JHC Fellowships Hero
Fellowships/Funded Opportunities
Meet Our 2024 Fellows
Announcement (May 6, 2024)
This year, a special fellowship has been awarded to support an additional fellow in memory of Ruth Fein, an extraordinary and trailblazing Jewish communal leader, and an ardent student of Jewish history.
Amongst many other distinctions, Ruth Fein was the first woman to chair Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), was appointed president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, the founding president of the New England Holocaust Memorial Committee, the founding chair of the Jewish Coalition for Literacy, and a founding board member of the Jewish Women’s Archive.
Past Fellows
Genevieve Geller Wyner Research Fellowship
2022 — Dr. Jessica Cooperman, “Why is this Night Different? A History of Passover in America”
2021 — Dr. Melissa R. Klapper, “At Home in the World: American Jewish Women Abroad, 1865-1940”
Call for Applications
The Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center (JHC) offers a handful of funded opportunities per year for scholars interested in conducting research using the JHC's archival collections.
Are you an undergraduate, graduate student, or community member looking for other ways to get involved? Learn about our internships and volunteer opportunities here.
HISTORIAN IN RESIDENCE
The Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center (JHC), an archive and educational center whose collections specialize in the Jewish history of Boston and New England, is seeking candidates for a Historian in Residence position in the 2024-2025 year. An exciting opportunity for a post doc, scholar at the beginning of their academic career, adjunct faculty member, public historian, or teacher, the Historian in Residence will provide scholarly expertise to the JHC, will conduct research within the JHC’s archives, and will spotlight stories and insights from the collections in articles and talks for the public. Applications should be submitted by May 31, 2024.
Responsibilities
The Historian in Residence’s responsibilities include research, writing, and presentations using the JHC’s collections. The historian will:
- Design and implement a research project on a topic or theme inspired by the holdings of the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center (in consultation with JHC staff); and connect and contextualize that topic within American Jewish history by also consulting related holdings at other local or national repositories.
- Write a minimum of two articles based on this research for publication in American Ancestors magazine and contribute occasional blog posts to the JHC and American Ancestors websites.
- Develop at least two lectures based on their research, to be presented online or in person, with the possibility of contributing to other public programs given by the JHC.
- Provide consultation to JHC staff about Jewish history as/when needed.
Qualifications
The successful candidate will:
- Have at minimum a Master’s degree in history, American Jewish history, or a related field.
- Demonstrate superb writing, research, and presentation skills.
- Have experience with public history and/or interpreting and presenting historical content for a wide variety of audiences.
- Be able to work both independently and collaboratively as part of the JHC team.
Terms and Stipend
Reporting to the Executive Director, this flexible, funded position begins on or after September 1, 2024, within a mutually agreed-upon schedule. The preferred arrangement entails 15–20 hours a week over the academic year (September 2024 through May 2025), but we would also consider full-time work over a 4–5 month period. Remote work is possible, but the Historian is expected to spend at least some time each month working onsite with the JHC’s collections. The annual stipend for the academic year is $30,000.
To Apply
Candidates should submit a resume and/or CV; two references; and a statement of interest (no more than 1,000 words) that addresses:
- Your current research interests
- Your experience researching in archival collections
- A research project using JHC collections that you would propose after having reviewed collection information on the JHC website (JewishHeritageCenter.org/archives/collections). (Note: this proposed project is not binding.)
- 3 to 4 JHC collections you might use for this project
- Related collections at local or national archival repositories that you might consult.
Please send the above materials to:
Rachel King, Executive Director
Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at American Ancestors
99-101 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
rachel.king@nehgs.org
Applications should be submitted by May 31, 2024.
The Historian in Residence position is funded by Richard Schilder and the Schilder Family, in honor of Justin L. Wyner.
GENEVIEVE GELLER WYNER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Applications are now closed for the 2024 Fellowship.
The Genevieve Geller Wyner Research Fellowship at the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center (JHC) at New England Historic Genealogical Society provides an opportunity for a scholar to conduct research in the JHC’s archives, which contain the records of Jewish institutions and businesses and the papers of families and individuals in Greater Boston and New England. While the scholar's research project does not have to be focused on Boston or New England, or exclusively use the JHC archives, JHC collections should account for a significant portion of the project’s source research. At the conclusion of the Fellowship period, the Fellow is asked to present a paper based on their research at a public event, the Genevieve Geller Wyner Annual Lecture, at a mutually agreed-upon date.
RONALD C. CURHAN AND JOAN POKROSS CURHAN RESEARCH FUND
Coming soon in 2024! This new fund will provide an opportunity to a scholar in Jewish history or Jewish Studies to do research in the archives of the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center. Preference will be given to individuals at the start of their careers, including graduate and undergraduate students.