For immediate release
OTTAWA, October 07, 2016 – Carleton University and the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation (CSTMC) are proud to announce that Phoebe Mannell has been selected as the Garth Wilson Memorial Fellow in Public History.
Ms. Mannell, who is pursuing a master’s degree in Public History at Carleton, will focus her research on the challenges and opportunities involved in curating maritime histories and technologies in 21st century museums. This work is being done under the guidance of Dr. John C. Walsh.
“The Garth Wilson Fellowship epitomizes the goals of the MA in Public History Program at Carleton University,” said Walsh. “It allows students to extend their training and to do so with the unique resources and talent that coalesce in national institutions such as the CSTMC. Phoebe is well suited for the Fellowship. She has an excellent background in the history of maritime science and technology and a longstanding interest in and concern for how maritime histories appear in museums. We are grateful that she will be able to work with CSTMC and its staff.”
“I would like to welcome Phoebe to the curatorial team,” said Bryan Dewalt, Director of the Curatorial Division at the CSTMC. “Phoebe will work with our Curator of Transportation, Sharon Babaian, researching the history of steamships and marine transportation. We are in the midst of redeveloping all the galleries at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in preparation for reopening in fall 2017. So this is an exciting time to be working at the museum. By the end of her fellowship, Phoebe will have acquired valuable experience in material culture research and its application in exhibition development.”
Over the course of the year-long fellowship, Ms. Mannell will have supervised access to the CSTMC’s collection to research material culture. In addition to contributing to CSTMC’s exhibit development, she will write a major research essay, as part of her normal degree requirements at Carleton, and contribute to various presentations of her findings.
This Public History Fellowship was established to honour the memory of Garth Wilson, who was a curator at the Canada Science and Technology Museum for 21 years. As Curator of Transportation, Mr. Wilson greatly contributed to some of the Museum’s best known long-term exhibitions, such as Canoes: the Shape of Success, and In search of the Canadian Car. Mr. Wilson was also a strong, early supporter of Carleton’s nationally renowned MA in Public History Program.
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INFORMATION:
Christopher Cline
Media Relations Coordinator
Carleton University
613-520-2600, ext. 1391
christopher_cline@carleton.ca
Caroline Boutin
Media and Government Relations Officer
Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation
613-410-5943
cboutin@techno-science.ca