Museum Historian

State of Louisiana; New Orleans (LA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

The State Museum in New Orleans, LA, seeks a historian to provide historical support and information on objects for exhibitions. This full-time position emphasizes primary research into Louisiana history for exhibition topics and publication of scholarly materials.

Responsibilities include developing exhibit content, catalogues, and lectures, with collaboration across curatorial and education staff, while engaging local communities. Strong academic credentials are required for consideration.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in American history or American studies with two years of experience.
• Doctorate in American history or American studies with one year of experience.

Responsibilities

• Works with exhibition developers, collections curators, and education staff to incorporate all design, collection object criteria, and educational benchmarks into outlines and scripts for exhibitions.
• Develops, writes, and publishes Museum exhibit catalogues, scholarly articles, books, historical publications, monographs, and collections of essays.
• Reviews and edits all exhibitions scripts and other Museum content for accuracy and in accordance with the Museum’s style guidelines.
• Sits on in-house curatorial development committees and provides support and assistance in development of long-range programs for the Museum.
• Presents scholarly and informal lectures and gallery presentations to respective audiences.
• Fosters and maintains relationships with community leaders, advisors, and colleagues to strengthen the Museum’s engagement with local and regional communities.

Education

Master's degree in American history or American studies

Doctorate degree in American history or American studies

Job description

This is a full-time position that is located at the State Museum in New Orleans, LA.

This position responsible for providing historical support and information on objects for exhibitions. This position also conducts primary research into all aspects of Louisiana history with emphasis on project topics that the Museum is developing for exhibitions.

The mission of the Office of State Museum is to collect, preserve, and present, as an educational resource, objects of art, artifacts, and the like that reflect the history, art, and culture of Louisiana for citizens and visitors to the state of Louisiana.

• A master's degree in American history or American studies plus two years of experience as a historian in collegiate-level teaching, a historical museum, or with a historical society; OR
• A doctorate degree in American history or American studies plus one year of experience as a historian in collegiate-level teaching, a historical museum, or with a historical society.

The official job specifications for this role, as defined by the State Civil Service, can be found here.

Job Duties:

• Works with exhibition developers, collections curators, and education staff to incorporate all the associated requirements (design, collection object criteria, and educational benchmarks) into the outlines and scripts for exhibitions.
• Responsible for developing, writing, and publishing Museum exhibit catalogues, scholarly articles, books, historical publications, monographs, and collections of essays.
• Reviews and edits all exhibitions scripts and other Museum content for accuracy and in accordance with the Museum’s style guidelines.
• Sits on in-house curatorial development committees and provides support and assistance in development of long-range programs for the Museum. Provides short-term specific development writing support for assigned projects.
• Presents scholarly and informal lectures and gallery presentations to respective audiences.
• Fosters and maintains relationships with community leaders, advisors, and colleagues to strengthen the Museum’s engagement with the local and regional communities.
• All additional duties as assigned.

Position-Specific Details:

• Location:State Museum in New Orleans, LA.
• Appointment Type: Probational, Promotional, or Detail to Special Duty. Current permanent status state employees may be required to accept a probational appointment.
• Work Schedule: This is a full-time position that reports in-office. This position may be required to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and/or overtime. This position may be required to travel.
• Compensation:Compensation offered will be dependent on level of experience and certification, so please be sure to include all education and work experience for consideration.

Louisiana is a State As a Model Employer (SAME) that supports the recruitment, hiring, and retention of individuals with disabilities.

No Civil Service test score is required in order to be considered for this vacancy.

The Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism are participants in the E-Verify system for identification and employment eligibility purposes. Louisiana as a State, is a Model Employer for People with Disabilities.

For further information about this vacancy contact:

Pacee Wallace

Department of Culture, Recreation, & Tourism

1051 N. 3rd Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Phone: [phone]

[e-mail]