Public history captivates Hannah Smith '16
History major Hannah Smith ’16 will share the results of her summer SEE-Beyond research project at the Saratoga Battlefield in a presentation scheduled at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, in Davis Auditorium, Palamountain Hall. Free and open to the public, the event is part of the monthly meeting of the Friends of the Saratoga Battlefield.
Smith’s project is titled “Hearth, Home, Revolution: Angelica and Elizabeth Schuyler—Conformity and Rebellion in the Early American Republic.” It is a study of two daughters of Philip Schuyler, including an examination of the family and marriage choices they made and the geo-political consequences of those choices, according to Tillman Nechtman, associate professor and chair of the Department of History.
Said Smith, “Doing this project was the highlight of my Skidmore career. I really enjoyed doing the archival research at the New York State Library in Albany, and online at the Library of Congress and the British Library, as well as spending some time at the New York Public Library. I also enjoyed the opportunity it gave me to explore public history, mainly through giving tours of the Schuyler House over the summer.”
Smith is the third Skidmore history major to complete a summer internship at the battlefield in recent years. She is also a member of Skidmore’s Periclean Honors Forum and has served on its executive committee, which she calls “another highlight” of her Skidmore years. She is considering a career in academic history following her graduation from Skidmore.
