From DC to Krakow, Georgetown history graduate students spent their summers conducting research across the globe. We sat down with Megan Huang (second-year MA), Maddie Densmore (second-year MA), and Megan Emery (second-year PhD) to discuss their experiences and tips and demystify the historical research process. 

Tell us about your summer research! What is your research topic and where did you go?

Megan Huang: I interned at the Washington National Cathedral in their archives here in DC. The internship was more focused on archival practices rather than a specific research subject, but I helped regularly with the research requests that the Cathedral’s head archivist received. Some of the topics that I researched were the ordination of women in the Cathedral during the 1970s, the Cathedral’s possession of a piece of the moon to display in a stained glass window, and land usage agreements between the Cathedral and St. Alban’s parish.

Maddie Densmore: I researched at the Archives nationales and the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, France, in May. My master’s thesis revolves around women’s political clubs and their connections to popular action and gender and citizenship laws in the French Revolution. While I was able to find many great sources online, the club I focus on in particular — the Society of Revolutionary Republicans (Société des républicaines révolutionnaires) — isn’t heavily documented, and some of the only sources on them could be found in person in Paris.  

Megan Emery: I traveled throughout Europe this summer to study historical memory, monuments, and memorials. When I graduated from my undergraduate university, I received a scholarship to study World War II and Holocaust memorials. While this topic does not relate to my PhD studies, I had an amazing opportunity to interact with the past by analyzing commemorations to it. I traveled to London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Krakow, and Prague. Some of the most memorable places I visited were the Berlin Wall, Ann Frank House, and Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. 

How did you get funding and when did you apply?

Maddie Densmore: I was able to get funding through the history department’s MA summer travel grant. I submitted a budget proposal outlining my research plan and accommodations in  the beginning of April and officially received the grant two weeks later. 

Megan Emery: I received a scholarship from the University of Rochester’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter. I was fortunate to receive this scholarship when I graduated from undergrad. 

Students who have never done archival research before may find it intimidating. Do you have any tips for how to navigate an archive?

Megan Huang: Consult with the archivists! The head archivist I worked with was super helpful from a spatial perspective since she could point to me to where record groups were, but she could also tell me if there just weren’t any records in the Cathedral for a certain subject so I wouldn’t have to waste time trying to track down documents that weren’t even in the building. Learn how to effectively use whatever online catalog is used for the archive as well. The one at the Cathedral was very outdated and only worked with very specific search parameters so I had to be really careful about what terms I used, but once I figured them out, it was super useful. 

Maddie Densmore: Talk with others who have researched at the same places you’re visiting. One of my biggest sources of anxiety was navigating the bureaucratic processes before actually sitting down at the archives desks — for the Bibliothèque nationale, I had to submit an explanation of what institution I belonged to and what and why I was there to research, and then sit down with an archives official to receive my research pass. I reached out to a PhD student who’d also conducted research in Paris and was able to get many of those practical questions answered — where exactly to go and what to expect. Getting that play-by-play helped take away much of the “unknown” surrounding the archival process and really eased my anxiety. 

Megan Emery: I did not go to archives per se. My “archives” were historical sites. 

The archival research process often entails going through masses of material that may feel irrelevant to your project. What would you say to students who feel like they’ve hit a wall with sources?

Megan Huang: Make sure that you aren’t compartmentalizing your research; it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. If you feel like you’ve exhausted all the sources for your specific research or don’t know where to start, think about adjacent questions or topics. Looking at records that speak more to certain time, place, and society might lead you to a more specific research question that will be easier research or will help you make sense of what you’ve already gathered.

Maddie Densmore: Don’t be discouraged if you don’t find one holy grail of sources all at once. During my time in Paris I had moments where I did find those groundbreaking documents, but I also spent a few days sifting my way through giant piles of papers without finding anything major. In these cases, I shifted my approach to find smaller references to the Société I researched from a number of different sources with the aim of creating a larger narrative from there. That way the smaller victories felt better to me, and by cross-referencing some of these shorter documents I could gain alternative perspectives or help myself realize I needed to focus on a different person or publication. Just because you find things that may seem irrelevant doesn’t mean you’re necessarily wasting your time researching — finding out where not to look can also help you realize where to look. 

What was your favorite part of your summer research experience?

Megan Huang: You already have a bit of a behind-the-scenes vantage while working in an archive, but I really got an amazing look at the inner workings of the Cathedral in general during my time there. My supervisor took myself and the other interns all over the Cathedral, so we got to see the overcroft, music library, bell towers and ringing chamber, clerestory, and the triforium. I was even able to touch one of the rose windows. The Cathedral is such a beautiful place to work so I really loved being able to explore as much as I could.

Maddie Densmore: From a historian’s perspective, my favorite part was finding an original seal of the Société — the only one I’ve ever seen throughout my research and potentially one of the only ones still around. I literally gasped out loud in the Archives nationales when I found it. To be able to physically hold the original seal and minute meetings written by the women I’m writing my thesis on was incredible. I also loved being able to walk through the streets of Paris. A large part of my research deals with the women’s marches on the streets, and many of their habitual routes were pretty well-documented. I walked several of those same routes and gained a sort of human connection to those women.

Megan Emery: I always feel such an overwhelming sense of awe when traveling to historical sites. The gravity of historical events always feels more palpable when experiencing the sites where they happened. The historical profession entails empathy — trying to understand people and their actions in the past. In my opinion, this historical empathy becomes easier by seeing the history — being where it happened. My favorite day during the trip was my visit to Ann Frank House. No pictures are allowed inside this space. This experience made me appreciate being physically present; after all, I could not reminisce with pictures afterwards. I was able to fully engage with the space and think about the precarity of Ann Frank’s day-to-day life. 

Cover photo by Pixabay

Maddie Densmore graduated from the University of Missouri in May 2023 with degrees in journalism and political science. Currently a second-year MA student in the Global, International, and Comparative History program, her research interests include eighteenth-century women’s political clubs and gender laws during the French Revolution. She loves reading, writing, indie and alt music, and her cat Marty. Maddie hopes to enter a career field combining journalism and her history research. 

Megan Huang is a second-year MA student in the Global, International, and Comparative History program. Her research is centered around the American Revolution, utilizing the history of emotions to examine how women used sentimental language for political expression. She graduated from the University of St Andrews with a degree in Modern History and enjoys reading, writing, and cross-stitching in her spare time.

Megan Emery is a second-year PhD student studying the Haitian Revolution and the diaspora that ensued in its wake. Megan loves all things New Orleans, peanut butter, and dogs!