Grace's Experience as a Team Member of the Norman Sicily Project

When I heard about the opportunity to be part of The Norman Sicily Project, I was immediately interested in learning more. After reading the job description, I was even more eager to apply and I was beyond thrilled when I was offered a position on the team. Being a history major, with a particular interest in medieval Italian history, I was captivated by the pictures of the ornate details of the monasteries and churches. Prior to beginning my work on the project, I had some knowledge of what historical research entails. However, participating in this project has taught me more than I had ever expected. Not only have I been able to utilize and improve my research skills, I have also learned what it means to be part of a scholarly research team. Along with three other undergrads at Montclair State University, I have been contributing to the project. Initially, my first tasks were to catalogue images of the extraordinary Norman medieval monasteries found across Sicily, which included identifying the contents of each photograph, date visited, and more. Before beginning, the other students and I underwent a weekend of training so that we understood the complexities of working with and cataloging the historical data that we were about to encounter. The highlight of this stage in the project, for me, was to view photographs of the variety of monasteries found throughout different regions of Sicily and the ability to see the magnitude and cultural richness of the sites and their remains.