Job Opportunities Internships/Fellowships Conferences Calls for Papers Courses Job Opporunities Assistant Professor, Material Culture and Design Studies The Department of Human Ecology invites applications for a tenure track Assistant Professor position in the area of Material Culture and Design Studies. The Department offers a BSc in Human Ecology with majors in Family Ecology and Textiles and Clothing; a combined BSc/BEd; thesis and course-based Masters Degree in Textiles and Clothing, Family Ecology and Practice, and Aging; and a PhD degree in Human Ecology. The Department is extending its research and programming in Material Culture and is home to the newly-established Material Culture Institute, an interdisciplinary initiative that unites scholars and stimulates research in the diverse fields that contribute to the study of Material Culture. The Department has excellent facilities which include state-of-the-art spaces for housing, exhibiting and teaching with our 18,000 artifact Clothing and Textiles Collection, and for textile science and social science research and teaching. For further information see www.hecol.ualberta.ca . Responsibilities will include teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, establishing an independent research program, and supervising graduate students in material culture. The successful candidate will be expected to address teaching and research topics such as computer-assisted design, visual communication, cross-cultural and historic material culture, sustainable design, and inclusive environments. Some aspects of design practice may be involved but primary focus is on design as an aspect of material culture studies within a human ecological framework. For a candidate with appropriate qualifications, the position may also include the appointment as Curator of the Clothing and Textiles Collection.  Applicants must have a PhD in human ecology, material/visual culture studies, design studies, social anthropology or other related area, and demonstrated excellence in university teaching, preferably in a human ecology or other interdisciplinary context. Evidence of a successful record of scholarship is important. The successful candidate will have a background that is a good fit with the Department of Human Ecology and be able to contribute to existing interdisciplinary educational and research programs. For appointment as Curator, previous experience in museum or other collection curatorship, preferably dealing with clothing and textile artifacts, is required. The preferred start date for this position is July 1, 2008 but the competition will remain open until the position is filled. To apply, please submit a cover letter that addresses the requirements of the position and describes the focus of your scholarship, curriculum vitae, teaching dossier, sample publication and the names and contact information for three referees. Review of applications will commence April 30, 2008. Interested applicants may apply to: Dr. Janet Fast, Chair Department of Human Ecology Room 302E Human Ecology University of Alberta Edmonton, AB T6G 2N1 Email: janet.fast@ualberta.ca Fax: (780) 492-4821 Internships/Fellowships SUMMER INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY MOUNT HOREB AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY An internship position with the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society is available for an advanced undergraduate or graduate student at UW-Madison. The MHAHS is a vibrant local historical society in the Madison area dedicated to the preservation of the history of southwestern Dane County . Operated primarily by volunteers, the Society maintains a museum of local history, a public archive, and a large collection of artifacts, photographs, and archival materials. They are currently engaged in a major project to relocate the museum and archives to a brand-new facility in downtown Mt. Horeb . The intern's main duties will include cataloging museum artifacts and data entry. Additional projects will be tailored to the Society's needs and the intern's areas of interest. This is a unique opportunity for a student interested in material culture and public history to work closely with a local institution. REQUIREMENTS •  200 work hours are required between June 19 and August 29, 2008. The intern must be available 4 afternoons per week for a total of 20 hours per week. •  Mt. Horeb is approximately a 35 minute drive from downtown Madison . The intern must provide his or her own transportation. •  Preference will be given to candidates who are currently working toward a Material Culture Certificate at UW-Madison. •  Thanks to a generous grant from the Caxambas Foundation, the UW-Madison Material Culture Program is able to offer an honorarium of $2000 for this position. For more information or to apply, contact summer internship coordinator Emily Pfotenhauer. Emily.Pfotenhauer@wisconsinhistory.org The application deadline is Friday, April 18, 2008.   SUMMER INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY WISCONSIN DECORATIVE ARTS DATABASE Gain experience in the growing field of digital resources and learn more about material life in Wisconsin with this internship position, open to an advanced undergraduate or graduate student at UW-Madison. The intern will help to build the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database, an online catalog of Wisconsin-made decorative arts from the collections of local historical societies and museums around the state. Working with the project's coordinator at the Wisconsin Historical Society's Madison headquarters, the intern will process images and data to upload to the database. Tasks include editing digital photographs, creating spreadsheets for catalog entries, and data entry. Opportunities for research and writing on individual craftspeople and artifacts may also be possible. Some experience with photo editing and/or museum cataloging is preferred. The Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database is a collaboration of the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Chipstone Foundation, and the University of Wisconsin . View the database online at http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/decorativearts REQUIREMENTS •  200 work hours are required between May 27 and August 29, 2008. The schedule can be flexible, but it is suggested that the intern work 3-4 days per week for a total of 20 hours per week. •  Preference will be given to candidates who are currently working toward a Material Culture Certificate at UW-Madison. •  Thanks to a generous grant from the Caxambas Foundation, the UW-Madison Material Culture Program is able to offer an honorarium of $2000 for this position. For more information or to apply, contact Decorative Arts Database project coordinator Emily Pfotenhauer Emily.Pfotenhauer@wisconsinhistory.org The application deadline is Friday, April 18, 2008.   Stratford Hall Internship Opportunities for Summer 2008 Stratford Hall is pleased to offer paid residential internships for the summer of 2008. Applicants may choose from the projects described below. Each carries a generous stipend and free on-site housing. All of these positions require a full time 10 week commitment from June-August 2008. Textile Collection Intern (Graduate-level; $2,000 stipend) The Textile Collection Intern will be responsible for inventorying, condition reporting, photographing, and re-housing the furnishing textiles and costume collection of Stratford Hall. Successful candidates are expected to have a strong interest in textiles or costumes of the 18th and 19th century as well as textile handling experience. Exhibitions Intern (Graduate-level; $2,000 stipend)The Exhibitions Intern will research and plan upcoming changing exhibitions. Interns will conduct archival and secondary-source research, research appropriate collection objects and develop a worksheet of potential objects and incoming loans for the exhibition. Experience in archival research is expected, as well as a strong interest in exhibition development and planning. Outbuildings Intern (Graduate-level; $2,000 stipend) The Outbuildings Intern will be responsible for researching the Stable & Coach House. Interns will research architectural changes, historic use of the spaces, and future interpretive programming in order to develop a comprehensive furnishing and interpretive plan. Successful candidates will have experience in furnishing plan development and research, as well as a strong interest in American material culture. Collections Management Intern (Undergraduate level; $1,000 stipend) The Collections Management Intern will gain a wide variety of experience in museum-appropriate collection management practices. Interns will participate in an ongoing inventory and condition assessment; conduct object photography; update the collections managementdatabase; and mark objects. The intern will also be responsible for implementing an integrated pest management (IPM) program. Archival Collections Management Intern (Undergraduate level; $1,000 stipend) The Archival Collections Management intern will catalog, photograph, and physically organize Stratford Hall's collection of maps, drawings and blueprints and create a finding aid for the collection. The intern will experience a variety of collection management practices such as documentary research, minor repairs, and assessing the condition of collection objects. Landscape History Intern (Undergraduate level; $1,000 stipend) The Landscape History Intern will assist staff members in implementing Stratford Hall 's historic landscape initiative. He or she will begin development of a comprehensive, annotated catalog/index of all maps, plans, drawings, letters, invoices, and other records housed in the Stratford Hall archives pertaining to gardens in particular and the cultural landscape in general. About Stratford: Stratford is located in Westmoreland County, Virginia on the beautiful Northern Neck of Virginia . Westmoreland County is a 45 minute drive from Fredericksburg , two hours from Washington DC and 90 minutes from Richmond . Stratford is set on 1,900 acres with 2.5 miles of Potomac River waterfront. The National Historic Landmark Stratford Great House and related buildings were constructed in 1738 and are among a handful of exceptionally intact survivals from colonial Virginia . In addition to the Great House, Stratford also features an operating reconstructed 18th century gristmill and extensive gardens. Stratford was the home of the Lee family, which includes two signers of the Declaration of Independence . It was also the home of "Light Horse" Harry Lee and birthplace of Robert E. Lee. The landscape is primarily hardwood forests and pastures but also includes two gardens and extensive maintained grounds. Stratford also has a Dining Room which offers lunch daily, two guest houses and over 30 rustic cabins that were built to house Stratford 's board members during the twice annual meetings. Intern housing will be in these log cabins. How to Apply: Graduate intern applicants should be currently enrolled in a MA or PhD programs in American History, American Studies, or related field and with an interest in material culture, public history, historic preservation, museum education or museum management. Undergraduate internships are available for students enrolled in a BA or BS program majoring in American History or a related field and with an expressed interest in pursuing either further study at the graduate level in American History, historic preservation or related field or a career in museums. Interested applicants should send a personal letter of no more than 500 words, specifying which project they wish to undertake, stating reasons for wanting to be an intern at Stratford including their goals for the internship and dates available for work. Also please attach a resume, two letters of recommendation and a copy of college transcripts Applications should be received by March 15 and mailed to: Stratford Internships 483 Great House Road Stratford , VA 22558   2008 WINDGATE MUSEUM INTERNSHIPS ANNOUNCED This is the third year Center for Craft, Creativity and Design has administered the Windgate Museum Internship Award program, providing four museums $5000 each for paid internships. The goal of the program is to expand the number of future curators with experience and expertise on studio craft artists and their work. BFA , MA , and MFA students should send a letter of interest together with their vitae to the museum. The museum will select the interns. The Museum of Fine Arts , Boston TWO Intern Positions : The two internships will be scheduled consecutively. Each intern will work with the assistant curator of American decorative arts and sculpture on either of two projects involving the MFA's large collection of studio craft. One project will be conducting oral history interviews with artists represented in the Daphne Farago collection of contemporary jewelry, a recent gift to the MFA of more than 600 objects. The other project will involve researching the Museum's collection of contemporary ceramics, glass, and furniture, planning future gallery installations of the studio craft collections, and cataloguing incoming acquisitions of studio craft objects. B.A. in art history or a related academic field required; graduate study is strongly preferred. The first internship will being in June 2008, and the second internship may begin in October 2008. Each position will be for five days a week for 12 weeks, although alternate schedules may be arranged. Application deadline – March 14, 2008 include curriculum vita and cover letter to: Senior Manager of Employment Human Resources Department Museum of Fine Arts , Boston 465 Huntington Ave , Boston , MA 02115 No phone calls, please. Only those selected for consideration will be contacted. The Museum is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity. The Museum of Fine Art Houston Intern Position description : In 2009, the MFAH will mount an exhibition of contemporary glass from the collection of Dennis and Barbara DuBois. Focusing on master artists in the field, the exhibition will contain approximately 40 pieces. The intern will research artists and individual works in the collection in preparation for the exhibition catalogue. Duties will also include working with the education staff to develop related programs, the design department on the exhibition design, and the public relations department on press materials. Application deadline – March 14, 2008 include curriculum vita and cover letter to: Cindi Strauss, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Arts and Design The Museum of Fine Arts , Houston PO Box 6828 , Houston , TX 77265-6826 FAX 713-639-7399 cstrauss@mfah.org Fuller Craft Museum Intern Position description : Fuller Craft Museum seeks an intern for its Exhibitions department. This intern will work closely with the Exhibitions Manager to provide support for a number of upcoming exhibitions. Duties will include online research, general administrative work, data entry, and assistance with installation of the exhibits. Candidates should have experience with Studio Art (especially with craft materials) and/or Art History. College upperclassmen or graduate students are preferred. Candidates must have excellent attention to detail, a good sense of humor, the ability to work in a past paced environment, knowledge of Microsoft Office. Knowledge of Quark and/or Photoshop would be lovely, but not required. Applicants must be able to meet deadlines, work autonomously, and be creative in developing exciting materials. The candidate must be flexible and willing to work on a wide variety of projects. Application deadline - March 14 ,2008 by emailing a cover letter and resume to: exhibitions@fullercraft.org . Please put “Curatorial Intern” in the subject line. Return to top. Conferences MESDA CONFERENCE ON AMERICAN MATERIAL CULTURE October 9, 10 and 11, 2008 The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts presents its sixth biennial conference for recent research in early American material culture and decorative arts on October 9 - 11, 2008 The conference provides a major forum for scholarly presentation and interaction on American material culture and decorative arts. In addition to a keynote address by Edward S. Cooke, Jr., Professor of American Decorative Arts and Material Culture at Yale University, the conference includes a day of field trips to regional material culture and decorative arts collections and the Gordon Seminar, a day of paper presentations on topics in American material culture. Session moderators will be Dr. Cooke, Dr. Katherine C. Grier, University of Delaware and Dr. David Lubin, Wake Forest University. (See below for "Call for Papers") The Viennese Café as an Urban Site of Cultural Exchange A two-day conference organised by the Viennese Café and Fin-de-siècle Culture Research Project, to be held at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Royal College of Art, London on October 17 th and 18 th 2008. As today, the cafés of fin-de-siècle Vienna were an important component of modern city life, an extension of both home and workplace. Cafés were as much to do with intellectual and social interaction as with procuring refreshment. This conference will focus on the complexities of the Viennese café as an urban space in order to better understand wider questions about Viennese modernism. Through its focus on the café, the conference aims to redefine our understanding not only of the arts in Vienna , but also of modernity more generally. The conference encourages a cross-disciplinary approach to subjects and welcomes proposals for papers from scholars and practitioners in any field. (See below for "Call for Papers")   Return to top. Calls for Proposals/Papers/Artwork ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE, & AMERICAN CULTURE SERIES University of Minnesota Press Series Editors: Katherine Solomonson, University of Minnesota Abigail A. Van Slyck, Connecticut College The goal of this series is to highlight and promote historical scholarship that addresses the complex interplay among architecture, landscape, and American culture.  We define architecture and landscape broadly, to include both professionally designed buildings and landscapes and ordinary, vernacular environments. Collectively, the books in the series examine the social, political, economic, and cultural processes that inform the conception, production, and reception of American cultural landscapes. The scope of the series is intentionally broad, ranging from deeply contextualized studies of single buildings or sites within a focused timeframe, to investigations of sites and building types as they change over time; from studies that consider how furniture, fittings, and other forms of material culture contribute to the function and meaning of the built environment, to projects that focus on issues or processes that may not have resulted in tangible environments. We also welcome studies that address the intersection between local practices and national and global networks of culture and capital, as well as environments constructed by American interests abroad. Through single-authored books and tightly focused collaborative studies, the series seeks to illuminate the built environment's active engagement with changing social relations and cultural values. To this end, it features scholarship that treats buildings and landscapes as social spaces shaped and experienced by many different human actors--from those who commissioned, designed, and built them to those who inhabited and reshaped them over time.  It also features studies that focus on rhetorical strategies instrumental in the ways people perceive and interact with the built environment. Rather than drawing distinctions between "high" and "ordinary" buildings and landscapes, the series welcomes books on both, as well as works using innovative methodologies that erase the conceptual distinctions between the two. Theoretically informed and empirically grounded, books in the series draw upon theories, methods, and data from related disciplines in innovative ways while recognizing that architecture, landscape, and material culture provide forms of evidence that cannot be accessed through texts alone. Linking the books together is the use of visual evidence to expand scholarly awareness of how people have understood and experienced their physical surroundings. Contact Katherine Solomonson: solom003@umn.edu Abigail A. Van Slyck: aavan@conncoll.edu MESDA CONFERENCE ON AMERICAN MATERIAL CULTURE October 9, 10 and 11, 2008 The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts presents its sixth biennial conference for recent research in early American material culture and decorative arts on October 9 - 11, 2008 The conference provides a major forum for scholarly presentation and interaction on American material culture and decorative arts. In addition to a keynote address by Edward S. Cooke, Jr., Professor of American Decorative Arts and Material Culture at Yale University, the conference includes a day of field trips to regional material culture and decorative arts collections and the Gordon Seminar, a day of paper presentations on topics in American material culture. Session moderators will be Dr. Cooke, Dr. Katherine C. Grier, University of Delaware and Dr. David Lubin, Wake Forest University. Scholars and graduate students in fields related to American and particularly southern material culture are invited to submit proposals for presentation at the Gordon Seminar. Subjects with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of material culture are highly encouraged. Proposals will be accepted for individual papers or for panel sessions. Paper proposals must include the author's name, the paper title, a one-page abstract and the author's curriculum vitae. Session proposals must include a chair, list of presenters, cover letter, one-page summary of the session theme, presenter curriculum vitae, and abstracts for all papers. Deadline for proposals: May 16 Notification of acceptance: June 13 Accepted papers submitted in full: September 1 Proposals for individual papers or panel sessions may be sent to Sally Gant, MESDA Conference, P. O. Box 10310, Winston-Salem, NC 27108-0310 / sgant@oldsalem.org < mailto:sgant@oldsalem.org > Electronic submission in Word format is preferred. CALL FOR PAPERS: Parsons/Cooper-Hewitt Symposium on the Decorative Arts & Design April 3 & 4, 2008 Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York Sponsored by the MA Program in the History of Decorative Arts & Design, offered jointly by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and Parsons The New School for Design The Seventeenth Annual Parsons/Cooper-Hewitt Symposium on the Decorative Arts & Design convenes scholars and students of decorative arts and design from graduate programs in the History of Decorative Arts, History of Design, History of Art, History of Architecture, Anthropology, History, Literary Criticism, and related fields. It is an excellent opportunity for graduate students to introduce themselves and their original research to scholars in the field. Papers are being sought on all aspects of decorative arts, material culture and design, from the Renaissance to the present. The symposium will feature a keynote address by Victor Margolin, Professor Emeritus of Art and Design History at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and author or editor many essential works in design theory and history, including: American Poster Renaissance; Design Discourse: History, Theory, Criticism; Discovering Design: Explorations in Design Studies; The Idea of Design; The Struggle for Utopia: Rodchenko, Lissitzky, Moholy-Nagy, 1917-1946; and The Politics of the Artificial: essays on Design and Design Studies. Professor Margolin will speak on "The Uses of Design History," and will also be the discussant for the symposium. Send a two-page abstract, one-page bibliography and a c.v. to: Dr. Ethan Robey, Assoc. Director MA Program in the History of Decorative Arts & Design Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum 2 East 91st Street New York, NY  10128 robeye@si.edu [material may be submitted via email] Deadline: January 21, 2008 Material. Culture. Now. Winterthur Museum & Country Estate Saturday, April 12, 2008 The Center for Material Culture Studies at the University of Delaware invites submissions for papers to be given at the Sixth Annual Material Culture Symposium for Emerging Scholars. FOCUS: The symposium provides graduate students and other emerging scholars with a venue for interdisciplinary dialogue relating to the study of material life and culture. Participants are free of chronological and topical restraints but are strongly encouraged to engage with contemporary issues pertaining to the study of objects and to give particular attention to their own use of objects, whether as evidence, within a theoretical discourse, or within a comparative context. Past symposia have included presenters from the fields of American Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology, Consumer Studies, English, History, and the Histories of Art, Architecture, Design and Technology. FORMAT: The symposium will consist of nine presentations divided into three panels. Each presentation is limited to twenty minutes and each panel is followed by comments from established scholars in the field. There will be two morning sessions and one afternoon session, with breaks for discussion following each session and over lunch. Participants will also have the opportunity to tour Winterthur's unparalleled collection of early American decorative arts. SUBMISSIONS:  The proposal should be no more than 300 words, and should clearly indicate both the topic and the critical approach taken. Preference will be given to papers that address contemporary issues in material culture studies and that are analytic rather than descriptive in nature. Send your proposal, along with a current c.v. (no more than two pages), to emerging.scholars@gmail.com DEADLINE:  Proposals must be received by Monday, November 12th, 2007. Speakers will be notified of the vetting committee's decision by early January 2008.  Confirmed speakers will be asked to provide symposium organizers with digital images for use in publicity and are required to submit a final draft of their papers by February 25, 2008. Travel grants will be available for all speakers. Website:  http://www.udel.edu/materialculture/emerging_scholars.html Nicholas R. Bell, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, University of Delaware. nicholas.r.bell@gmail.com Colleen M. Terry, Department of Art History, University of Delaware. cterry@udel.edu ========================== The Sixth Annual Material Culture Symposium for Emerging Scholars (MCSES) emerging.scholars@gmail.com http://www.udel.edu/materialculture/emerging_scholars.html   The Viennese Café as an Urban Site of Cultural Exchange A two-day conference organised by the Viennese Café and Fin-de-siècle Culture Research Project, to be held at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Royal College of Art, London on October 17 th and 18 th 2008. As today, the cafés of fin-de-siècle Vienna were an important component of modern city life, an extension of both home and workplace. Cafés were as much to do with intellectual and social interaction as with procuring refreshment. This conference will focus on the complexities of the Viennese café as an urban space in order to better understand wider questions about Viennese modernism. Through its focus on the café, the conference aims to redefine our understanding not only of the arts in Vienna , but also of modernity more generally. The conference encourages a cross-disciplinary approach to subjects and welcomes proposals for papers from scholars and practitioners in any field. Possible topics include, but are not restricted to: • The complex inter-relationships between urban modernity and artistic modernism in relation to the Viennese café. • The Viennese café as a liminal space: public and private, ‘high' and ‘low' culture. • The café as a site for consumption: coffee and commerce. • Contrasts and comparisons between the Viennese café and the café cultures of other world cities. • The café as a site for performance. • The café as a designed space: interrelations between modern design, society and fashion. The Viennese Café and Fin-de-siècle Research Project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and is based at the Royal College of Art and Birkbeck, University of London . http://www.rca.ac.uk/viennacafe We invite abstracts of 400 words to be submitted electronically to Dr Charlotte Ashby charlotte.ashby@rca.ac.uk The deadline for submissions is 15th January 2008 Return to top. Courses SPRING 2008 MATERIAL CULTURE COURSES: Art History 304/704 The Art & Archeology of Ancient Rome, AYLWARD 405 Cities and Sanctuaries of Ancient Greece, CAHILL 457 History of American Vernacular Architecture ANDRZEJEWSKI 515 Pilgrimage & Cult of Saints in Medieval Ar,t DALE 563 Material Culture: Method and Theory, LASSER 579/879 Carnival Arts of the African Diaspora, DREWAL 600 Native Icons Revealed, Mithlo Design Studies (formerly Environment, Textiles and Design) 355 History of Fashion, SHEEHAN 420 Twentieth Century Design, BOYD 422 History of American Interiors, 1620-1950, BOYD Folklore 530 Cultural Landscape Preservation, GILMORE