Workshop: Training Issues in Collections-Based Anthropological Research

该奖项授予坎迪斯·格林博士（史密森学会），为培训学生使用人类学博物馆藏品的讲习班提供支持。美国大量的博物馆藏品目前在人类学研究中未得到充分利用。这些物品构成了一段时间以来文化实践的经验记录，以不同于书面来源的方式记录行为。博物馆的物品携带着关于过去的独特信息，无论是应对全球化的社会的最新产品，还是来自很久以前被摧毁的考古遗址的古代材料。但是，目前在美国很少有关于使用这一资料的适当方法的正式培训。很少有大学提供课程，也很少有学生有机会接触到足够深度和广度的书籍，以便通过经验来学习。史密森学会国家自然历史博物馆的人类学系正在制定一项研究生暑期培训计划，内容是利用人类学博物馆藏品的研究方法。该项目将利用史密森尼博物馆丰富的藏品，对全国各地的学生进行基于藏品的研究方法培训。培训方案的总目标是改进科学教育和促进更好地利用公共博物馆的人类学收藏。美国国家科学基金会的资金将通过帮助支持一个规划研讨会来推进该计划的发展，该研讨会将汇集包括博物馆专家在内的不同背景的学者，为课程设计提供建议。

This award to Dr. Candace S. Greene (Smithsonian Institution) provides support for a workshop on training students to use anthropological museum collections. America's extensive museum collections are presently underutilized in anthropological research. These objects constitute an empirical record of cultural practices over time, recording behavior in a different way than written sources. Museum objects carry unique information about the past, whether they are recent products of societies responding to globalization or ancient materials from archaeological sites destroyed long ago. However, there is presently little formal training in the United States in appropriate methods for use of this body of information. Few universities offer coursework and few students have access to collections of sufficient depth and breadth to learn through experience. The Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, is developing plans for a graduate summer training program in research methods for the use of anthropological museum collections. The program will utilize the Smithsonian's extensive collections to train students from throughout the nation in collection-based research methods. The overall objective of the training program is to improve science education and to promote better use of anthropological collections held in public museums. NSF funding will advance development of this program by helping to support a planning workshop that will bring together scholars of diverse backgrounds, including museum experts, to advise on curriculum design.