Massachusetts Normal Art School, Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 1883
I am currently writing a History of Massachusetts College of Art with a focus on state support for art and design education as a reflection of economic interests, student desires for art education to build individual capacities, and the changing curriculum as mediation between both.
Longer term projects include a history of post-World-War-II art education in the United States, and historical research on American art education ca. 1812-1912, focusing on the development of art education as a self-conscious profession in the context of middle-class culture, changing expectations for gender roles, and shifts in theory and definitions of art.
I am also examining how social forces, such as new technologies for printing and disseminating images, urbanization, industrialization, and capitalism contributed to a supportive context for general art education.
