Praktikumsbericht Chloë Olliff

I studied abroad in Heidelberg during the Winter Semester of 2022-2023, through the American Junior Year (AJY) Abroad program. Before departing for Heidelberg, I spoke with my program director, Dr. Martin Kley, about doing an internship during my semester abroad. I had heard about other AJY students doing internships, and it seemed like a good way to continue exploring possible career paths related to my academic interests in history and German. When I mentioned my interest in an internship at the University Archives, Dr. Kley enthusiastically sent my resume to Sabrina Zinke, the Assistant Director of the archive. We exchanged emails over the next few months, and then in September I went in to the archive for my first day as an intern.

Thus began a semester of translations, writing emails, sifting through 19th-century documents, and wandering through the maze-like underground world of the archive. One of my first tasks was to transcribe interviews conducted by the previous semester’s AJY intern. The former intern had conducted the interviews in English, so my job was to use my abilities as a native English-speaker to create a comprehensive transcript for the archive’s records. Within the interviews, former AJY students were asked about their experiences at Heidelberg University. They talked about culture shock, academic and social differences, tips they would give future study abroad students, and their plans moving forward. I found it incredibly interesting to hear about other AJY students’ experiences, and I also learned some useful tips about life in Heidelberg. The process of transcribing was new to me, and I learned how to listen incredibly carefully in order to create the most accurate possible transcript. Eventually, it was time for me to conduct my own interviews. I decided to take a slightly different approach from my predecessor. Instead of interviewing American students, I wanted to broaden the focus and interview international students. I ended up interviewing my Japanese roommate and an AJY student who grew up in two different cultures. The end product was a rich testament to the importance of studying abroad, as both of my interviewees described how much they had learned and grown through the course of their time abroad.

Although my interview project was conducted in English, the rest of my projects at the archive all challenged and improved my German abilities. I did many translations, including translating the archival guidelines into English and translating 19th-century family records for an American researcher. Before my internship, I did not have much experience with translations, but I quickly learned how to translate a text into fluent English. The main documents I translated were baptismal records, and I found this task both rewarding and emotionally challenging. I discovered that one family lost seven of their ten children before the children were teenagers. As a History major, I knew that infant mortality was extremely high during the 19th century, but it felt completely different to directly witness the impact of infant mortality. My work at the archive was an important reminder that behind each historical document are real people who once lived real lives, and it is important to treat each person’s story with respect and care.

My main task at the archive was to be a liaison between the University Archives and English-speaking researchers. Every day I would write multiple emails to scholars from the U.S., Scandinavia, Australia, and many other places around the world. When I received a new email, I would first read through the scholar’s request and then come up with a game plan for how I could find the information they were seeking. Next I would meet with Sabrina Zinke, explaining my thoughts to her and asking for advice. She would help me with brainstorming each scholar’s request. Then she would show me how I could find certain documents, which keys I needed, and how to navigate the archive’s endless shelves. By the end of my time at the archive, I could easily see how much I had learned over the course of the semester. At the beginning of my internship, I was clueless when it came to doing research. Should I look at the Studentenakten or the Fakultäten records? Would this document fall under correspondence or administration? The archive felt overwhelming, and I was never sure where to start. However, with Sabrina Zinke’s excellent guidance, at the end of my internship I was able to do all my research independently.

On my last day at the archive, all of my work during the semester culminated in a private meeting with an American scholar and his family. They were doing family research during a trip to Germany and were seeking information about ancestors who attended the University of Heidelberg in the 19th century. I found their ancestors’ names written into the matriculation lists and pulled relevant documents from the shelves. Summarizing all the information I had found, I gave the scholar and his family a short presentation and then allowed them to peruse the documents on their own. Although the number of sources I was able to find was minimal, the family was extremely grateful to be able to see the documents in person and touch the same paper that their ancestors may have touched. I found the meeting incredibly rewarding, and it is a good metaphor for everything I learned during my internship. I learned how important and relevant archival research can be, and the necessity of good communication between scholars and archivists. The University Archives showed me that history can form bridges between people, from international students to German archivists, from preeminent scholars to curious American interns.

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Letzte Änderung: 09.01.2023
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