Wendy Ligon Smith

I have always been drawn to examining history, memory, and ideas of the past through images and objects. I am particularly interested in the various ways artists, novelists, and philosophers have visualized time and how we experience the passing of time. Instead of being passive listeners, viewers, or readers, I encourage students to critically think about the histories they have been taught, and to ponder the reliability of the stories they have been told as we investigate how personal perspectives and identity affect the way we teach, talk about, and represent the past. We apply this thinking to our own lives and family histories as well as using it to become more actively discerning about the way we hear the stories of the past in other contexts such as the university classroom, novels, museums, films, etc..

I teach in both the Differences and Aesthetics Engagement areas, finding that themes of time and memory, and the important role of objects in material and visual culture, are pertinent to a wide range of disciplines and modes of inquiry. I was drawn to the Engagements program’s interdisciplinarity because I believe it more naturally models the research environment most academics are working within. This atmosphere invites students to enjoy the freedom of intellectual curiosity with academic rigor. My own research intersects with the disciplines of art history, musicology, fashion history, English, French and Italian Studies, history of science, and history of theatre.