We have welcomed Dr Anthea M. Hartig, Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to our University – marking a significant milestone in our growing collaboration.
Over the course of her two-day visit, Dr Hartig explored our world-class collections, museums, departments and facilities, and met curators, students and staff at the University, Durham Cathedral and Ushaw College.
The visit deepened our institutional collaborations and celebrated the first anniversary of our Memorandum of Understanding.
Our collaboration is built around a five-year framework plan designed to create world-leading research, exchange, and training opportunities for students and academic and professional staff. These opportunities include recently launched internships and fellowships, offering opportunities to work alongside experts at one of the world’s most prestigious museums.
Jointly supported by our Faculty of Arts and Humanities and International Office, nine students are participating in virtual internships this year. Of these, four will head to Washington, D.C., this summer for a fully funded in-person placement at the National Museum of American History.
Guided by Museum curators and historians, interns will contribute to an international exhibition project at the National Museum of American History. They will explore the 1867 Paris World Exposition, using stereo view photographs to research artefacts and visitor narratives.
In addition to the internships, two new fellowships have been launched. The inaugural fellow is Professor Barry Sheils from our English Studies department. He will examine the meteorological revolution between 1850 and 1940, focusing on weather charts and correspondence produced by Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
The collaboration forms an integral part of our Heritage 360 Strategic Research Fund Project.
Dedicated to bringing together interdisciplinary and inter-sector work on natural and cultural heritage, Heritage 360 represents a £3 million investment creating innovative methodologies for heritage research, training, and outreach, locally and globally.
We’re honoured that Dr Hartig has agreed to join the Heritage 360 advisory board, bringing her leadership and expertise to help guide the project’s future, linking further our two institutions.
This collaboration also builds on our foundational role in the Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies International – a global consortium of more than 40 organisations comprising universities, professional societies, and the GLAM sector (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums).
Together with the International Nineteenth-Century Studies Association (INCSA) the partnership will help shape the 2026 INCSA conference ‘Revolution, Revelation, Reconciliation’ in Washington, D.C. and INCSA 2028 in Tokyo.
Dr Anthea Hartig of Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History during her visit at Durham.
17 October 1910, Letter from the Smithsonian Institution, Astrophysical Observatory, acknowledging the receipt of a copy of the Tables of the Four Great Satellites of Jupiter (published by R. A. Sampson for the Durham University Observatory) on printed forms which were numbered and sent with the publication.
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