Keri Watson, Ph.D.
Keri Watson is Assistant Professor of Art History in the School of Visual Arts and Design as well affiliated faculty in the Texts and Technology Ph.D. Program at UCF. She teaches upper level courses in 19th- and 20th-Century Art, American Art, and the History of Photography, as well as special topics courses: “The Art of Walt Disney,” “Southern Folk Arts,” and "African American Art." Dr. Watson's research, which focuses on the power of art to contribute to and challenge stereotypical representations of race, nationality, gender, sex, and dis/ability, has been recognized and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the Fulbright-Terra Foundation, the Southeastern College Art Conference, and the Society for the Preservation of American Modernism.
Education
- Ph.D. in Art History from Florida State University (2010)
- M.A. in Art History from Florida State University (2006)
- B.A. in Interdisciplinary Humanities from University of West Florida (2004)
Research Interests
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- History of Photography and Film
- American Studies
- Prison Education
Selected Publications
Books
- Watson, Keri. Art of the Non-Western World. Dubuque: Great River Learning, 2017.
Films
- Watson, Keri, and Tim Reid. One More Dollar. Film. 2017.
- Watson, Keri. The Burden of History. Digital Story, 2016.
- Watson, Keri, Milos Adjinovis and Yson Dickson. Ward Hall: King of the Sideshow. Film, 2015.
- Watson, Keri, Milos Adjinovis and Yson Dickson. Johnny Meah: Czar of Bizarre. Film, 2015.
Articles/Essays
- Watson, Keri. “You’ve Got Art: Florida’s Post Office Murals.” In Florida Studies Review. Edited by Allyson D. Marino and Marcy L. Galbreath, 88-101. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2018.
- Watson, Keri. "Curating Controversy in the Trump Era." Museums and Social Issues: A Journal of Reflective Discourse (2017). http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/M35W9CjRNJwqZaK3rwsu/full
- Watson, Keri, and Anastasia Salter. “Secret Societies of the Avant-garde,” GLS 11 Conference Proceedings, eds. Kyrie H. Caldwell et al (2016): 440-43.
- Watson, Keri, and Anastasia Salter. "Playing Art Historian: Teaching 20th-Century Art through Alternate Reality Gaming," International Journal for Scholarship of Technology Enhanced Learning 1:1 (2016): 100-111.
- Watson, Keri. “Disability in Art History.” Art History Teaching Resources Lesson Plans (2015).
- Watson, Keri. "'Before We Were Us, We Were Them': Curating Controversy," Journal of Museum Education 39 (2014): 96-107.
- Watson, Keri. “Parody as Political Tool in Patricia Cronin’s Memorial to a Marriage.” Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 43:2 (2010): 79-94.
- Fredericks, Keri. “The Country Cousin: Advocating an Arcadian America.” Athanor 26 (2008): 81-89.
Book Sections/Chapters
- Watson, Keri. “Picturing the Other: Disability and Difference in Eudora Welty’s Photographs and Stories.” Teaching the Works of Eudora Welty: Twenty-first Century Approaches. Eds. Julia Eichelberger and Mae Miller Claxton. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2018.
- Watson, Keri and Patsy Moskal. “Scaling an Art History Reacting to the Past Game for Use at a Large Public University.” Playing to Learn with Reacting to the Past. Eds. C. Edward Watson and Thomas Chase Hagood. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
- Watson, Keri. "Difference and Disability: The Photography of Margaret Bourke-White." Disability and Art History. Eds. Ann Millet-Gallant and Elizabeth Howie. New York: Routledge, 2017.
- Watson, Keri. Eudora Welty’s Making a Date, Grenada, Mississippi: One Photograph, Five Performances.” Eudora Welty, Whiteness, and Race. Ed.Harriet Pollack. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2013.
- Wylder, Viki Thompson and Keri Fredericks. “Evoke/Invoke/Provoke: A Case Study of Judy Chicago’s Feminist Pedagogy, Vanderbilt University, Spring Semester 2006." In Florida Without Borders: Women at the Intersections of the Local and Global, edited by Sharon Kay Masters, 141-60. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2008.
Awards
2018 National Endowment for the Arts Artworks Grant (Florida Prison Education Project)
2018 . Southeastern College Art Conference Award for Outstanding Exhibition
2018 Association of American Colleges and Universities Endeavor Foundation Grant
2018 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read (Station Eleven)
2018 American Association of State Colleges and Universities Grant
2017 Fulbright-Terra Foundation Award in the History of American Art
2017 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read (The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears)
2017 Institute of Museum and Library Services Grant
2017 UCF Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award
2016 UCF Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning Faculty Fellow
2016 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read (The Grapes of Wrath)
2015 Society for the Preservation of American Modernists Grant
2015 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read (Their Eyes Were Watching God)
2015 UCF Office of Commercialization and Research In-House Research Grant
2014 UCF College of Arts and Humanities Research Initiative Program Grant
2013 Southeastern College Art Conference Award for Best Exhibition of Historical Materials
Activities
Director, The Florida Prison Education Project
Art Editor, Aquifer: The Florida Review Online
Courses
| Course Number | Course | Title | Mode | Date and Time | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10017 | ARH2500 | History of Non-western Art | World Wide Web (W) | Unavailable | |
| No Description Available | |||||
| 11405 | ARH3610 | American Art | Mixed-Mode/Reduce Seat-Time(M) | Tu 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM | Unavailable |
| No Description Available | |||||
| 20615 | ARH3631 | African-american Art | Mixed-Mode/Reduce Seat-Time(M) | M 12:00 PM - 01:15 PM | Unavailable |
| No Description Available | |||||
| Course Number | Course | Title | Mode | Date and Time | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81719 | ARH3888 | Art of Walt Disney | World Wide Web (W) | Available | |
This course provides an overview of the life and art of Walt Disney, including animation, film, and theme park design. |
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| 81363 | ARH4430 | 19th Century Art | Face to Face Instruction (P) | M,W 03:00 PM - 04:15 PM | Available |
A survey of the trends and developments in art during the 19th century, including the art of America and Western Europe. |
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| 91383 | ARH5897 | Adv Seminar in Art History | Face to Face Instruction (P) | M 06:00 PM - 08:50 PM | Available |
This course provides an in-depth study of Contemporary Art and Critical Theory. Organized thematically, this course will examine the art movements, styles, artists, and theories that animate contemporary critical debate. |
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| Course Number | Course | Title | Mode | Session | Date and Time | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50944 | ARH3888 | Art of Walt Disney | World Wide Web (W) | A | Available | |
This course considers Disney and his company in relation to art, society, and culture through the study of his contributions in the realms of animation, film, and the theme park. The scholarship on Disney is vast and diverse and weekly readings from Steven Watts' The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life stress Disney’s life and historical context. You do NOT need to buy this book. It is available as an e-book from the John C. Hitt Library. |
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| Course Number | Course | Title | Mode | Date and Time | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10018 | ARH2500 | History of Non-western Art | World Wide Web (W) | Unavailable | |
This course provides a survey of African, South and Southeast Asian, Islamic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Oceanic, South American, Mesoamerican, Caribbean, and Indigenous North American art. The recommended textbook is a digital interactive e-book, Art of the Non-Western World. |
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| 11600 | ARH3610 | American Art | Mixed-Mode/Reduce Seat-Time(M) | Tu 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM | Unavailable |
This course presents an introduction to the major artists and artworks of the United States from the Colonial period to the present. The textbook is Frances K. Pohl, Framing American Art. |
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| 21183 | ARH3888 | Art of Walt Disney | World Wide Web (W) | Unavailable | |
This course considers Disney and his company in relation to art, society, and culture through the study of his contributions in the realms of animation, film, and the theme park. The scholarship on Disney is vast and diverse and weekly readings from Steven Watts' The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life stress Disney’s life and historical context. |
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| Course Number | Course | Title | Mode | Date and Time | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91077 | ARH3888 | Art of Walt Disney | World Wide Web (W) | Available | |
Walt Disney (1901-66) was one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century. Disney's work in film and television is connected to urban planning, ecological politics, product merchandising, United States domestic and global policy, technological innovation, and the construction of a national character. This course will consider Disney and his company in relation to art, society, and culture through the study of his contributions in the realms of animation, film, and the theme park. The scholarship on Disney is vast and diverse and weekly readings from Steven Watts' The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life stress Disney’s life and historical context. This text is supplemented with interdisciplinary articles that are intended to enrich your understanding of the literature and discourse surrounding Walt Disney and his company. |
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| 81832 | ARH4350 | Baroque Art | Mixed-Mode/Reduce Seat-Time(M) | W 01:30 PM - 02:45 PM | Available |
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were an exciting period in the history of art, a time of discovery and innovation during which the arts flourished throughout Europe. This class explores the characteristics of Baroque and Rococo art and architecture with special emphasis on the socio-cultural environment. Weekly readings from Robert Neuman's Baroque and Rococo Art and Architecture (New York: Pearson, 2013) will be supplemented with scholarly articles. |
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| 81518 | ARH4430 | 19th Century Art | Face to Face Instruction (P) | M,W 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM | Available |
The nineteenth century is a period of revolution that saw the decline of the monarchy and church and the rise of democracy. These social and political changes necessitated new forms of artistic patronage and subject matter. This course presents an introduction to the major artists, works, techniques, and styles of modernity and relates them to historical and cultural contexts of the nineteenth century. Particular attention is paid to the development of modernity, including the cultural, political, and economic forces that influenced artists and art making. |
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Updated: Dec 14, 2018