British Art History in the US: My Time at Yale

I received the 2022/23 Fulbright Senior Research Grant and visited the Department of the History of Art at Yale University between February and August 2023 (see the cover photo where I am in front of the departmental building). I chose Yale because there are world-renowned scholar and collections for British Art History: Professor Tim Barringer and the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA; see the in-text photo where I and my children are in a display room at YCBA).

While at Yale, I conducted day-by-day archival surveys to dig information out of ancient books and old letters, and I could read, on a daily basis, relevant publications to gain new knowledge and develop my thoughts. I also met with Prof. Barringer regularly to discuss ideas. These three things (studying archival materials, reading the latest books, and meeting with professors) brought me back to one of the sweetest years in my life: my doctoral years in London, UK. It is blissful to be able to work in such a tranquil, rewarding, and independent manner at Yale. This slow work pattern is what I, a busy associate professor, need the most. I thank the Fulbright Foundation and the Yale faculty and staff for making these precious seven months of uninterrupted art-historical study possible.  

Culture-wise, I learned about university life in the US, and as a mom with young children, I also learned what it is like to attend a public school in New Haven, Connecticut. More importantly, both the people in the university and the public school hold positive attitudes towards things and treat people nicely. For example, the faculty I met at Yale are liberal-minded. They spoke with optimism. I felt motivated every time I talked to them. As an art historian, my home department is based on studio arts and design and never focuses on art history. This plight is common among many art historians in Taiwan. After this Fulbright visit at Yale and after getting along with the happy and encouraging colleagues there, I regained my self-confidence as an art historian, and I hope that Art History as a decent discipline will develop in a better way in Taiwan in the future. Like the university faculty, the teachers in my children’s school are also encouraging. In their eyes, they see great potential in and good deeds of my children. Even though my children’s English was not fluent when they first arrived in New Haven, they still received frequent encouragement and support from their teachers and classmates. Overall, this Fulbright visit is fruitful to me both academically and culturally. I would like to express my gratitude again, and I wish to stay as optimistic, happy, and encouraging as the people I met in the US.