Featured Art History Capstone Exhibition Project: "Scourge: Diseases that Shaped History" (2018)
The B.A. Art History capstone course, led by Assistant Professor Noa Turel, Ph.D., assesses students’ knowledge of art history and assists them in applying what they have learned. Students explore post-baccalaureate options, prepare professional materials, and hone art historical skills through activities such as conducting research, writing for different audiences, curating exhibitions and presenting research at a symposium.
In Fall of 2018, the B.A. Art History capstone students curated “Scourge: Diseases That Shaped History” at UAB’s Reynolds-Finley Historical Library. In addition to the exhibition, the students hosted a special guest lecture by Michael Saag, M.D.; students also gave a series of curator’s talks during the exhibition’s run.
Student curators Kelsey Jones, Oakleigh Pinson, Tina Ruggieri, and Brooklynne Todd say they chose the topic because of the items the library possesses in its collection. The students, with the help of the Reynolds-Finley Historical Collection and the Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences, chose what to feature for a look at the history of healing arts.
“As art history students, we thought it would be fascinating to express disease and medicine visually in the forms of illustrations, text and significant items from the collection that would bear relevance to the topics,” Pinson said.
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