By Lindsey R. Peterson, Ph.D.
This week, I had the privilege of attending the Digital Humanities Summer Institute’s course on conceptualizing and designing a digital scholarly documentary edition. It provided an informative and thoughtful overview of the design process behind digital editions from documenting editorial workflows to creating protocols for metadata, transcription, and annotation. But the clearest lesson I learned was just how well my time working at Civil War & Reconstruction Governors of Mississippi (CWRGM) has prepared me for a career in the cultural heritage field.
Work on a scholarly edition as a student researcher is more than just becoming a cog in a document-publishing machine. It’s a teaching tool, a platform for professional development, and a rich, collaborative environment. And it’s one that universities should invest in.
During my time studying history at my undergraduate and graduate alma maters, brilliant historians and educators prepared me to study and write about the past. Yet, humanities disciplines like history are too often criticized for lacking clear professional pathways and not equiping students for careers in the so-called “real world.” Working on a digital scholarly edition like CWRGM, however, builds precisely the kinds of skills that translate directly into careers in libraries, archives, museums, publishing, and cultural heritage, to name a few.
Since its launch in 2019, CWRGM has trained more than 75 high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in almost all aspects of digital archival work from transcription and indexing to metadata creation and editorial decision-making. While the DHSI course taught me many new skills and strategies, it also reaffirmed something I’ve long felt: that digital documentary editions are one of the most effective tools we have for preparing students for the workforce.
I know firsthand how powerful that training can be. While completing my PhD under CWRGM’s founder and director, Dr. Susannah J. Ural, I joined the project as its lead researcher in 2020. That experience didn’t just make me a better historian or teach me the nitty-gritty details of the digital editing and publishing world. It also taught me how to manage a complex project, communicate across disciplines, and lead a team working toward shared scholarly and public goals.
For institutions that involve students in digital projects, it’s crucial to go beyond simply assigning tasks or seeing students as hourly workers. We must recognize and support the full range of students’ contributions. They are researchers and editors. At CWRGM, every student who contributes to the publication of a document is credited by name in the item’s metadata. Our full student team is also featured on our project website. These credits are more than symbolic. They help students build a record of their work that they can point to in resumes, CVs, and job interviews.
But credit alone isn’t enough. At CWRGM, we actively train students to talk about their experience professionally. We teach them how to describe digital editing and metadata creation in ways that resonate with employers, how to frame project contributions as evidence of collaboration, attention to detail, technical skill, and research experience. We also encourage students to present their work at academic conferences, author blog posts, and connect their project tasks to their own research interests. These opportunities allow students to see themselves not just as assistants or interns, but as scholars and professionals in their own right.
This kind of preparation is what workforce development in the humanities at universities can look like. Students who work on digital editions learn how to manage deadlines, write for different audiences, problem-solve in real time, and use digital tools that are increasingly central to the cultural heritage sector. Whether they go on to work in academic settings or public institutions, they are better equipped because of the hands-on, collaborative, and publicly engaged work they’ve done.
Libraries, archives, and digital humanities centers should continue and expand student participation in digital projects. Whether supported through federal grants, credit-bearing internships, work-study programs, or campus-based initiatives like those our university partners offer for CWRGM, student roles in documentary editions provide profound educational value. They offer real experience in cultural heritage fields moving students beyond theory and into practice. They give students something tangible to show for their time, and, perhaps most importantly, they empower them to contribute to meaningful public scholarship that will last beyond their time in school.
And students recognize and value this. In May, five of CWRGM’s current and former student researchers presented at the Library Publishing Coalition’s annual forum, where they offered strategies for structuring digital publishing projects to support both student learning and scholarly outcomes. For Mariah Cosens, a USD History graduate student, the project was transformative: “I jumped at the opportunity to explore primary sources, elevate my research skills, and make a tangible impact on the historical and archival communities,” she said. “It’s honestly such an impactful experience for any student who joins, no matter their current skill set or major.”
For many CWRGM students, the skills they acquire extend well beyond their time with the project. Amiracle Funches, a recent history graduate from Millsaps University, found that her experience with CWRGM translated immediately into her work at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, where she now serves as a Historic Objects Contract Cataloger. “Working on the CWRGM project has significantly impacted my other professional endeavors,” Funches explained. “The information I have gained from the CWRGM project has become directly applicable to my work, especially in understanding prominent figures and events from the war.” Alessandra Diaz similarly leveraged her experience with CWRGM to secure an internship at Columbia University’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Library.
But their motivation goes deeper than skill-building. The project’s commitment to preserving the voices of marginalized people often leaves a lasting impression on students. “The biggest thing that motivates me in this project is the importance that’s placed on preserving the voices of marginalized individuals,” Funches said. “Being part of preserving the voices of these marginalized groups means a lot to me, as it allows their stories to be told by them, rather than for them, as much as possible.”
As we look ahead to completing CWRGM and creating new editions, we’re more committed than ever to ensuring that students are not just part of the process. They are at the center of it. Because when we invest in students as researchers and editors, we are not just employing students. We are building the next generation of digital humanists, cultural workers, and knowledge-makers.
