SIMA 2024 Call For Applications – Due March 7, 2024
The Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology (SIMA) is accepting proposals from prospective graduate student participants for the 2024 program. The program will be held at the National Museum of Natural History from June 24 – July 19, 2024.
The Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology (SIMA) is a graduate student summer training program in museum research methods offered through the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History with major funding from the Cultural Anthropology Program of the National Science Foundation.
During four weeks of intensive training in seminars and hands-on workshops in the research collections, students are introduced to the scope of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History Anthropology collections. Students become acquainted with strategies for navigating museum systems, learn to select methods to examine and analyze archival and museum collections, and consider a range of theoretical issues that collections-based research may address. Throughout SIMA, students are also taught about the ethics of engaging with communities’ belongings in museums, and the practicalities of doing collaborative research. In consultation with faculty, each student carries out preliminary collections research on a topic of their own choice and develops a prospectus for research to be implemented upon return to their home university. Instruction will be provided by Dr. Joshua A. Bell, Dr. Candace Greene and other Smithsonian scholars, plus a series of visiting faculty.
Who should apply?
Graduate students preparing for careers in cultural anthropology who are interested in using museum collections in their research. The program is not designed to serve students seeking careers in museum management. Students at both the masters and doctoral level will be considered for acceptance. Students in related interdisciplinary programs (Indigenous Studies, Folklore, etc.) are welcome to apply if the proposed project is anthropological in nature. All U.S. students are eligible for acceptance, even if studying abroad. International students can be considered only if they are enrolled in a university in the U.S. Members of Canadian First Nations are eligible under treaty agreements.
Costs: The program covers students’ tuition and shared housing in local furnished apartments. A stipend will be provided to assist with the cost of food and other local expenses. Participants are individually responsible for the cost of travel to and from Washington, DC.
Dates: June 24, 2024 – July 19, 2024
Application deadline – March 7, 2024
For detailed information about SIMA please visit:
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/research/anthropology/programs/summer-institute-museum-anthropology
For full application instructions visit:
