards will be made on the strength of 1) project design; 2) the plan for using MHS collections; 3) the creativity of the proposed classroom activities; 4) usability in other classrooms and 5) recommendations. Applicants may propose their own topic or refine one of the suggestions below:

John Adams's correspondence during the Continental Congress John Adams's diplomatic service in Europe John Adams and the Massachusetts state constitution John and Abigail Adams's relationship with Thomas Jefferson Abigail Adams's correspondence with female friends and relatives John Quincy Adams and the issue of slavery John Quincy Adams and the presidential elections of 1824 and 1828 John Quincy Adams and westward expansion Adams family and education John and Abigail Adams's courtship John Quincy Adams and Russian diplomacy Coming of the American Revolution, 1764-1776

African American experience in Massachusetts, 1750-1800 Thomas Jefferson's Architectural Drawings, Notes on the State of Virginia, Farm Book, Garden Book Travelers' impressions of foreign places (Nora Saltonstall, Mary Gardner Lowell, Francis Parkman, Henry Adams) Abolitionist networks Civil War through photographs Early theater in Boston Arthur Shurcliff and Boston's landscape architecture Henry Cabot Lodge and 20th-century politics Women and war 18th- and 19th-century account books 19th- and 20th-century diaries

Prospective applicants are encouraged to search the Society's online catalog, ABIGAIL, and/or consult with MHS staff education@masshist.org prior to submitting their proposals. Applicants may also view descriptions of past fellowship recipients and their projects. Copies of fellowship projects from previous years are available for viewing in the library.

How to Apply for a 2008 Teacher Fellowship:

Applicants should provide the following materials:

• A current résumé.
• A letter of intent (no longer than two pages, single spaced) outlining the topic of interest as well as the nature, scope, and goals of the proposed project.
• A letter of support from the school principal or department head.

Application guidelines:

• Indicate which fellowship (Adams or Swensrud) you are applying for.
• Submit eight copies of your application packet (one original and seven copies).
• Place the page number and your last name in the upper right hand corner of each page.
• We cannot accept faxed or e-mailed applications.

• We will announce recipients approximately six weeks after the deadline.
• Fellowship recipients must spend 4 weeks (20 days) in residence at the MHS.
• Recipients should plan to complete at least five (5) days of their residency by July 12, 2008.
• Recipients should also plan to be in residence at the MHS during the weeks of July 14 and July 21

We will announce recipients approximately six weeks after the deadline.

Mail to:
  Jayne K. Gordon
  Director of Education
  Massachusetts Historical Society
  1154 Boylston Street
  Boston, MA 02215

Please direct questions to the Education Coordinator Kathleen Barker at
education@masshist.org
(617) 646-0557.