Claudia Brittenham

Claudia Brittenham is Professor of Art History, Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity, and the College at the University of Chicago, where she also serves as Director of the Center for Latin American Studies. Her office is located in CWAC 261, and she holds office hours on Tuesdays from 5-6pm or by appointment. She is actively involved in the Global Ancient Art initiative, the Katz Center for Mexican Studies, the Institute for the Formation of Knowledge, and the Proyecto La Pintura Mural Prehispánica en México of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Her educational background includes a PhD and BA from Yale University. Previously, she served as Assistant Curator for Eastern Hemisphere Collections at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C.

Brittenham's research centers on the art of ancient Mesoamerica, with a focus on the materiality of art, the politics of style, and the ontology of images. She critically examines how colonial frameworks shape the discipline of art history, from the concept of "art" itself to the definition of Mesoamerica as a culture area. Her work addresses Indigenous histories, colonization, and the interconnectedness of Indigenous communities across national borders. She investigates the distance between ancient experiences of artworks (such as Aztec sculptures, Maya lintels, and buried Olmec offerings) and their modern encounters in museums.

Her recent publications (2023-2019) demonstrate a sustained engagement with Mesoamerican visual culture, particularly Maya and Aztec art, while expanding into themes of landscape, vision, and the politics of display. She has also addressed contemporary challenges in academia, such as the teaching of long-form scholarship in the digital age. A consistent thread is her critique of colonial legacies in art historical frameworks and her exploration of pre-Hispanic interconnectedness beyond modern national borders.

Although no specific scientific awards are mentioned in the provided text, Brittenham's contributions to the field are evident through her influential publications and leadership roles.

As Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Art History, Brittenham oversees the graduate program and likely advises students, though specific advisees are not listed. Her involvement in multi-institutional projects, such as the Proyecto La Pintura Mural Prehispánica en México, suggests collaborative research efforts that may be grant-funded, though specific grants are not detailed. Her current book project, The Interconnected Mesoamerican World, examines art in a borderless ancient world where people, objects, and ideas moved fluidly.

Brittenham is an active member of several research communities, including the Global Ancient Art initiative, which fosters interdisciplinary dialogue on ancient art globally. Her work with the Katz Center for Mexican Studies and the Center for Latin American Studies underscores her commitment to regional studies, while her participation in the Proyecto La Pintura Mural Prehispánica en México reflects her dedication to collaborative scholarship with Mexican institutions.