education

• PhD University of California, Los Angeles,
  • Art History 1997
• MA Boston University,
  • Art History and Museum Studies
  • Diploma 1989
• BA Vassar College, Art History 1987

Dr. Lillian Joyce - acting chair

• Associate Professor of Art & Art History
• Ancient through Renaissance art
• office: 303 Roberts Hall
• phone: 256.824.2588
• email: joycel@uah.edu

teaching

During my doctoral studies at UCLA the faculty in art history, classics, and history guided me through the challenges of working in the interdisciplinary field of ancient culture. For a minor field I chose to study medieval art. Upon completing my coursework, or so I thought, I discovered that my minor field advisor was returning to his university in Germany. If I wanted to finish my degree, I would need to change minors, which I did, choosing Renaissance art. This potential setback turned into an asset. At UAH, in addition to the survey of Ancient to Medieval art, I teach a variety of upper-level courses in Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance art. I also have taught special topics courses such as Greek and Roman Theater and Roman Women. At UCLA I was also trained in several “non-Western” visual traditions that I have now incorporated into a survey course of Art Beyond the West that is now a requirement for majors.

Download syllabus for ARH 103 Spring 2008.

Download syllabus for ARH 103 Spring 2008.

research interest

Until the summer of 2002 my research had focused on female figures in the circle of the wine god Dionysus such as his celebrants, maenads, and his consort, Ariadne. I also explored female figures that came into conflict with the god such as Dirce, who was trampled to death under a bull for her impiety. A characteristic shared by all three figures was that artists often portrayed them with bared breasts. My current goal is to explore this complex topic in an interdisciplinary book entitled The Breast Revealed, which will include analyses of historical and mythological figures. As a springboard into this project I am working on an article-length manuscript Amazons, Roma, and the Revealed Breast. The Goddess Roma was the embodiment of Rome and a complex figure who symbolized political and religious ideas. Numerous studies have identified Roma's appearance using attributes such as her helmet, weapons, globes, and trophies. However, one attribute that scholars have overlooked is her revealed breast. The majority of representations of Roma as a complete figure, either standing or sitting, portrayed her as an Amazon with one breast exposed. Her Amazon costume, deriving from a long tradition in Greek art, did not necessitate revealing the breast; artists and patrons chose her guise purposefully. My research explores possible interpretations of the revealed breast in images of Roma as they developed and standardized in the early imperial period.

honors & awards

• Humanities Center Grant (Research at Johns Hopkins University)   2007
• 
  Global Studies Curriculum Enhancement Grant (Guatemala/Honduras)  2006
• 
  Humanities Center Grant (Research in Italy)   2006
• 
  Global Studies Curriculum Enhancement Grant (Non-Western Art)   2005
• 
  Humanities Center Grant (Research in Italy)    2005
• 
  Humanities Center Library Enhancement Grant (Non-Western Art)    2005
• 
  Humanities Center Library Enhancement Grant (Facsimile Luttrell Psalter)   2005
• 
  Office of the Provost Instructional Mini-Grant (Digital Image Database)   2005