Postdoctoral Fellow in Australian Material Culture

Position Description: The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology/Harvard University seeks applications for a postdoctoral fellow in Australian Material Culture. The appointment is expected to begin on July 1 or Sept 1, 2012 (negotiable). The postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for the documentation of and research on the collection of Australian material culture in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography (PMAE). The Fellow is expected to assume a significant range of curatorial responsibility for the collection of Australian indigenous material; additional expertise on Melanesian material culture is highly desirable. The Fellow will work closely with museum staff, university faculty, and students to review the holdings of the PMAE and assess them in regards to their historic, research, and heritage values. The Fellow will provide updates of on-line catalogue entries for objects and otherwise contribute to the PMAE’s intellectual control of its collections in this area. The Fellow will work on an intellectual product such as a publication as determined through discussions with the Director and Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs.

The initial appointment is for one year, and is renewable for up to three years, contingent upon performance.

Additional Information: Australian material culture in the Peabody Museum

The PMAE has a collection of Australian ethnographic material that is one of the most extensive outside Australia and includes materials collected early in the colonial era, although it is inadequately documented and studied. There are almost 2000 items in the Museum’s ethnographic collections. Most were collected during the 1920s and 1930s from Northern Territory (ca 35%), Western Australia (ca 35%), and South Australia and Tasmania (ca 30%). In addition to weapons and ceremonial objects, the collection includes men’s, women’s, and children’s items.

This important collection has never been adequately studied. The goal of the Fellowship (maximum of three years) would be to provide better documentation and research on the collection, to be followed by at least one publication. A Collections Steward position will be available to work with the Postdoctoral Fellow during the Fellowship.

Special Instructions: Please submit the following materials via email no later than March 1:

1 Letter of Application including how the candidate’s research, interests, and experience articulate with the Peabody Museum collections. 2. Curriculum Vitae 3. Names of three to five references whom we may contact after determining the short-list of candidates.

Harvard is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Applications from women and minorities are strongly encouraged.

Contact Information: Jeffrey Quilter/Australia search, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, Peabody Museum, 11 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138

Contact Email: pmaeit@fas.harvard.edu subject: Australia Search