Shana Cooperstein
I began studying art history in 2007, and now have nearly a decade of professional experience as an art historian, publishing academic research, supporting museums and public history, and teaching in higher education institutions in the United States. I joined IE University in September 2023. My professional trajectory has taken me all over North America and now Europe—I’ve lived in Pittsburgh, Montreal, Philadelphia and now Madrid. I’m also a keen student of French.
"The humanities help us construct arguments about cultural production from a critical viewpoint when there is no preconceived blueprint for doing so."
Interpreting our cultural lives through the Humanities
Shana joined the faculty at IE University in September of 2023 after having taught at the University of Chicago, Villanova University and McGill University, among others. It’s clear that art, and its history, are hugely important to her; she describes art as a “ubiquitous feature of our cultural lives,” and “arguably one of the most exciting vehicles through which we can better understand the human condition.”
She chose to research and teach the history of art because of its interpretive value. From nineteenth-century lithographs and medieval manuscripts to ancient amphitheaters, Shana says that artifacts of all kinds have important lessons for humanity about how we construct our identity, create knowledge and generate mechanisms for cultural exchange.
Shana strongly believes that art history is a core component of the humanities, which she describes as an umbrella term used to encompass all the academic disciplines that take cultural production as their starting points. For her, the humanities pose interesting methodological challenges. According to Shana, studying art, literature, history or even film, to name just a few areas of humanistic inquiry, sets us the question; how can we meaningfully interpret aspects of our cultural lives?
Given her passion for art, it’s no surprise to learn that Shana’s free time is spent enjoying museums and art galleries—she’ll have a great time discovering everything Madrid has to offer in that area—and reading. She also loves drawing and experimenting with crafting, but it’s not all so cerebral: in concluding her chat with us, Shana reveals she has also just learned to skateboard. We’re curious to see if that comes up in class!
