MANSFIELD, PA—In order to develop a clearer understanding of the subject matter in his “Nazi Germany and the Holocaust” class, Mansfield University Associate Professor of History Andrew Gaskievicz took the entire class to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC to conduct research at the museum’s library on a major paper assignment. 
Twenty four students, accompanied by Gaskievicz, Associate Professor of History and Political Science Jeff Bosworth and Assistant Professor and Department of Social Work Chair Tiffany Welch, spent October 5-6 at the Holocaust Museum.
Students were required to submit a paper proposal, which included a thesis statement, abstract, short outline, and annotated bibliography, to the museum’s library staff. Librarian Megan Lewis graciously sent detailed comments to Gaskievicz on each proposal to help our students prepare for the research trip. 
When The MU group arrived, Lewis provided students with a library orientation, after which we visited the museum’s permanent exhibition. The next day, the class was split in half, with half the students conducting their research in the morning, and half in the afternoon.
Sources that were off-site had been ordered for students ahead of time so that they could look at them, and students had looked up important call numbers in the museum’s library before the trip so that they could easily locate them in the museum’s vast library.
“I’ve never been to D.C. until I went on this field trip,” Criminal Justice Administration major Michael Crippen said. “It was an experience that I’ll never forget. Going through the exhibits in the museum was very educational, but also sad.”
“I really enjoyed the research I did in the library,” Abigail Shenot, Social Studies-History major, said. “It’s not something I ever thought I would be abl
e to do. The whole trip is definitely something I will never forget.”
“The most enriching part of the trip to D.C. was the research portion History major Mary Kassock said. “There were books and documents that I wouldn’t have found here at Mansfield or wouldn’t have thought to look up online. The library was so extensive and everything was easy to find.”
Due to the success of this field trip, Gaskievicz plans to incorporate this trip into his course, “Genocide in the 20th Century,” next fall.
To learn more about studying History at Mansfield, go to mansfield.edu/history/