BSHS ENGAGEMENT FELLOWSHIP 2023

St George’s, University of London

Bursary payable to Fellow: £2,000

Deadline for applications: 8 August 2023

Fellowship to be completed by: December 2023

Shaping a new Museum at St George’s, University of London

Summary

The St George’s Museum was established in 1843 as the Pathology Museum and the present-day collection holds over 2000 preserved pathology preparation illustrating the history of disease and surgery. The collection is an important part of our heritage, giving us a unique perspective into our understanding of human diseases through the personal experiences and stories of patients at St George’s Hospital in the 19th and 20th century.

This is an exciting time for the Museum as we open to the public for the first time in our 180-year history. Our ongoing research seeks to reveal the stories of the people whose human remains were preserved in the museum following on from surgery or post-mortem. In this Engagement Fellowship you will have the opportunity to build upon this research and work with us and our community partners as we interpret this unique museum collection for a new public audience. This is a one-month fellowship that can be completed within a four-month period, from September to December 2023, working flexibly, with partial / full remote working possible for this placement.

About the project

The Museum at St George’s aims to be a place for our local community to reflect on their own health and well-being through the stories and experience of the patients in the past.

Potential project for Fellows who wish to develop their skills in interpretation of a museum collection include:

  • Creating exhibitions based on the stories featuring patients from the 19th century to be displayed in the Museum; or
  • Creating a digital exhibition of the stories that can be shared with a wider audience; or
  • Creating an in person / audio museum tour; or
  • Creating a KS4 school activity to support the History of Medicine strand of the GCSE History curriculum

Potential output for Fellows who wish to develop their skills in museum cataloguing and accreditation include:

  • Mapping the information in the current museum inventory to the Spectrum Inventory primary procedures
  • Reviewing our current museum inventory and cataloguing procedures against the Spectrum standard as we prepare to apply for Working towards Accreditation status

Person specification

  • A current postgraduate student
  • An interest in the history of medicine
  • An understanding of the importance of working with the public to interpret the collection in a meaningful and respectful way, to maintain the dignity of the individuals whose human remains have been preserved in the Museum

To apply

For informal enquiries, and to submit your application, please email Dr Carol Shiels (cshiels@sgul.ac.uk)

For applications, please submit the following information:

  • A covering letter summarising your interest in the role and the projects offered, along with any relative experience (maximum 1 side of A4)
  • Your CV (maximum 2 sides of A4)

Shortlisted candidates who are not British citizens will be required to provide proof of their eligibility to work in the UK.