Center for the Study of Global Slavery Exhibition Development Internship

NOTE: Applications submitted through Handshake will NOT be considered.

Desired Majors and Areas of Study: History (especially African American, African diasporic, or historians of slavery), Museum Studies, and related fields

The Center for the Study of Global Slavery Internship is within the Office of Curatorial Affairs (OCA) at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). OCA including the Centers, facilitates the intellectual work of the Museum by collecting artifacts, ensuring collection preservation and stewardship, conducting research and scholarship, and sharing the rich history and culture of African Americans and all people of African descent with a diverse public in accessible, multifaceted ways including exhibition, digitization, and publication. OCA is comprised of many different divisions and teams including: Administration, Collections/Acquisitions, History, Culture, Visual Art, Collections Management, Conservation, DigiTeam, Registrar's Office, Oral History, Archives, The Centers and the Scholarly Advisor Committee. 

The Center for the Study of Global Slavery (CSGS) is an outward facing center that is built upon collaboration and dedicated to revealing the scope and the impact of slavery as well as recognizing the resilience of people of African descent throughout the African diaspora in resistance to slavery. It is the purpose of CSGS to leverage the power of the NMAAHC not just nationally but on a global scale. The Center provides an understanding of slavery as shared human history beyond region, nation and race, and as something relevant to understanding our local communities and global societies in the 21st century.  It is comprised of multiple interconnected initiatives, each of which is committed to fashioning hope even while emphasizing slavery’s history of catastrophe and despair. 

The CSGS Exhibition Development Intern will work with Center staff on various exhibition development tasks supporting our internationally traveling exhibition, In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World. These tasks may include (but are not limited to) research, writing, program development, digital/web writing and development, public affairs engagement and communication, and other tasks as assigned. Through which the intern will learn about the exhibition development experience, inclusive of research, writing, curation/object selection, planning, and collegiality within an international context. Interns will work with teams within NMAAHC, the Smithsonian, and other global collaborators in a variety of roles and will learn about the various elements of developing a traveling exhibition. The CSGS intern may also assist on other CSGS projects, including the Slave Wrecks Project and Slave Voyages. The intern will gain experience working at the Smithsonian on substantial CSGS work that will aid in future educational or career goals. 

Duties Include (but are not limited to):

• Supporting ongoing content development for the digital/web-based presence of In Slavery’s Wake
• Support the development of the programmatic components of the In Slavery’s Wake exhibition, inclusive of research, coordination, collaborations across departments within NMAAHC, and attending meetings
• Support with tasks related to the traveling exhibition, including research, writing, promotional, and organizational/administrative tasks
• Support public affairs and social media engagement
• Other exhibition development tasks as assigned