Adding to Women's History

Editor's Note: MHS students went on the road this spring, putting classroom lessons to the test in settings across New England.

Visiting the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston in April, Dr. Liza Burbank’s Hallmark Women’s History students were not there for a field trip. They were there to work.

Part of a partnership between Miss Hall’s and the National Women’s History Museum, students compiled information for the National Women’s History Museum’s 250 Educator Resource Initiative, which aims to support educators by filling in history book omissions of women’s history. Leading up to the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026, they are asking, “Where are the women?”

“It seemed like a great opportunity to capitalize on this collaboration,” explains Dr. Burbank. “One of the cool things was that the students approached this like they were historians planning a research trip.”

To prep, they began by visiting the local history room at the Berkshire Athenaeum. They Zoomed with the Historical Society’s Library Director, who explained how to navigate the collection’s catalogue. They followed up with requests for boxes from the collection, homing in on research trails they wanted to explore. When they arrived at the museum, they got to work.

“They were treated like any other professional historian or Ph.D. student,” notes Dr. Burbank. “Every student had their own research table, and the collections staff brought out items they requested,” says Dr. Burbank.

Selections included records of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, the original 1811 portrait of Elizabeth Freeman, correspondence files of women who served as nurses in the World Wars, and a range of diaries from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

“I wanted them to experience what it’s like to do archival research — the whole process,” says Dr. Burbank, “How you look at a catalogue, how you request materials, how you take notes and record information, what to do if you have questions, what are rules for handling materials. I wanted them to come away feeling like they know what it’s like to do that and what it’s like to be a historian. What sets Hallmark apart is not only learning the content, but also learning how historians engage with material.”