Smithsonian National Museum Hiring Beer Historian

Smithsonian National Museum Hiring Beer Historian

By: Daniel Steingold | July 29, 2016

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History is hiring for an interesting position: beer historian.

The lucky applicant who gets this job will make $64,650 a year. The museum, based is Washington D.C., is looking for someone who is able to “focus and dedicate efforts towards research, documentation, and collecting American brewing history.”

The position is a contract position for only three years, but that hasn’t stopped the flood of applications.

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History currently has about 300 employees, while the grander Smithsonian Institute employs over 6,000 individuals.

The role of Smithsonian’s beer historian will be to document the history and cultural role of beer in America since World War II. The museum realized that despite its coverage of other foodstuffs and food-related topics— wine, coffee, cheese, artisanal bread, and farmers markets— the increasing popularity of beer, particularly craft beer, had not been examined in-depth.

Despite the position sounding zany, the ideal applicant will have extensive qualifications.

The museum is looking for a professional historian or scholar “to conduct archival and field research… with special emphasis on the craft industry.” They expect to hire someone who has previously conducted scholarly research, oral history interviews, and who knows how to write “for both scholarly and general audiences.”

They mention that those with “an advanced degree in American business, brewing, food, cultural, or similar specialization within history are encouraged to apply.”

To apply, click here. Hurry though. The application deadline is on August 10.


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