Category: Museum Anthropology Blog

Submission Deadline: June 10, 2022

The Indigenous Studies Seminar at the American Philosophical Society’s Library & Museum provides a forum for works-in-progress that explore topics in Native American and Indigenous Studies and related fields. Inspired by the work of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at the APS, we are particularly interested in work by Indigenous scholars and projects that highlight community- engaged scholarship, use of archival and museum collections in research, teaching, and learning, Indigenous research methodologies, language revitalization, place-based teaching and learning, and related topics.

We welcome proposals from individuals working in a broad range of academic fields and community settings, and are particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches. The seminar is open to graduate students, faculty members, and independent scholars, whether campus- or community-based. To maximize time for discussion, papers are circulated electronically in advance. The seminar meets once a month on Fridays from 3:00-5:00 p.m. ET from October through May. All meetings in 2022-2023 will be held on Zoom. The seminar strives to create a collegial environment that will bring together interested participants from around the world to support fellow colleagues’ work, share knowledge, and advance scholarship.

To submit a proposal, please email a one-page proposal, a brief statement (2-3 sentences) explaining how this paper relates to your other work, and a brief CV by June 10, 2022 to nkinsey@amphilsoc.org.

To learn more about the series, visit the listing on the APS website.

The Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR) at the APS’s Library & Museum works with Indigenous communities throughout the Americas and with campus- and community-based scholars in many disciplines and traditions. Its goal is to assist people in finding and utilizing the extensive archival collections at the Library and Museum of the APS in innovative ways that honor Indigenous knowledge, cultivate scholarship, and strengthen languages and cultural traditions. The Library & Museum’s collections contain over 1,900 linear feet of unique manuscripts, photographs, and audio recordings relating to the languages, traditions, history, and continuity of more than 650 different cultures throughout the Americas. The Indigenous Subject Guide  provides detailed information for locating materials in these collections.

The British Museum is unique in bringing together the cultures of the world under one roof, spanning continents and oceans. No other museum is responsible for collections of the same depth and breadth, beauty, and significance. Its eight million objects allow us to explore the extraordinary diversity of human cultures, from small communities to vast empires, to discover the many forms and expressions human beings have given to every aspect of life, and to realise how closely they are interconnected.

About the role: The Curator: Americas is a key role in our Africa, Oceania and Americas department. The role is required to deliver innovative research which enhances knowledge of the collection and also enables public accessibility, and to support engagement with source communities. The role will also support our Rosetta Project, the Museum’s masterplan for future development and all relevant Museum wide strategies.

More here.

The Curator for the Black Diaspora is a subject specialist who brings unique expertise to an innovative, team-based curatorial model at the John Hay Library, home to Brown University’s remarkable collections of rare books, manuscripts, and University Archives. Brown’s research and programmatic strengths related to the Black Diaspora are focused  in Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. The Curator combines deep knowledge of the histories and cultures of one or more of these geographies with experience in non-colonial, non-extractive collections and research practices. The Curator will carry out a foundational project, in partnership with library staff, faculty, and students, to define the ethical parameters for growing  Black Diaspora materials in Special Collections. The Curator will be guided by the John Hay Library Collection Policy and will use methods including acquisitions, post-custodial collecting, oral histories, and community engaged projects.

In partnership with the University Archivist, students, faculty, and alumni, the Curator will also provide focused attention to the long-term preservation of the rich history of Black students, faculty, and alumni at Brown University and will participate in ongoing projects with the Inman Page Black Alumni Council, Rites & Reason Theater, and more.  Additionally, in association with  the Academic Engagement department at Brown University Library, the Curator will serve as the subject liaison for Africana Studies and is a resource for the expanding academic and curricular needs of the University. The Curator will purposefully engage with students on campus to support their scholarship and cultural exploration and will partner with relevant student centers including the ​​Brown Center for Students of Color. The Curator will also advise on major initiatives on campus that relate to historical or contemporary collections of Black diaspora material, with particular focus given to initiatives from the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice (CSSJ) and the Center for the Study of Race & Ethnicity in America (CSREA), and the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women’s Black Feminist Theory Project. The Curator will also cultivate reciprocal, mutually beneficial relationships with local cultural heritage institutions whose work centers Black history and culture.

More here.

Via The New York Times, May 5, 2022

Crafted of wood, iron, plant fiber and animal sinew, the model of 10 men paddling a canoe would strike most viewers as a beautiful object. But to Haa’yuups, head of the House of Takiishtakamlthat-h of the Huupa‘chesat-h First Nation, on Vancouver Island, Canada, it also holds a mystical power. A spirit canoe, it represents the ripple of invisible oars in the water — a sound that people of his community report hearing after they have purified themselves through fasting and bathing.

When the Northwest Coast Hall at the American Museum of Natural History reopens to the public on May 13, after a five-year, $19 million renovation, the spirit canoe — which was not previously shown — will be one of more than 1,000 artifacts on view. Organized by Haa’yuups and Peter Whiteley, the curator of North American ethnology at the museum, the redesigned exhibit expresses the perspectives of the 10 nations whose cultures are on display: placing an emphasis on the spiritual and functional purposes of the objects for the people who made them, and incorporating testimony from community representatives about government repression of their culture.

The Northwest Coast Hall was the first gallery to open at the museum. Inaugurated in 1899 by Franz Boas, a giant of anthropology who conducted extensive field work in the Pacific Northwest, it embodied what was at the time cutting-edge thinking. At other museums, notably the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, Indigenous people were regarded as “savages” who needed to be “civilized.”

More here.

Via The Washington Post, May 3, 2022

Via NPR, April 28, 2022

For two years, the National Women’s History Museum in Alexandria, Va., has been collecting journals by women writing about their pandemic experiences.

Listen here.

What can museum anthropology do in the 21st century?

Convener: Philipp Schorch (LMU Munich)

09-10 June 2022

Speakers: Claudia Augustat (Weltmuseum Wien), Ruth Bielfeldt (LMU Munich), Rainer Buschmann (California State University Channel Islands), James Clifford (University of California, Santa Cruz), Mareile Flitsch (Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich), Diana Gabler (MARKK Hamburg), Ivan Gaskell (Bard Graduate Center, New York), Bruno Haas (Université Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne), Taloi Havini (Independent artist, Brisbane), Paul Hempel (LMU Munich), Gabriele Herzog-Schröder (LMU Munich), Katrina Talei Igglesden (University of East Anglia), Anka Krämer de Huerta (Museum Fünf Kontinente, Munich), Leah Lui-Chivizhe (University of Technology, Sydney), Sharon Macdonald (CARMAH, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Antoinette Maget Dominicé (LMU Munich), Diego Muñoz (LMU Munich), Glenn Penny (University of Iowa), Samara Rubinstein (BIOTOPIA – Naturkundemuseum Bayern), Anna Schmid (Museum der Kulturen Basel), Colleen Schmitz (BIOTOPIA – Naturkundemuseum Bayern), Philipp Stockhammer (LMU Munich), Hilke Thode-Arora (Museum Fünf Kontinente, Munich), Nicholas Thomas (Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge), Khadija von Zinnenburg Carroll (University of Birmingham), Uta Werlich (Museum Fünf Kontinente, Munich), Jordan Wilson (New York University)

The New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) Office of Cultural Education is seeking candidates for a Museum Scientist 2 position in the New York State Museum (NYSM). Under the supervision of a Museum Scientist 3 or higher, the incumbent will serve as collections manager for the Anthropology program. Duties of this position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Ensure that the Museum’s anthropology collections (including prehistoric and historic archaeology, ethnography, and bioarcheology) are managed and stored according to NYSM standards and tracked using the Museum’s MIMSY collection software (an Oracle relational database that is used to inventory and track the Museum’s collections);
• Coordinate with prospective donors to review and arrange for donations of important new collections;
• Provide information on and access to NYSM anthropology collections for institutions, researchers, and the public, and facilitate use of these collections for research, loans, and exhibits;
• Regularly revise and update policies and procedures for anthropology collections at the NYSM; and
• Supervise collections technicians, Museum Scientist 1, interns, volunteers, and students in properly organizing and cataloging anthropological collections for curation.

The Portland Art Museum invites applications for the full-time, three-year position of Art Bridges Curatorial & Community Partnerships Fellow. This is a newly funded position made possible by Art Bridges and is part of a larger Art Bridges Cohort beginning in the Pacific Northwest this summer. A unique feature of this position is that the Art Bridges Fellow will be involved from the very beginning in helping to research and shape how PAM and other regional arts organizations might work together to meet community needs through different arts experiences.

This collaborative position works jointly with the Learning and Community Partnerships (LCP) and Curatorial Departments. The role requires deep interest in nurturing projects and relationships that connect community partnership work to a wide and interdisciplinary view of American art and culture, including contemporary art and new media. The Art Bridges Fellow will work towards developing deeper community engagement with other regional/local organizations that may result in a range of community and/or artist centered programs, including (but not limited to) exhibitions, public programs, performances, and new media. The objects, themes, and topics represented in the PAM permanent collection will form the foundation of the fellowship and will be a tool in thinking of the many ways museums can be more inclusive, relevant, reflective of, and support partnerships that are community and/or artist centered. The position is a dual report to the Director of Learning and Community Partnerships and the Curator of Northwest Art, although the Art Bridges Fellow will work on project teams that bring together staff across the Museum as well as community partners.

More here.