Training a New Generation of Museum Researchers

Weather vane from the Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection.
© Canadian Museum of Civilization, 77-943, photo Marie-Louise Deruaz, IMG2008-0080-0100-Dm

In 2007, the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation created the Research Fellowship Program to help fill an educational gap. Researchers at the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Museum of Civilization had noticed that very few professors in Canada were teaching graduate students to study and present to the public the wealth of artifacts and other kinds of cultural information contained in museum collections.

“It was a problem because museums need researchers trained in using collections to explore and explain Canada’s history,” said Moira McCaffrey, Vice-President of the Research and Collections Branch at the Museum of Civilization.

The Research Fellowship Program funds senior Canadian graduate students or recent post-graduates for one-year research projects using the Museum of Civilization and the War Museum collections, which together comprise more than five million items including artifacts, historic archives (documents, photographs, films and recordings) and works of art. The program is supported in part by donations.

“Fellowships are a remarkable opportunity for young scholars,” said McCaffrey. “They benefit both from the unique extent and range of our National Collection, and from the guidance of a curator or senior researcher throughout their project. But we gain as well,” McCaffrey added. “The Research Fellows bring new ideas and fresh perspectives about the Collection, so they challenge us. And, ultimately, all Canadians benefit through the training of a new generation of highly skilled researchers committed to making museum collections more accessible and relevant to the public.”

Making Canadian History Come Alive

The titles of recent Research Fellow projects indicate both the wide range of topics and the emphasis on communicating to the public. Here are three examples:

• Fighting on Wheels and Tracks: Mechanization in the Canadian Forces from the Great War to Afghanistan
• Inside the Classroom Walls: The Material History of Schooling in Canada
• The History and Use of Canadian Hooked Rugs and Mats, as Told Through the CMC Collection

Some projects are proposed by Fellows; others are proposed by the Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum curators and historians in consultation with Fellows. The research possibilities are virtually endless, covering general and military history, archaeology, Aboriginal history and culture, Canadian folklore, music, design, clothing, sports and many other subjects.

“Having someone come in for a year to learn a great deal about a specific type of artifact enriches our knowledge and strengthens our research capacity,” said McCaffrey. “The Fellows help us understand how to use the Collection in new ways and how we can develop it in the future.”

If you’d like to make a donation to help more Research Fellows participate in the program, please call the Development Department at 819-776-8625. You’ll truly me making a difference.