Digital Art History

Advancing art history learning, teaching, research, and scholarship using digital tools and methods

With its genesis in digital media and presentation technologies to the use of digital methods to broaden the scope of research and analysis, the practice of digital art history is as expansive as the imaginations of its practioners. From coursework with our faculty that includes significant digital art history components to the recently established Digital Art History Lab, the Department of Art History and Archaeology is committed helping our students develop 21st-century skillsets by providing opportunities to explore the intersection between art history and the possibilities provided by technology.

Digital Art History Lab (DAHL)

The Department is pleased to announce the Visual Resources Center is now the Digital Art History Lab (DAHL)! Under the leadership of Betha Whitlow, Curator of Visual Resources + Lecturer in digital art history, the DAHL's mission is to ensure that faculty and particularly students have full support to practice art history in our digital world, from continuing to promote “digitized” art history to forwarding more advanced practices that use digital tools to ask and answer new research questions. The DAHL can provide basic training and consultations to help you transform your ideas (no matter how developed!) into action, including those involving data creation, digital imaging, maps, timelines, audio (podcasts), video (short films), websites, visualizations, animations, and more. To learn more about our services, visit the DAHL webpage or contact Betha today!

Who's Teaching Digital Art History?

Do you want to experience digital art history in the classroom? Dr. Kleutghen and Dr. Sheren are both deeply engaged in the practice of digital humanities research and regularly incorporate digital art history training into their teaching, so make sure to regularly browse Art History and Archaeology course search to see if one of their offerings is a good fit for your interests. Or, consider taking the "The Digital Art Historian," currently a graduate-level course (next offered spring 2025) with an undergraduate iteration to be offered in 2024. Taught by Betha Whitlow, this class provides the essential skills and background necessary to further explore the applications of digital art history in a range of academic and professional contexts.  For more information, visit our bios and arrange a time to chat!

Kristina Kleutghen

Kristina Kleutghen

David W. Mesker Associate Professor of Art History and Archaeology

314-935-4427

Kristina Kleutghen is a specialist in Chinese Art, particularly of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Focusing on early modern, modern, and contemporary Chinese art, her research investigates Sino-foreign interaction, the imperial court, optical devices, and connections to science and mathematics.

Ira Sheren

Ila Sheren

Associate Professor of Art History and Archaeology

314-935-4487

Ila Sheren’s research focuses on questions of borders and decolonial theory, whether in the case of the U.S. frontera, environmental crisis in the Global South, or the performative nature of political protest. Prof. Sheren teaches courses in new media, activist art, and alternative art practices, as well as surveys of modern and contemporary art.

Read the first DAHL Newsletter on Spatial Art History!