Ruth O. Selig papers
name: label: Creator
content: Selig, Ruth
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Ruth O. Selig papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Ruth O. Selig in 2024.
creator: label: Creator
content: Selig, Ruth
setName: label: See more items in
content: Ruth O. Selig papers
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Born an identical twin in 1942 in New Haven, Connecticut, daughter of Yale University Professor of History and Oratory Rollin G. Osterweis, Ruth O. Selig earned a BA in history from Wellesley College in 1964. That fall she entered Shady Hill School's Apprenticeship Teacher Training Program, during which she assisted in teaching an anthropology-based curriculum and met Shady Hill graduates, ethnographic filmmaker John Marshall and his sister Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. After earning an MAT from Harvard University in social studies and following the teaching of high school history and anthropology for a decade, she received an MA in anthropology from George Washington University (GWU) in 1975.

Selig taught anthropology in GWU's Continuing Education for Women Division and developed a new summer school course for teachers with fellow graduate student and former English teacher JoAnne Lanouette. She also taught a semester-long course in anthropology with GWU Professor Alison S. Brooks the spring of 1975 for National Museum of Natural History Museum docents and was hired by William W. Fitzhugh, Chair of the Smithsonian Institution's Department of Anthropology, to create a system of prepared materials to answer the 4,000 public inquiries the department received each year, and to initiate additional public outreach projects for the Department of Anthropology.

Selig collaborated with other Smithsonian offices on several public outreach programs and pursued various strategies to promote the incorporation of four-field anthropology in the nation's classrooms. She co-directed and directed anthropology teacher training programs, partnered with anthropology and archaeology societies, and created multiple publications, including AnthroNotes, the National Museum of Natural History Publication for Teachers; two book collections of AnthroNotes articles designed for high school and undergraduate classrooms; and wrote book chapters, articles, and curriculum materials. From 1985-2010, Selig also served as a senior administrator working with Smithsonian officials including directors and acting directors of the National Museum of Natural History; the Smithsonian's Assistant Secretary for Research and Assistant Secretary for Science; the Acting Provost and Provost; and finally, the Acting Secretary and Secretary. After her retirement in 2010, Selig was appointed Research Associate/Collaborator (retiree) in the Smithsonian Institution's Department of Anthropology where she continued publishing papers, editing AnthroNotes, and working with Smithsonian Institution Libraries to digitize AnthroNotes for the Smithsonian Institution Libraries' digital repository.

Chronology

1942 April 22 -- Born, New Haven, Connecticut

1948-1960 -- Foote School, Prospect Hill (Hopkins). New Haven, Connecticut

1960-1964 -- Wellesley College. BA. Erasmus Prize in History

1964-1965 -- Shady Hill School Apprenticeship Teacher Training Program

1965-1966 -- Harvard University, MAT (Social Studies)

1966-1969 -- History Teacher. Beaver Country Day School. Brookline, MA

1969-1973 -- Anthropology Teacher. Holton Arms School. Bethesda, MD

1973-1975  -- George Washington University, MA in Anthropology Graduate Teaching Assistant. George Washington University

1975-1985 -- Lecturer in Anthropology. George Washington University  Head, Outreach Office. Anthropology Department, Smithsonian Institution

1979-1983 -- Co-Director. George Washington University/Smithsonian, Anthropology for Teachers Program (National Science Foundation-funded) 

1984-1985 -- Lecturer in Anthropology. University of Wyoming Director. Smithsonian/University of Wyoming Anthropology and the Humanities Program for Teachers (Wyoming Council for the Humanities/National Endowment for the Humanities-funded)

1985-1988  -- Special Assistant to the Director. National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian Institution

1988-1990  -- Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Research. Smithsonian Institution

1991-1994 -- Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Science. Smithsonian Institution

1994-1995 -- Executive Assistant to the Acting Provost. Smithsonian Institution

1996-1998 -- Executive Officer for Programs. Office of the Provost. Smithsonian Institution

1997-1998 -- Detail. Office of the Provost to the Director's Office, National Museum of Natural History with assignment to the National Anthropological Archives

1999-2001 -- Editorial Board. Journal, American Anthropologist

1998-2003 -- Special Assistant for Strategic Initiatives. Director's Office, National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian Institution

2000-2003 -- Member, American Anthropology Association's Anthropology Education Commission, established by President Louise Lamphere to work towards "integrating anthropological concepts, methods, issues into pre-K through adult education…" 

2002 -- Society for American Archaeology: Excellence in Education Award [AnthroNotes & Anthropology Explored: Best of Smithsonian AnthroNotes]

2003-2006 -- Special Assistant to the Director. National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian Institution 

2007-2008 -- Special Assistant to the Acting Secretary. Office of the Secretary. Smithsonian Institution

2008 -- Received the Plus ratio quam vis Medal from the Jagiellonian University for work on the return of the Smithsonian's Institut fur Deutsche Ostarbeit archival papers to Poland. The Medal was presented at the Polish Embassy in Washington, D.C. 

2008-2010 -- Senior Writer/Editor. Office of the Secretary. Smithsonian Institution.

2010-2025 -- Research Associate/Collaborator (retiree). Department of Anthropology. Smithsonian Institution
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 9 Linear feet (9 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1964-2025
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.2024-02
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The papers of Ruth O. Selig are arranged in 6 series: 1) Education/Biography; 2) Teaching; 3) Outreach; 4) Administration; 5) Research; and 6) Professional Societies and Organizations.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection of 9 boxes arrived at NAA organized into multiple series and subseries with materials housed in acid-free folders. Materials were processed by Ruth O. Selig, Department of Anthropology Research Associate/Collaborator, National Museum of Natural History, under the guidance of NAA Research Associate and former Smithsonian Senior Archivist Alan Bain, then further revised under the guidance of NAA Head Archivist Gina Rappaport. NAA Reference Archivist Alexandria Brown encoded the guide and made it accessible online. Selig organized her papers keeping the original order of materials where possible.
bibliography: label: Bibliography
content: Books

2013     Anthropology Explored: Revised and Expanded. Second Edition. Ruth Osterweis Selig, Marilyn R. London, and P. Ann Kaupp, editors. E-Book issued by Smithsonian Books.

2004     Anthropology Explored: Revised and Expanded. Second Edition. Ruth Osterweis Selig, Marilyn R. London, and P. Ann Kaupp, eds. Smithsonian Books. Washington, DC. 458 pp.

1998     Anthropology Explored: The Best of Smithsonian AnthroNotes. Ruth Osterweis Selig and Marilyn R. London, editors. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, DC. 338 pp. Selig is the author of the book's Introduction and Acknowledgments, and one chapter. Two other chapters by Selig profile anthropologists who added an "update" to the original article. The book was a 1998 Natural Science Book Club selection.


Edited Publications

2018     AnthroNotes - All 84 issues catalogued, scanned, digitized, and made available through the Smithsonian Institution Libraries' Digital Repository of SI publications.  263 individual articles with newly written abstracts searchable and downloadable through 46 keyword topics and by author, title, and date. 

1979-
2012     AnthroNotes. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (33 volumes, 84 issues). Co-founder, writer, co-editor (with Alison Brooks, P. Ann Kaupp, and JoAnne Lanouette; also, Carolyn Gecan and Colleen Popson during various time periods, 1979-2012). Robert L. Humphrey, illustrator.

1986     Practicing Anthropology 8(3-4). "Special Issue on Pre-College Education," co-guest editor (with Patricia J. Higgins).  Society for Applied Anthropology.


Chapters and Selected Articles

2025     "Teaching with AnthroNotes Cartoons." Journal of Archaeology and Education 9(2): 1-37. (With Alison S. Brooks).

2019     "Putting Archaeology and Anthropology into Schools: A 2019 Update." Journal of Archaeology and Education 3. (With Colleen Popson).

2001     "Professional Associations and Educational Advocacy: The Behavioral Sciences in U.S. Schools," pp. 146 -170, Charles S. White, ed. Sea Change in Social Science Education: Woods Hole 2000. Social Science Education Consortium, Boulder, Colorado.

2000     "Brokering Cultures: Archaeologists Reach Out to Teachers," pp. 151-164, Karolyn Smardz and Shelley Smith, eds. The Archaeology Education Handbook: Sharing the Past with Kids. AltaMira Press. 

1998     "Smithsonian Publications Bring Anthropology to the Classroom." Social Studies 89(3): 102-106.

1997     "The Challenge of Exclusion: Anthropology, Teachers and Schools," pp. 299-307, Conrad Kottak, Jane White, Richard Furlow, and Patricia Rice, eds. The Teaching of Anthropology: Problems, Issues and Decisions. Mayfield. 

1995     "Teacher Training in One Wyoming Community: An Argument for Anthropologists' Involvement in American Schools." Wyoming Contributions to Anthropology 4: 15-23. University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming.

1991     "Teacher Training Programs: The Multiplier Effect in the Classroom," pp. 3-7, K.C. Smith and F. P. McManamon, eds. Archaeology and Education: The Classroom and Beyond. Archeological Assistance Study, #2, National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C.

1989     "Anthropology in Public Schools: Why Should We Care?" Commentary: Anthropology Newsletter 30(2): 28, 30. American Anthropological Association.

1986     "Anthropology for Wyoming Teachers." Practicing Anthropology 8(3-4): 16-17, 21.

1983     "A New Approach to Teacher Training." Museum News 61(6): 44-48. (With JoAnne Lanouette).

1982     "The Smithsonian's Alaska Connection: 19th Century Explorers and Anthropologists," pp. 193-208, The Alaska Journal: A 1981 Collection. Alaska Northwest Publishing Company. Anchorage, Alaska. (With William W. Fitzhugh).

1977     "An Indian Legacy," pp. 156-163, The Smithsonian Experience, Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, D.C. [Smithsonian Research on North American Indians].


Curriculum Units and Instructor's Guides

1983     Of Kayaks and Ulus: The Bering Sea Eskimo Collection of Edward W. Nelson, "The Man Who Collected Good-for-Nothing Things." Education Packet/Curriculum Unit with NMNH Exhibition curated by William W. Fitzhugh, Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimos. Smithsonian Press. (With Ann Bay).

1980     The Educator's Guide to Odyssey, a 12-part PBS television series produced by Public Broadcasting Associates, Executive Producer, Michael Ambrosino. This guide was authored by AnthroNotes editors Alison S. Brooks, Ruth O. Selig, and JoAnne Lanouette.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Ruth O. Selig document her work for the Smithsonian Institution (SI) as an anthropologist, educator, and SI administrator. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, emails, meeting notes and memoranda, draft reports and papers, manuscripts, teaching materials, research documentation, illustrated PowerPoint presentations and outlines, curriculum materials, photographs, and slides.

The beginnings and development of the publication AnthroNotes and the two editions of Anthropology Explored, the Best of Smithsonian AnthroNotes are documented and reflect AnthroNotes' increasing circulation, changing design, trademark settlement, and article reprints in other publications designed for college and high school classrooms. Selig's involvement with teacher training programs and workshops as well as her work with various professional societies are documented in the collection. The collection also reflects Selig's work for senior Smithsonian officials, which often involved drafting official reports, papers for the SI Board of Regents, memoranda, correspondence, speeches, and draft columns for Smithsonian Magazine and The Torch.

Finally, the collection documents several special projects Selig undertook including work for Director Robert Fri during 1997-1998 in the National Anthropological Archives (NAA), and includes the five-year Institut fur Deutsche Ostarbeit Task Force (2003-2008), culminating in the return of the Holocaust-related IDO records to the Jagiellonian University Archives in Krakow, Poland, an occasion marked by the Jagiellonian University presenting Director Samper and his Special Assistant Ruth Selig with the University's 2008 Plus ratio quam vis Medal.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The National Anthropological Archives holds the papers of the American Anthropological Association and the Society for American Archaeology, whose records relate to Selig's Series 6 due to her professional involvements with these two societies' initiatives, committees, and commissions, established to promote wider anthropology and archaeology teaching in U.S. schools and colleges.

A copy of each AnthroNotes issue is also located at the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA), as well as in the Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL), which digitized and made searchable the Department of Anthropology's publication's entire print run.  Records relating to the Institut fur Deutsche Ostarbeit (IDO) archival papers project are located at SIA, as are the papers of all the senior Smithsonian officials for whom Selig worked.