Toward an Engaged Art History

I am an art historian and associate professor of Early Modern Art at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.  In spring of 2023 I was named Distinguished Scholar in the Public Humanities by the Provost’s office.

Although I specialize in art and visual culture of early modern Italy, I am more broadly interested in the ways in which objects are manufactured, how they move through space and time, and in what ways they contribute to the production of knowledge and belief.  My work on the complex intercultural relationships between Italy and India during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is fueled by a desire to see the decolonization of art history and by the need to disrupt the interpretation of so-called canonical works of art.  In addition to my work in the field of global early modern studies, I am also dedicated to the cultivation of public humanities initiatives in Cleveland and work closely with area non-profits LAND Studio and Zygote Press to incorporate art history into community-engaged practice. I believe that art history can and should be harnessed to build a more just, equitable society.