I was deleting through all this, but after reading three different versions
of M. H.'s replies I am prompted to ask: there is racism and illogical
preferences made in hiring of all types.  Some examples, from my own limited
experience: I know a Japanese woman, educated in the U.S., who got so tired
of having to explain why she wanted to be an historian of Roman art instead
of Japanese, that she gave up her graduate studies.  I know of a black
graduate student, who, the last I heard, was not very happy about constantly
being asked why he was in ItalRen instead of some type of "black studies".  I
know that some people assume that because I'm of Italian background (though
actually I'm mostly Irish) that I have a natural affinity for ItalRen stuff.

I think that some consideration here should be made for how people often get
tracked into areas of study that others consider appropriate for them.  My
former institution offers several courses in African and African-American
art, but from my own observations I would say that fewer than 10% of the
students go on to enroll in upper-division courses outside of that area.
Also, I have heard it said many times that research in African,
African-American, and Asian art is still relatively developed--the catch
phrase usually being "Research here is at the level that it was for the
Italian Renaissance 100 years ago."  What graduate student, hearing that,
wouldn't want to get in on the groundfloor, instead of being just the latest
to do a diss. on some minor facet of Impressionism or Michelangelo?

A last consideration: there are a great many world-class scholars of Asian
and African (etc) art who are not of that racial persuasion; but I don't
think that the same can really be said for Medieval, Renaissance, or Baroque
subjects (other areas I can't speak for, and modern and contemporary art is
of course different).

The areas of affirmative action, equity, and education are filled with
subjects that don't get discussed--now that we don't have M.H. to kick around
anymore, why not some consideration of these?

Adrienne DeAngelis
(unemployed elitist Art Historian)
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