Jimena Berzal de Dios, PhD

She/her

Professor

Office

Location

FI 119

Hours

Fall 2023: MW 1:30 - 3

Winter 2024: MW 11:30 - 1

Spring 2024 - On leave

Contact

Email

berzalj@wwu.edu

Phone

360-650-3733

Website

https://wwu.academia.edu/Berzal

About

^{"We cannot live in world that is not our own, a world that is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a home. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening, to use our own voice, to see our own light."}

^{–Hildegard of Bingen, medieval Abbess extraordinaire.}

^{"Learning is not attained by chance."}

^{–Abigail Adams, political thinker.}

English \| Español
I am excited to have the opportunity of being a contributor to your experience and success at WWU. I know that approaching professors can be intimidating, but I'm here to help you academically. Feel free to contact me if you have questions about my courses or our art history program. I'm originally from Spain and have been in the US since 2000, living in LA, NYC, and OH before arriving at Western in 2014. I hold a PhD in art history from the Ohio State University, and a combined BA/MA in philosophy and a BA in art history from City University of New York, Queens College. I began undergraduate when I was 27 years old--before then, I worked as a sound engineer and designer, working mostly in theatre and live music. At Western, I teach courses on European art (from 1400 to 1800), as well as aesthetics, theory, and historiography. I consider myself first and foremost a teacher. I'm always interested in fomenting dialogue in the classroom and exploring artworks and ideas in depth. In my classes, my goal is to embrace art in a sophisticated, but not pedantic way. My research and writing explores notions of reception, civic engagement, and the afterlives of artworks through an interdisciplinary lens... in more colloquial terms, I study how artwork are experienced by their many viewers, past and present, and how art can be understood through a philosophical point of view. You can find my essays in my academia.edu page. A bit about me as a person in the world… Some of my favorite activities are cooking, thrifting, and reading. Book-wise, I’d recommend Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose and the Dorothy Richardson's Pilgrimage series. In terms of entertainment, I gravitate towards the 50s-70s. I’m a fan of The Donna Reed Show and anything Mary Tyler Moore. The music of Motown records and the "girl-group sound" often play at home, which I share with my partner and their trouble-maker cat.	Estoy encantada de tener la oportunidad de contribuir a vuestras experiencias y éxitos en WWU. Sé que los profesores pueden parecer intimidantes, pero estoy aqui para ayudarte académicamente. Contacta conmigo si tienes preguntas sobre mis cursos o la historia del arte. Nacida en España, vivo en los Estados Unidos desde el año 2000, habitando en LA, NYC, y OH antes de llegar a WWU en 2014. Tengo un doctorado en historia del arte de la Ohio State University y una licenciatura/maestría (conjunta) en filosofía y una licenciatura en historia del arte de la City University of New York, Queens College. Empecé la universidad tarde, a los 27 años--antes era ingeniera y diseñadora de sonido, trabajando sobre todo en teatro y música en directo. En Western, imparto cursos de historia de arte europeo (de 1400 al 1800), así como teoría estética e historiografía. Como docente, me interesa fomentar el diálogo en el aula y explorar obras de arte e ideas en profundidad. En mis clases, mi objetivo es abordar la historia del arte de una manera sofisticada, pero no pedante. Mi investigación explora las nociones de recepción, encuentros cívicos y el devenir histórico de las obras de arte. En términos más coloquiales, esto quiere decir que me interesa como las obras de artes son y han sido vistas por los espectadores y como pueden ser comprendidas a través de un marco filosófico. Mis ensayos estas disponibles en mi página de academia.edu . Un poco sobre mi... Me gusta cocinar, thrifting, y leer. En libros, recomiendo El Nombre de la Rosa, de Umberto Eco y la serie de Dorothy Richardson Pilgrimage. Suelo gravitar a la cultura de los 50 a los 70. Me gustan series de televisión como las de Donna Reed y Mary Tyler Moore, Discos de Motown y del sonido "girl group." suenan a menudo en casa, la que comparto con mi pareja y su gata revoltosa.

English | Español

I am excited to have the opportunity of being a contributor to your experience and success at WWU. I know that approaching professors can be intimidating, but I'm here to help you academically. Feel free to contact me if you have questions about my courses or our art history program.

I'm originally from Spain and have been in the US since 2000, living in LA, NYC, and OH before arriving at Western in 2014. I hold a PhD in art history from the Ohio State University, and a combined BA/MA in philosophy and a BA in art history from City University of New York, Queens College. I began undergraduate when I was 27 years old--before then, I worked as a sound engineer and designer, working mostly in theatre and live music.

At Western, I teach courses on European art (from 1400 to 1800), as well as aesthetics, theory, and historiography. I consider myself first and foremost a teacher. I'm always interested in fomenting dialogue in the classroom and exploring artworks and ideas in depth. In my classes, my goal is to embrace art in a sophisticated, but not pedantic way. My research and writing explores notions of reception, civic engagement, and the afterlives of artworks through an interdisciplinary lens... in more colloquial terms, I study how artwork are experienced by their many viewers, past and present, and how art can be understood through a philosophical point of view. You can find my essays in my academia.edu page.

A bit about me as a person in the world… Some of my favorite activities are cooking, thrifting, and reading. Book-wise, I’d recommend Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose and the Dorothy Richardson's Pilgrimage series. In terms of entertainment, I gravitate towards the 50s-70s. I’m a fan of The Donna Reed Show and anything Mary Tyler Moore. The music of Motown records and the "girl-group sound" often play at home, which I share with my partner and their trouble-maker cat.

Estoy encantada de tener la oportunidad de contribuir a vuestras experiencias y éxitos en WWU. Sé que los profesores pueden parecer intimidantes, pero estoy aqui para ayudarte académicamente. Contacta conmigo si tienes preguntas sobre mis cursos o la historia del arte.

Nacida en España, vivo en los Estados Unidos desde el año 2000, habitando en LA, NYC, y OH antes de llegar a WWU en 2014. Tengo un doctorado en historia del arte de la Ohio State University y una licenciatura/maestría (conjunta) en filosofía y una licenciatura en historia del arte de la City University of New York, Queens College. Empecé la universidad tarde, a los 27 años--antes era ingeniera y diseñadora de sonido, trabajando sobre todo en teatro y música en directo.

En Western, imparto cursos de historia de arte europeo (de 1400 al 1800), así como teoría estética e historiografía. Como docente, me interesa fomentar el diálogo en el aula y explorar obras de arte e ideas en profundidad. En mis clases, mi objetivo es abordar la historia del arte de una manera sofisticada, pero no pedante. Mi investigación explora las nociones de recepción, encuentros cívicos y el devenir histórico de las obras de arte. En términos más coloquiales, esto quiere decir que me interesa como las obras de artes son y han sido vistas por los espectadores y como pueden ser comprendidas a través de un marco filosófico. Mis ensayos estas disponibles en mi página de academia.edu .

Un poco sobre mi... Me gusta cocinar, thrifting, y leer. En libros, recomiendo El Nombre de la Rosa, de Umberto Eco y la serie de Dorothy Richardson Pilgrimage. Suelo gravitar a la cultura de los 50 a los 70. Me gustan series de televisión como las de Donna Reed y Mary Tyler Moore, Discos de Motown y del sonido "girl group." suenan a menudo en casa, la que comparto con mi pareja y su gata revoltosa.

PUBLICATIONS

Book

Visual Experiences in Cinquecento Theatrical Spaces. University of Toronto Press, 2019.

**Articles and essays ( * asterisk indicates peer-review publication)**

* “An Epistolary Education.” Sixteenth Century Journal – Early Modern Classroom Supplement 51, no. S1 (2020): 65-70.
* “Chthonic Restitutions: Madness and Oblivion.” SubStance 49, no. 3 (2020):3-18
* “Uccello’s Fluttering Monument to Hawkwood, with Schwob and Artaud.” diacritics 44, no. 2 (2016):86-103
* “Velázquez’s Democritus: Global Disillusion and the Critical Hermeneutics of a Smile.” Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme 39, no. 1 (2016): 35-62
* “A Note on Deleuze and Renaissance Art.” SubStance 45, no. 1 (2016): 44-65
“In the Classroom with Professor Hilail Gildin.” Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy 43, no. 1 (2016):15-17.
“Slow Teaching.” Art History Teaching Resources. September 2015. Web.
“Learning Evolves.” Smarthistory Blog. August 2015. Web.
“The Name of the Rose, as yet.” apt, Tenth-Anniversary Issue (2015).
“Palladio and Scamozzi, Teatro Olimpico.” Smarthistory. October 2015. Web.
* “Conjuring the Concept of Rome:Alterity and Synecdoche in Peruzzi’s Design for La Calandria.” Sixteenth Century Journal 45, no. 1 (2014): 25-50
“Andrea Palladio, Villa Rotonda.” Smarthistory. September 2013. Web.
“The Surrender of Breda by Diego Velázquez.” Smarthistory. May 2013. Web.

Curator

Estival Observations: Space, Monument, Thought. Western Gallery, WWU: Bellingham, Summer 2018.