Kristine Stiles

Kristine Stiles is the France Family Distinguished Professor of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies at Duke University since 2010, with joint appointments in Theater Studies (2021–Present) and previous roles as Associate Professor with Tenure (1995–2006) and Assistant Professor (1988–1995) in Art, Art History & Visual Studies. She holds a Ph.D. (1987), M.A. (1976) from University of California, Berkeley, and B.A. (1970) from San Jose State University.

Her research interests span experimental art, performance and conceptual art, destruction and trauma studies, feminist theory, gender and race studies, and global art practices. She has contributed extensively to Fluxus studies, destruction art theory, and trauma's role in visual culture.

Her publications from 2013–2022 reveal a focus on radical aesthetics, artists' writings, and sociopolitical contexts in performance art across Europe, Africa, and the U.S. Key subfields include trauma representation, anti-art movements, digital documentation, and feminist interventions in visual studies.

Stiles has chaired or served on committees for over 20 doctoral students in Art History, Visual Studies, and related fields, including notable graduates like Camila Maroja (Brown University), Kency Cornejo (University of New Mexico), and Octavian Esanu (American University of Beirut).

She has served on editorial boards for journals like Art and Documentation (2011–2014) and Transmission: Annual (2009), and delivered lectures globally at institutions including Stanford University, MoMA, and Royal Academy of Fine Arts/Ghent University.