Meet the Mellon Fellows: Dr. Jennifer Craig

Dr. Jennifer Craig

McGill University
PhD, Anthropology

Host Site: War in the Pacific National Historical Park and American Memorial Park
Fellowship Title: Mariana Islands Wartime Experiences through Oral Histories Fellowship
Project Description: Dr. Craig will inventory existing oral histories and create options for sharing these resources with NPS staff, partners, and the public. Dr. Craig and the interpretive teams at both parks will work together to develop interpretive products and programs to highlight the stories in the oral history collection.

Bio:

Jennifer is an NPS Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow with the American Conservation Experience. Her project, titled "Mariana Islands Wartime Experiences through Oral Histories," is at the War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam and American Memorial Park on Saipan in collaboration with Chamoru partners. These World War II focused parks work to share the stories of the conflict in the Pacific as told by those who experienced it on these islands. These islands' oral histories share sensory experiences of immersion in place, and when engaged in these stories Jennifer evokes heart-centered practices. These practices involve work with community-based archaeology to expand the stories in the webs of relations of past experiences to include the animals, the spirits, and the other-than-human beings with traditional scientific rigor. Jennifer’s background is in the underwater cultural heritage of the Asia Pacific Region. Jennifer uses archaeology/museology methodologies to organize data and note patterns (especially spatial and particular locations) and linguistic methodologies to study cultural concepts and a human worldview. She pursues this work in tandem with her specialization in Maritime Archaeology, which aims to understand and interpret the past relationships between humans and WATER.

Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

This project was made possible through the National Park Service by a grant from the National Park Foundation through generous support from the Mellon Foundation. The Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship program is administered through a partnership between NPS, NPF, and American Conservation Experience.