Research Scientist

Description:

The Field Museum is seeking a Research Scientist in Anthropology with a research focus on Indigenous communities and an areal preference for North America. The subfield specialization within Anthropology is open. The position has an anticipated start date of fall 2023. Applicants should have a record of collections- and field-based research that is implemented in collaboration with descendant communities and a strong commitment to shared governance and co-curation. We anticipate transforming this into an Assistant Curator position, pending a successful third-year review.

This is a joint position with the Department of Anthropology and the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University, where the successful candidate will hold a 25% teaching appointment. A Ph.D. in Anthropology or a relevant discipline must be held by the start of employment. Review of applications will begin on April 1, 2023.

The successful applicant will participate on a North American Curatorial Team that includes experienced colleagues in collections management, objects conservation, registration, repatriation, and community engagement.

The Museum recently opened a permanent North American exhibition that will require ongoing guidance and facilitation by the curatorial team, who will work collaboratively with different Indigenous communities and a Native American advisory committee, which guides the selection of new content. The new exhibition, titled "Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories," presents an unprecedented opportunity to build relationships with Native American communities, create a pipeline of Native American anthropologists and museum professionals, and invite innovative research programs with the collections. The creation of the exhibition has led to the institutionalization of a collaborative process that is supported by an endowment for the exhibition. Further opportunities are presented by a significant grant from the Mellon Foundation to support increased access to the collections for Native American communities and training opportunities in conservation and collections management.

The successful candidate will be expected to maintain an externally funded field research program, contribute to building and using the North American collections, and participate in museum exhibitions, public outreach and education, and other programmatic and public learning initiatives. We seek an individual with strong research and communication skills and ties to Indigenous communities to care for and interpret an ethnographic and archaeological collection of Indigenous cultural material from North America. The successful candidate will help promote access to collections, particularly by Indigenous communities, and incorporates their viewpoints in interpretation through collaborative research, curation of exhibits, and contributions to programming (lectures, workshops, conferences). This individual will help develop the current institutional goals of ethical stewardship, including fostering relationship building, collaborative dialogue, and diverse perspectives within museum spaces.