SMU Art History RASC/a

SMU Art History RASC/a Rhetorics of Art, Space and Culture: Ph.D. Program in Art History at Southern Methodist University

RASC/a (derived from the Spanish vernacular for “scratch”) stands for “Rhetorics of Art, Space, and Culture” and marks a new curricular initiative in graduate studies launched in 2011. The department chose the unusual name to underline the commitment to shaping a small and dynamic graduate program that emphasizes close mentorship, innovative methodologies, and scholarship that challenges tradition

al disciplinary boundaries. The program builds upon the strengths of the faculty and area resources, with particular emphasis on historical and new media, visual technologies, architecture and the city, race and gender, and transnational scholarship.

Congratulations to PhD candidate Christine Burger for presenting her dissertation prospectus yesterday!! Christine prese...
04/08/2026

Congratulations to PhD candidate Christine Burger for presenting her dissertation prospectus yesterday!! Christine presented “Unboxing Lust and Desire: Dorothy Iannone’s Box Sculptures in Context.” Way to go Christine!!

Join Meadows students Georgia Robb and Anastasiya Shyvilka at the exhibition reception to experience artwork that explor...
04/01/2026

Join Meadows students Georgia Robb and Anastasiya Shyvilka at the exhibition reception to experience artwork that explores the tension between presence and absence and juxtaposes isolated human figures with spaces marked by the traces of those no longer there. While each artist’s work stands complete on its own, their pairing creates a dialogue that reveals how absence and presence define and deepen one another.

Reception: Tuesday, April 7th, at 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: Jordan Gallery, Owen Arts Center
Duration: April 7-13

4th year PhD candidate Laura Martin recently presented her dissertation, Divine Intimacy: Spirituality and Sexuality in ...
03/31/2026

4th year PhD candidate Laura Martin recently presented her dissertation, Divine Intimacy: Spirituality and Sexuality in the Early Modern Hispanic World, as part of the “En Construcción” lecture series at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. After three months of archival research in Madrid, she brought her findings to a community of scholars.

This summer, SMU Art History and the Hegi Career Center are partnering with the Dallas Museum of Art to offer three inte...
03/18/2026

This summer, SMU Art History and the Hegi Career Center are partnering with the Dallas Museum of Art to offer three internships for returning SMU Art History majors and graduate students. Applications are available on SMU’s 12Twenty site. Deadline March 20, 2026. Links to individual listings below:

Curatorial Intern in Contemporary Art: https://smu.12twenty.com/job-postings/35006704966217

Curatorial Intern in Asian Art: https://smu.12twenty.com/job-postings/35006704966167

Marketing and Communications Intern: https://smu.12twenty.com/job-postings/35006704993675

Recently, Dr. Amy Freund organized an interdisciplinary research symposium titled Cat/People and presented her research ...
03/10/2026

Recently, Dr. Amy Freund organized an interdisciplinary research symposium titled Cat/People and presented her research as well! It was a fantastic day of cats and art!!

Thinking about a career in libraries or archives? Wondering how to combine your interests in objects and history with a ...
02/26/2026

Thinking about a career in libraries or archives? Wondering how to combine your interests in objects and history with a career in the public sector? Looking to
broaden your interest in museums beyond the world of the art gallery?

Join SMU's Department of Art History for our first career event of the spring semester. We'll be talking with Molly Steed, recently appointed as the archivist for Bywaters Special Collections in the Hamon Arts Library. Prior to joining SMU, Molly served as the archivist for Everglades National Park. She has experience in many different archival settings including Loyola University of Chicago’s University Archives, and
the National Naval Aviation Museum. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History, a Master of Arts in Public History, and a Master of Library and Information Science. Sharing her experiences in these varied venues, Molly’s talk will offer the opportunity to explore the wide world of opportunities out there for those with a passion for object and place-based history.

Join us Thursday, February 26, 12:30-1:30pm in the Hawn Conference Room, Hamon Arts Library.

Join us tomorrow afternoon at the Emerging Scholars Gallery Talk at the Meadows Museum (February 27 at 12:15-1:00 pm). R...
02/26/2026

Join us tomorrow afternoon at the Emerging Scholars Gallery Talk at the Meadows Museum (February 27 at 12:15-1:00 pm). RASC/a PhD students Daniel Heberle and Ester Ippolito Harrison will both talk about Spanish Portraiture Through the Ages.

Come hear some cutting-edge, life-changing art historical research on cats at an interdisciplinary research symposium on...
02/24/2026

Come hear some cutting-edge, life-changing art historical research on cats at an interdisciplinary research symposium on Friday Feb. 27, organized by Prof. Amy Freund and funded by the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute. Prof. Freund is especially grateful to the Meadows Museum for permission to use this ridiculously cute kitten painting as the symposium's signature image.

Lines We Cross is a group exhibition presenting works by local DFW artists and students enrolled in Studio Art and Art H...
02/23/2026

Lines We Cross is a group exhibition presenting works by local DFW artists and students enrolled in Studio Art and Art History courses, including international students on the SMU campus. Lines We Cross is curated by RASC/a PhD candidate Christine Burger and Director of Visual Resources Ashley Whitt.

The exhibition examines migration as both an individual and collective experience, addressing its social, cultural, and political dimensions. Through a diverse range of media—including video, installation, ceramics, and sculpture—the works explore boundaries, movement, and the complexities of displacement and belonging.

The exhibition will be on view from February 27 to May 8 in the Owen Fine Arts Center. A student exhibition will run concurrently from February 27 to March 27. An opening reception will be held on Friday, February 27, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

The artists included in the exhibition: Eliana Miranda, Christina J. Hahn, Karla Ramirez-Santin, Cher Musico, Minji Kang-Watrous, Tina Medina, Lupita Murillo Tinnen, Karina Ramirez, Leili Arai Tavallaei, Carolina Yáñez, and Sharmeen Uquaili.

We are pleased to announce LINES WE CROSS, a student and staff exhibition about migration. This show includes students e...
02/23/2026

We are pleased to announce LINES WE CROSS, a student and staff exhibition about migration. This show includes students enrolled in Studio Art and Art History courses, as well as SMU staff from several departments across campus. Lines We Cross is curated by RASC/a PhD candidate Christine Burger and Director of Visual Resources Ashley Whitt.

The student and staff exhibition examines migration as both an individual and collective experience, addressing its social, cultural, and political dimensions. Students and staff learned the Citrasolv transfer process during several workshops led by curator and artist Ashley Whitt. The workshop participants then used the process to create their own artworks in response to the theme of migration.

The exhibition will be on view from February 27 to March 27 in the Jerry Jones Atrium of the Owen Fine Arts Center. An opening reception will be held on Friday, February 27, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm outside of the Hamon Art Library.

The artists included in the exhibition:
Hermila Cuevas
Karina Ramirez
Jillian Whitney
Aarionne Hobbs
Sherry Aikman
Kelli Cole Ladwig
Asiya Mohammed
Sophie Gomez
Anastasiya Shyvilka
Michelle Ried
Christine Burger
Ashley Whitt
Georgia
Ani Rangel
Dorothea Hart
and 8 anonymous artists

Congratulations to Prof. Amy Freund on the publication of her book, Noble Beasts: Hunters and Hunted in Eighteenth-Centu...
02/05/2026

Congratulations to Prof. Amy Freund on the publication of her book, Noble Beasts: Hunters and Hunted in Eighteenth-Century French Art, with Yale University Press. Prof. Freund promises that her next book will be about cats, but in the meantime please enjoy this 1740 portrait of Pehr, a very good boy.

Address

6101 Bishop
Dallas, TX
75205

Telephone

+12147684154

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when SMU Art History RASC/a posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The University

Send a message to SMU Art History RASC/a:

Shortcuts

Share

Category