Emily Burns

Emily Burns serves as the Terra Foundation Visiting Professor in American Art at the University of Oxford and holds a Visiting Professorial Fellowship at the Rothermere American Institute (RAI). She delivered the 2021 Terra Lectures on "Performing Innocence: US Artists in Paris, 1865-1914" while actively engaging with History of Art graduate students during the pandemic through virtual academic events.

Her research centers on transnational dialogues about American identity in fin-de-siècle Paris, analyzing how visual, literary, and popular culture constructed narratives of "American innocence." She examines tensions between Francophilia and Francophobia among US artists, leveraging rich archival materials including letters, diaries, newspapers, and illustrated magazines from Giverny and US artist clubs. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges art history with cultural studies, American studies, and gender studies.

Burns emphasizes interdisciplinary scholarship as critical for tracing cultural discourses, advising graduate students to explore connections across art history, literary studies, African American Studies, and Native studies. During her Oxford residency, she participated in TORCH and Department of History seminars while conducting research on US cultural production in Paris despite pandemic constraints.