Date:
The Academic Partnerships Summer Internship Program is open to all undergraduate students enrolled at Harvard University, including rising freshmen and recent graduates.
The 2022 summer internship project focuses on the history of the Peabody Museum and its building. Specifically, we are interested in learning how this 19th century space functioned in its daily use and who made this possible, providing physical care to the building and to the collections and curators within it. As the Peabody Museum today seeks to expand its conceptions of collections care, and to engage Harvard’s community of teachers and learners in these responsibilities, with this project we hope to gain a better understanding of our predecessors and their daily practice in our shared space, with an explicit focus not on those who cared about collections, but who provided caring labor.
Interns this summer will be responsible for beginning this research and revealing to us the story of life in the Peabody starting from the building’s opening in 1877; the range of people who would have worked there; and, hopefully, some of their individual names and narratives. Work will be largely based in various archives, including the Peabody Museum building itself, with a large amount of self-direction to come from the interns themselves. Interns will also be encouraged to develop a proposal for how the Peabody might share their research with the public.
This internship benefits its participants by developing research skills and expanding experience working with primary sources, collections repositories, and expert staff; developing communication skills via various media; and producing original content for use in university-level classes and/or presentation to the public.
No experience in anthropology or museum studies necessary. Interns must be able to work collaboratively as well as independently; willing to embrace a project without a set structure or definitive outcomes; and approach their tasks with creativity and imagination.
This internship program is expected to be conducted in person, with interns located in the Cambridge/Greater Boston area.
Applicants should send their résumés and cover letters to: peabodyintern@fas.harvard.edu
Application deadline: February 28, 2022
Number of interns: 2
Time: Full-time, 8 weeks, June 1 – July 27, 2022 (dates non-negotiable)
Stipend: $6,000 (campus housing not available)
For questions or clarifications, contact peabodyintern@fas.harvard.edu
The Peabody Museum is committed to achieving diversity in the museum field, and seeks to attract a diverse group of applicants of the highest caliber to its paid summer internship program. The Peabody Museum is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law.
