Next Deadline: 11:59pm on Sunday, September 11
Info Sessions: Monday, August 22 at 2:15, 3:15, & 4:15, Macksey Seminar Room (BLC, M-level)

Apply to be a Freshman Fellow

Launched in 2016, Freshman Fellows is an academic opportunity designed to introduce students to conducting research with rare books, manuscripts, and archival material during their first year at The Johns Hopkins University. Limited to only four students a year, the successful applicant will:

  • Conduct research with rare books, manuscripts, and archival collections;
  • Analyze items of cultural significance and improve their research skills;
  • Be partnered with a mentor in Special Collections who will provide them with individualized research plans;
  • Create an end-product of their choosing that focuses on their research, such as an academic talk, a poster presentation, or an online exhibition;
  • Receive a $1,000 research award during the spring semester.

Research outcomes may include a display in the Special Collections Reading Room, a webinar, a poster session, or other project that showcases your research in an accessible and interesting manner. Please contact Heidi Herr (hherr1@jhu.edu), the program manager, for questions about the program or for guidance with the application process. You are also encouraged to directly contact the mentor associated with the topics(s) you are interested in researching.

Requirements

  • The Freshman Fellows program is restricted to JHU freshmen and first-year undergraduates.
  • Applicants must select from one of the research topics on offer and are encouraged to email the associated mentor with any questions.
  • No prior experience with primary sources is necessary.
  • Students who accept a fellowship are required to write two blog posts for the Sheridan Libraries highlighting their research, attend a research roundtable held in April, and submit their research projects to their mentors by May 31.

How to Apply

To apply, write an essay of no more than 750 words discussing why you want to be part of the program and which one of the pre-selected topics you would like to explore. Students may apply to more than one research topic, but a separate essay must be written for each application submission.

2022/2023 Research Topics

Across the Burning Sands: Exploring perceptions of the Middle East through popular sheet music

Mentor: Sam Bessen

The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 spurred a flurry of fascination with Middle Eastern history, culture, and art. Even before this monumental discovery, the United States had an unyielding obsession with the Middle East and Asia, featuring exoticized (and often Islamophobic) images of its geography, people, and architecture in popular culture. Since television and cinema hadn’t yet become widely available, this “Egyptomania,” as it was called, was often expressed in the form of sheet music. Come explore over 200 years of music, art, architecture, celebrities, and history through the lens of popular music!

It’s Greek (or Latin or Spanish or Italian) to Me

Mentor: Mack Zalin

The author Italo Calvino once called the translator his “most important ally” who “introduce[d] [him] to the world.” By translating hitherto untranslated works in Latin, Spanish, Italian, or Classical Greek held in Special Collections at Johns Hopkins University, you, too, can introduce readers to the world and be introduced to the libraries at Hopkins in turn. No matter what your interests or intended major may be, your working knowledge of any one of these languages can be applied to translating a host of texts on a variety of subjects that have never been rendered into English.

POP Feminism

Mentor: Heidi Herr

The 20th century was bookended by two major campaigns for women’s rights: the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement. The politics, antics, and slogans of the suffragists and “libbers” captured the attention of the nation, creating a marketplace of purchasable propaganda to show support for or disapproval of the fight for equality. So, just how did 20th century pop culture depict feminism? Engage in some consciousness raising (it was a thing in the 1970s) by examining comic books, board games, postcards, and other media that reckoned with feminist ideology.

Student Life at Hopkins

Mentor: Katie Carey

As a new Student Center prepares to become a reality (in 2024), how has the idea of a “student center” evolved and been addressed over the years? And for that matter, how has undergraduate student life changed over the years? How did university administration address student needs and concerns? You may choose to look at the various iterations of the student center, student life over the course of JHU’s almost 150-year history, compare and contrast student life during different decades, or choose a specific aspect of student life or student organization to focus on.

Recent Freshman Fellows Projects

  • Kobi Khong, The Development of Asian Cuisine in American Cookbooks

    Kobi Khong spent his freshman year researching historic cookbooks, ranging from handwritten manuscript cookery books from the 17th century to 20th century American cookbooks for products like Jell-o. Kobi ultimately focused on the development of Asian cooking in North America. He worked with his mentor Heidi Herr to select rare cookbooks that document the introduction of Chinese ingredients and cooking techniques to Americans. For his final project, he hosted a cooking demo recreating a variety of Chinese dishes based on historic recipes.

  • Jade Robinson, Rachel Carson at Johns Hopkins University

    Jade Robinson explored archival documents pertaining to Rachel Carson’s time as one of the few female graduate students at Hopkins. Working with her mentor, senior reference archivist Jim Stimpert, Jade received access to unique documents, including Carson’s student file. Jade showcased her research by creating a short animated film about Carson’s life.

  • Ankita Sen, The Talking Statues of Rome

    Ankita Sen improved her Latin skills by translating examples of post-Roman Latin that have never before been translated into English. Encouraged by her mentor, George Peabody Library Curator Paul Espinosa, Ankita learned about the “talking” statues of Rome and translated sections of the Peabody Library’s copy of Pasquillorum tomi duo to discover exactly what such statues said.  She also studied engravings and other aspects of the history of the book in the 16th century.

  • Ivy Xun, Violence and Complexity in the Women’s Suffrage Movement

    Ivy Xun examined ephemera such as postcards, journals, and games documenting the women’s suffrage movement on both sides of the Atlantic. Ivy analyzed images and texts that showed the complex ways violence was utilized as either a criticism of or form of advocacy for a woman’s right to the vote. Ivy shared her discoveries with a national audience as a panelist at the Ephemera Society of America’s 2021 Conference.