The Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory is excited to announce Jillian Lerner’s appointment as an assistant professor of teaching (tenure-track) in art history. In addition to teaching undergraduate courses, Jillian will advance educational leadership in art history which includes, among other things, academic planning, curriculum and program development, and innovation.
Jillian specializes in nineteenth-century visual culture, with an emphasis on print, early photography, and commercial visual attractions. She studied art history at Columbia University, completing her PhD in 2006.
“I am elated to take on this new role in the educational leadership stream. I'm grateful for the opportunity to focus on teaching and collaborate with peers in the department and Media Studies. And I look forward to learning with our wonderful students.”
She will teach these courses in the upcoming academic year:
History of Photography: Archive, Spectacle, Reality
History and theory of photography, from the competitive context of invention in the 1830s to contemporary uses in social media.
Film and the City
The complex interrelations between film and the city; dominant urban theories, film technologies and viewing practices and the intersections between them.
Jillian’s research has appeared in Grey Room, History of Photography, and Oxford Art Journal. She is the author of two books: Graphic Culture: Illustration and Artistic Enterprise in Paris, 1830–1848 (McGill-Queens University Press, 2018) and Experimental Self-Portraits in Early French Photography, published by Routledge in 2020.
Jillian has previously taught in the department and has an excellent record of teaching. She was nominated for the Killam Teaching Prize and received recognition as one of the top instructors in the UBC Faculty of Arts from 2013 to 2015. We look forward to her contributions to educational leadership in the department.
