Profile profile for schaeferjacobsd
Pre-doctorate studies in Public History at George Mason University
M.A. Texas Tech University, Museum Science, minors: History, Art History, Historic Preservation
B.A. with Distinction, University of Rhode Island; Major 1 History, Major 2 Art History, Phi Alpha Theta, president; Mortar Board
• History of American education through artifacts including:
History of the American school desk; Americanization in the classroom; Civics instruction and the promotion of Patriotism in Schools; Material culture of women's education in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th Centuries; Segregated schooling; "Back to School;" Objects promoting the literacy of American youth; curriculum changes; material culture of the classroom and teaching
• Educational toys and Childhood games
• 19th century American prints especially Civil War popular prints
• Visual studies and American material culture
• Collection documentation, digitization, and classification of artifacts of the home
- Curator of the Education Collections including the Dr Richard Lodish American School Collection
- Curator of the Harry T. Peters America on Stone Collection (19th century prints)
- Curator in the Division of Culture and Community Life (formerly Home and Community Life)
• History of American education exhibit and related publications
• Collections research and augmentation of artifact information for web access
Past Projects:
• Team member/co-curator for Many Voices, One Nation exhibition, opened June 2017
• Numerous projects concerning development, maintenance, and use of standard practices for cataloging objects, including the development and promotion of Documentation Standards for NMAH Collections.
• Developed object classifications with curatorial staff. Edited the on-line collections information system and provided assistance with research and development of NMAH authority records.
• Team member on major information architecture projects for NMAH 1982-2002; on SI and international committees including NMAH functional model, NMAH Data Model, SI Data Content Committee, and Roles and Transaction Terms documents.
• Provided MultiMimsy XG staff training 1996-2007.
• Member of exhibit de-installation original NMAH First Ladies exhibition.
• Team leader for NMAH shelf inventory editors and the development of the Museum Information Retrieval and Documentation System in the 1980s.
Presentations and Lectures:
Interpreting School Segregation in Museum Exhibitions
Some Assembly Required: The Student Seat and Schoolhouse Furniture 1845-1945
Patriotism in the Classroom: The Material Culture of Americanization 1880-1915 (2015)
American Education Objects Out of Storage
Civil War Objects Out of Storage (2013-present)
Introduction to the Harry T Peters “America on Stone” Print Collection (2010-present)
How to Teach and Old Catalogue New Tricks (1999)
Publications
- Schaefer-Jacobs, D. (2019). Sarah Anne Carter, Object Lessons: How Nineteenth-Century Americans Learned to Make Sense of the Material World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. 216 pp. History of Education Quarterly, 59(3), 407-410. doi:10.1017/heq.2019.21
- Smithsonian Civil War: Inside the National Collection, Smithsonian Books, October 2013
In Pre-Civil War Kentucky Derby, North-South Rivalry Ran High AtlanticMonthly.com
Volunteerism:
- National Judge/ team captain for annual National History Day competition, College Park, Maryland
- Community volunteer with Friends of the Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, Va
- As a formerly active PTA member (1990-2005) was nominated Volunteer of the Year for Fairfax County, Virginia.
- Promotes the future of the museum profession by mentoring NMAH interns in collections management and collaborating with them on projects. Her intern's collection focused blogs include:
- "Xerxes the Great did die, and so must you and I": Learning about the alphabet and the inevitability of death in early Protestant America
- Does this ring a bell? School bells of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
- Clifford the Big Red Dog at the Smithsonian
- The Collinwood School disaster influenced fire safety protocols
- Abraham Lincoln in Civil War era lithography
- The election of 1864 as seen through the Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Collection
- Students, stay in your seats: Improving 19th century school desks
- Four-legged 19th century star athletes: Endorsement deals, paparazzi, and glory
- Slates, crayons, and quills: Back to school supplies of the past
- A member of the Little Rock Nine shares her memories
American Alliance of Museums
Country School Association of America
History of Education Society
Organization of American Historians
National Trust for Historic Preservation
