Profile for Sierra Rooney

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Sierra Rooney
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Associate Professor
Art
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Specialty area(s)
Art History
- Art of the United States
- Public Art, Monuments and Memorials
- Museum Studies
- Gender Studies
Brief biography
I am a teacher and scholar of Art of the United States, commemorative practices and museum studies.
My scholarship, whether academic or public, is guided by the question of how public monuments and museum collections can be used to interrogate the intersections of art, place, history, identity, and power, looking to critical role that sculptural materiality and its symbolic value play in social conceptions of gender and race.
As an art historian, I am dedicated to activating art history to foster civic and historical engagement and social dialogue.
Current courses at UWL
ART 102: Art Appreciation
ART 251: Survey of Art History
ART 331: Art and the Environment in the U.S.
Education
Ph.D., Stony Brook University
M.A., The City College of NewYork
B.A., Emerson College
Career
Research and publishing
Books
Teachable Monuments: Using Public Art to Spark Dialogue and Confront Controversies, co-edited with Jennifer Wingate and Harriet F. Senie (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021).
Journal Articles (peer reviewed)
"The Politics of Commemorating the Woman Suffrage Movement in New York City: On Women's Rights Pioneer Monument," Journal of Urban History (August 2020).
“The Glendale Comfort Women Memorial and the Complications of Transnational Commemorations.” De Arte 53, no. 2 (Fall 2018).
“It’s Not About a Statue: Fred Wilson’s E Pluribus Unum.” Public Art Dialogue 4, no. 2 (2014).
Anthology Essays & Other Publications
Guest Editor, special issue "Public Art and Gender," Public Art Dialogue 11, no 1 (Spring 2021).
“Sakakawea’s Long Trek to the United States Capitol: Representation and Diversity in the National Statuary Hall,” Capitol Dome (Fall 2019).
“Your City is the Source: A Conversation About ICA/Vita Brevis.” In Museums and Public Art? Cher Krause Knight and Harriet Senie, eds. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018.
“Vita Brevis: A Public Art Initiative at Boston’ Institute of Contemporary Art.” In Artists Reclaim the Commons: New Works/ New Territories / New Publics. Glenn Harper and Twlene Moyer, eds. ISC Press, 2013.
News
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