As we begin the semester, we're highlighting Bryn Mawr's newest faculty members. The College supports faculty excellence in both research and teaching and is committed to social justice and inclusion in the classroom and in the community at large.
Assistant Professor of History of Art Jie Shi
I work on Chinese art, archaeology, and material culture, with an emphasis on the early and medieval period. Drawing on phenomenology and critical theories, my interdisciplinary research closely examines the forms and contents of Chinese art (including painting, sculpture, and decorated objects) and architecture (including cities, palaces, temples, and tombs) in relation to ancient and medieval Chinese lived experience, social institutions, power structure, political thought, and ritual practice. I also study interactions between Chinese art and its Eurasian, South Asian, and Western counterparts. My book manuscript, titled Modeling Peace: Royal Tombs and Political Wisdom in Early China, explores the political and philosophical agendas in early Chinese royal tombs, which were among the most spectacular material and artistic remains from the early Chinese civilization.
The curriculum in History of Art immerses students in the study of visual culture. Structured by a set of evolving disciplinary concerns, students learn to interpret the visual through methodologies dedicated to the historical, the material, the critical and the theoretical.