Summer Internship in History and Heritage
The Departments of Heritage & Interpretation and History at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) seek talented and energetic applicants for an exciting and paid summer internship in Jackson, Mississippi. This internship is co-led by department heads Nora Katz (Heritage & Interpretation) and Dr. Josh Parshall (History).
The ISJL History Department documents, preserves, and interprets the history of Jews in the American South. The department’s most notable projects are the Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities—an online collection of nearly 300 historical articles about Jewish life in the South—and an oral history collection that includes more than 800 interviews.
The ISJL Heritage and Interpretation Department manages a slate of engaging public programs, including Southern Jewish Heritage Tours; historic preservation efforts across the South; and our Immigration Traveling Trunk program.
Depending on interns’ skills and interests, projects include:
- Historical research, writing, and editing.
- Processing and cataloging archival materials.
- Assisting with the Southern Jewish Heritage Tour program.
- Transcribing and indexing oral history interviews.
- Developing content for and producing digital history projects.
- Traveling to southern communities to collect historical documents and conduct research.
Strong applicants will have experience in one or more of the following: digital humanities, museums and archives, southern history/culture, or Jewish history/culture. Successful applicants will also have the ability to produce engaging and creative written content, and a passion for public-facing historical research and programs. Rising college juniors or seniors preferred.
Interns will reside in Jackson, Mississippi, and receive a stipend. The internship runs from June 1st to August 7th, 2020. The ISJL will help locate lodging, though interns will be responsible for paying for room and board. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with priority given to applications received by Monday, February 10th, 2020.
To apply, please provide the following materials to Dr. Josh Parshall at jparshall@isjl.org:
- Cover letter
- Résumé/CV
- Short work sample (writing sample, digital humanities project, or otherwise)
- Names and contact information of three references
Address cover letter to:
Dr. Josh Parshall
Director, Department of History
Institute of Southern Jewish Life
P.O. Box 16528
Jackson, MS 39236