Internship Opportunities at Museum of Ethnic Clothes of México

(Picture of Tey Stiteler, the Founder and Director Museo de Ropa Étnica de México (Museum of Ethnic Clothes of México or MUREM).

Click here for the video of Tey Stiteler introduceing her work at Museum of Ethnic Clothes of México.

 

Here’s an opportunity for Pitt students who want to make a contribution to this important, unique institution!

Professor Maureen Porter, IISE Associate Director, recently completed another round of research and partnership building in Yucatán. The result is a novel internship opportunity at the Museo de Ropa Étnica de México (Museum of Ethnic Clothes of México). MUREM is a growing gallery designed to showcase the living traditions of ethnic textile production, decoration, and authentic wear. Tey Stiteler, the Founder and Director, has begun to gain international acclaim for her creative museum curation, educational outreach to local schools, and regional leadership in the field of ethnic and cultural museology.

This internship is well suited for those interested in critical and decolonizing museum pedagogies, intercultural and multi-lingual curation, Indigenous and folk arts, and digital media. Stiteler is particularly seeking interns who have expertise in curriculum and those who would enjoy designing engaging programs for local teachers and youth of all ages. Interns will be able to conduct research and carry out evaluations on MUREM programs, design a collaborative project with their members, or create a personalized internship plan with the museum.

As the Associate Director of IISE, Maureen is proud of the dynamic networks of colleagues that IISE has cultivated throughout the world. As a result, current IISE Faculty fellows, Affiliates, and students have unparalleled opportunities to do research and applied work abroad. IISE will continue to play an unduplicated role across the entire School of Education by facilitating students’ opportunities to engage in meaningful and challenging international experiences. 

Our graduate students often enhance their degree programs by earning formal certificates in Latin American Studies/Social and Public Policy or in one of the five Global Studies Concentrations. This customizable applied experience in the lovely, multicultural Yucatán will enable interns to not only gain a regional perspective on critical debates in education and culture, but it also earn credits for their certificate program.

Maureen notes, “Our MA and PhD students who are interested in Comparative and International Education and who are in the department of Foundations, Organizations, and Policy certainly appreciate that they can gain formal recognition for their global scholarly engagement through these certificates!”

The internship opportunities at MUREM arise from the fruitful, extended collaboration between IISE’s Associate Director Maureen Porter and Tey Stiteler, the Founder and Director of MUREM. The video link above provides an introduction to MUREM and shares her entrepreneurial vision for enhancing the museum to be a community and cultural tourism resource.

Concurrently, interns would have the chance to contribute to a larger regional development program. MUREM is a leader in working with other institutions to expand eco-tourism. Located in in the charming mid Penninsula town of Valladolid, Stiteler is a capable entrepreneur who is contributing to the Pueblo Magico movement, a grassroots effort to create a linked route for authentic, locally-owned cultural institutions and exhibits.

In March 2020, Maureen conducted further ethnographic documentation and fieldwork in Yucatán México to explore the cultural transmission of traditional wisdom through art. She spent time photographing and interviewing artists who are devoted to the intergenerational art of creating the elaborate, bold-colored embroidery for which the Yucatán is famous. The iconic clothes that they produce can be seen in use every day in the region, in high fashion studios, in fine art museum collections, and in ethnic and national holiday celebrations. This is truly a living tradition, one that is also gaining traction in regional schools that embrace teaching Indigenous and folk art traditions, Mayan language, and multi-cultural literacy. While on site, she was able to generate an extensive photographic and video dataset that is coupled with interviews with key tradition bearers.

Stiteler’s extensive networks of embroiders and leadership roles in the region as a museum director and cutting-edge educator enabled Maureen to make the connections necessary to visit far-flung Mayan communities of embroiderers and weavers. Interns will also be able to draw on Maureen's research data base as well Stiteler’s expertise as they customize their internship.  

All those interested in further connections with the Museo de Ropa Étnica de México (MUREM) should consult the video above and visit the quickly growing set of official links. Interns with digital skills would also be able to create additional online videos and educational museum resources.  

Come and discuss your ideas for contributing to this exciting museum that is swiftly-growing in stature and scope. Maureen will have regular office hours in the IISE Suite in renovated Posvar Hall at the School of Education. She can also be contacted directly at (412) 251-3515  or via mporter@pitt.edu.  

For other internship opportunity with Mayan Mexican communities, see the link below.

 

Learn more

Internship Opportunities with Mayan Mexican Communities  

Maureen Porter Embarks on Continued Fieldwork and Outreach in México

IISE Faculty Research