Courses Taught
Introduction to African Art
Introduces archaeological, historical, modern, and contemporary works of African art in their aesthetic, cultural, and historical contexts. Examines sculpture, masquerade, textiles, painting, photography, architecture, and personal objects.
Fashion in Africa
Traces African fashion from cloth to everyday clothing and high fashion catwalks between the 19th century and the present. Surveys techniques of cloth production, pattern creation, and tailored styles across the continent. Explores how African dress reveals information about culture, history, political systems, religious worship, gendered relations, and social organization.
African Art and Colonialism
Studies late 19th- and early 20th-century African art within the context of European colonialism. Focuses on episodes of change and collection in Africa and display and reception in Europe. Pays particular attention to influence of European colonialism on pre-existing African artistic traditions, social structures, power dynamics, gender relations, and religions.
Museum Studies Practicum
Examines the development of museums, interrogates issues of display, and exposes students to professional museum work. Compels students to practically apply art history skills in service of a professional exhibition at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum.
Introduction to Global Art
Introduces art from the Islamic world, South and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, Japan, Oceania, Africa, and the native Americas from early times to the present. Examines sculpture, painting, architecture, pottery, book arts, textiles, photography, and other visual art forms, emphasizing the relationship between form and function within an historical context.
Fashion in the Global World
Examines the western history of fashion and case studies from the global world using artworks to explore influences and trace designs across the globe. Highlights the kimono, the codpiece, the corset, the three-piece suit, the qipao, the hijab, wax-print, and denim jeans.
Global Borrowings in Art
Explores artworks as the visual ramifications when cultures interact. Focuses on case studies from the global world of artistic traditions that are the product of episodes of global interaction or consciously borrow elements from previous artworks.
Art for Rollins
Focuses on visual art at Rollins to explore the cultural dynamics of collecting, the ethics of purchasing, acquiring, owning, contextualizing, and issues involved in displaying artwork on campus. Provides overview of artworks at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum and its Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art.
Art in Orlando
Explores artworks, the creation of art collections, and the elevation of artistic culture in Orlando. Takes place entirely in local museums and art collections, with visits to the Alfond, Morse, Polasek, OMA, Mennello, Casa Feliz, Art & History Museums Maitland, Snap! Space, UCF, Crealdé, Hannibal Square, and other private galleries and public art.
Making Any Major Marketable
Develops students’ abilities to discuss their academic, co-curricular, internship, and employment experiences cogently. Includes discussion of résumés, cover letters, professional networking, interviewing, online presence, and graduate school.