Lost (and Found) in Translation Programs Continue

Dr. Kathryn Floyd, art historian in the Auburn University Department of Art, will kick off the spring College of Liberal Arts Common Reading Series at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 1 in Biggin Hall auditorium. The public is invited.

Speaking on “Creating Visual Narratives: Exhibitions in Space and Time,” Floyd will develop the connections between visual narrative and literary narrative. The College of Liberal Arts common book selection, The Arabian Nights, represents one of the oldest and best known traditions of storytelling. Exhibitions can also tell a story and Floyd will expand on the capacity for narrative represented by visual art and its display.

Floyd teaches courses in modern and contemporary art, as well as in the history of the arts of Africa and the United States. She has a B.A. degree in fine arts and anthropology from Vanderbilt University, an M.A. degree in art history from the University of Georgia, and a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Iowa. Before coming to Auburn, Dr. Floyd served as a visiting assistant professor at Skidmore College. Dr. Floyd's research is concerned with the history of exhibitions as well as the history of art in Germany. She has written about the expressionist artists Käthe Kollwitz and Wilhelm Lehmbruck as well as about the German Dada movement.

Her current research examines postwar German art and art institutions. The structure and format of Documenta, an international mega-exhibition of contemporary art that takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany, was the focus of her dissertation, which won the University of Iowa Graduate Deans' Distinguished Dissertation Prize in the Humanities for 2006. She is currently writing a book manuscript that examines Documenta in the context of postwar German debates about art, culture, and identity.

Based on the idea that reading and discussion can build community and engagement among faculty, staff and students, CLA’s Common Book Program features The Arabians Nights in classes and public programs. All CLA students, as well as faculty and staff, are encouraged to read the book and join in discussions and other events that explore themes of storytelling, translation, adaptation and appropriation.

Upcoming “Lost (and Found) in Translation” programs include part two of “Creating Visual Narratives,” a lecture by Auburn University history professor Aaron Shapiro on Feb. 15 and a panel discussion by Foreign Language Department faculty on Feb. 21. A complete list of events may be found here.