Sara K. Berkowitz, PhD
- Assistant Professor of Art History
- Arts & Culture
- Gender & Sexuality
Affiliated Programs
Education
- PhD, Art History and Archaeology (2020)
The University of Maryland at College Park (MD) - MA, Art History (2012)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (NJ) - BA, Art History and Anthropology (2006)
The University of Mary Washington (VA)
About Me
I specialize in the history of pre-and early modern art, particularly in southern Italy, Spain, and the Spanish colonies. My research primarily focuses on the relationship between medical theories, social attitudes, and visual representations of the human body in media ranging from paintings to prints, and issues of gender and sexuality, more broadly.
In my dissertation I explored these themes through the concept of the gender-ambiguous body, focusing on subjects whose bodies have transformed either through medical or spiritual means resulting in a blurring of gender and sexual boundaries.
Noteworthy
- Art History Faculty Named a Periclean Faculty Leader
Sara Berkowitz, assistant professor of art history, has been selected as a Periclean Faculty Leader. The grant will help to fund a new humanities course in the College of Arts & Sciences which will expose students to cultural themes in art and allow for community engagement in collaboration with the Cultural Arts and Technology Center (CAAT) in Chester.
“With this new course students will not only learn about the value of the arts as a medium for communicating important messages about civil rights, but they will also give back to their community by supporting local artists and art forms that are often ignored in the traditional canon of art history,” said Berkowitz.
The new course, "Art History 188: Public Art: From Monuments to Murals", is set to begin in Spring 2025 and will be open to all students.
Periclean Faculty Leaders are a group of committed scholars dedicated to incorporating civic engagement into the curriculum while empowering students to use their academic knowledge to tackle real-world problems. Through the support of this program, they are leaders on campus and within a larger national context.
Share link: https://www.widener.edu/news/noteworthy/art-history-faculty-named-periclean-faculty-leader
- Art History Professor to Attend CIC Summer Seminar
Assistant Professor of Art History Sara Berkowitz has been selected to attend the Council of Independent Colleges’ upcoming seminar “Power and Absence: Connecting Renaissance Art to Diverse Audiences,” in Memphis, Tennessee.
The seminar will explore European art ca. 1400-1700 and discuss ways to open conversations about historical representations of different populations. Attendees will collaborate and have special access to works from the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, tour of the National Civil Rights Museum, and hear from experts in the art history field. The goal is for attending faculty to develop ways to approach potentially difficult conversations around representation in historical art pieces in their classrooms so that they are engaging and beneficial for students.
Dr. Berkowitz hopes to strengthen her knowledge and continue to grow opportunities for students to have powerful conversations around art.
Share link: https://www.widener.edu/news/noteworthy/art-history-professor-attend-cic-summer-seminar