April 18 Matter, Making, and Meaning Book Talk by Nancy Thompson (St. Olaf) and President Anne F. Harris
What: Matter, Making, and Meaning: Co-authoring a Medieval Art History Textbook Through Teaching, Partnership, and Life
When: 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Where: Burling First Floor Lounge
Please join the Grinnell College Libraries at 4 p.m., Apr. 18, as we continue our Faculty/Staff Research Series with President Anne F. Harris and Nancy Thompson, professor of art and art history at St. Olaf College. President Harris and Prof. Thompson will discuss their book that rejoices in the practice of co-authorship and delineates the process through which 40 collective years of teaching and inquiry informed the creation of Medieval Art, 250-1450: Matter, Making, and Meaning. They will talk through the creation of the book, from exploratory phone calls to completion, all while taking into account changes in the field of medieval art history, their lives and careers, and on their campuses. And they will discuss the space that is created in collaborative writing, the experience of thinking with a co-author, and what it means to write a book for students in this moment. Refreshments will be served.
Anne F. Harris, an energetic leader and gifted teacher, was appointed the 14th president of Grinnell College on July 14, 2020, following a unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees. During her tenure at Grinnell, President Harris has quickly become a trusted and admired member of the College community. Among her many accomplishments, she has worked in partnership with more than 200 faculty members to fulfill Grinnell’s academic mission and led initiatives to complement the excellence of the College’s academic programs and to enhance the health and well-being of the Grinnell community. She co-directed the College’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on community, social, and mental health. Her work is shaped by a principle she articulates as “civic trust” which addresses how trust is built and sustained between individuals, between individuals and institutions, and between institutions. She believes that liberal arts education prepares individuals for civic engagement and a lifetime of defining and contributing to the common good.
President Harris’s work has been marked by leadership in the areas of diversity and inclusion, academic program and community development, and financial stewardship and fundraising. She is a member of the NCAA Division III Chancellors/Presidents Advisory Group. She currently serves on the Public Relations and Policy Review Committee of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and on the board of the Iowa and Minnesota Campus Compact Board.
Harris holds a bachelor’s degree in art history and classical languages from Agnes Scott College where she earned Phi Beta Kappa honors. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in art history from the University of Chicago. A prolific researcher and author, she has published numerous articles and presented juried and invited papers. She is the co-author with Nancy Thompson (St. Olaf College) of Medieval Art, 250-1450; Matter, Making, and Meaning (Oxford University Press, 2021).
Nancy M. Thompson received her bachelor’s from Southern Methodist University and her master’s and doctorate from Indiana University in Bloomington. Nancy teaches introductory courses in art history and upper-level courses in medieval and Renaissance art. She also teaches Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies.
Thompson has also written several essays and articles about stained glass in Italy and is always at work on a book-length study of the materiality of Italian medieval stained glass.
Nancy is a founding member of the Material Collective, an organization dedicated to fostering respectful intellectual exchange and innovative scholarship in the study of the visual arts, in the academy, and in the broader public sphere.