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Kathleen Spies

Kathleen Spies

Professor of Art History

Kathleen SpiesOffice:

Phillips Annex 224

Contact Information:

Box 549021
Birmingham-Southern College
900 Arkadelphia Rd
Birmingham, AL 35254
Office Phone: (205) 226-4927
Office Fax: (205) 226-3044
E-mail: [email protected]

Brief Career Background:

Kathleen Spies's research specialty is American art from 1850-1950. She has published on Thomas Eakins's portraits and nervous illness in the 19th century, and on the 1930s burlesque paintings and prints of urban realist Reginald Marsh. Prior to teaching at Birmingham-Southern College, Dr. Spies was a fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. She is currently at work on a book about images of female performers and popular entertainment during the 1920s and 1930s.

Educational Background:

Ph.D., History of Art, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1999.
M.A., History of Art, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1994.
B.A., Art History and English, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, 1992.

Areas of Academic Interest:

  • Modern and American Art
  • American Studies
  • Cultural Studies, especially regarding issues of gender, race and class

Courses Taught:

AR 114 Introduction to Art Issues (1)
An introductory discussion course designed for beginning studio art and art history majors. Students are introduced to the language and methods of verbal and written visual analysis, and to political and social issues surrounding the production and consumption of art today. Fall.

AR 216 Survey of Art History II: Renaissance to the Present (1)
A slide lecture course that provides the general student as well as the art major with an introduction to the language and methodology of art history. Focus is placed on stylistic development and its relation to cultural and historical contexts. Artists studied include Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Monet, Picasso, Dali, and O'Keeffe (an IC designated course). Spring.

AR 316 American Art (1)
A study of the visual arts of the United States and their social-historical contexts from the Colonial period to 1945. Prerequisite: AR 216 or consent. Fall.

AR 415 Nineteenth-Century Art (1)
A study of the major European art movements from about 1760 to 1900, with a brief inclusion of their correlation in America. Focus is given to viewing artworks in their social historical contexts (an IC designated course). Prerequisite: AR 216 or consent. Fall.

AR 416 Twentieth-Century Art (1)
A study of the major European and American art movements from 1900 to the present. Focus is given to viewing artworks in their social historical contexts (an IC designated course). Prerequisite: AR 216 or consent. Spring.

AR 470 Art History Seminar (1)
Problems in art history, taught by the seminar method. This course may be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: consent. Spring.

AR 473 Senior Capstone in Art History