MARK PARKER MILLER I ’M A DOCTORAL CANDIDATE (ABD)

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Mark Parker Miller

MARK PARKER MILLER I ’M A DOCTORAL CANDIDATE (ABD) Mark Parker Miller


IMARK PARKER MILLER I ’M A DOCTORAL CANDIDATE (ABD) ’m a doctoral candidate (ABD) in art history and the parent of two daughters (one who is 7 and one who turns 4 in October). In August, Beth and I vacationed in Vermont to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. For nearly 18 of the years we’ve been together my goal has been to become a professor. I was a teaching assistant for three years–two at the University of Massachusetts (while obtaining my masters degree) and one at the University of Delaware. At UD, I also have been the instructor for three courses on my own.


I think my students would describe me as a teacher who is accessible, fair, creative and persistent (okay, some might say stubborn). I usually avoid specialized vocabulary, choosing instead to explain concepts in language that is understandable to a wider audience. I try to demystify art—I want students to be able to relate to art and talk about it without being intimidated. I also try to challenge students to look beyond their own biases. Much about how I teach is motivated by a concern for justice. I try to be a good listener and to make it comfortable for students to talk with me and ask questions. I look for ways to reach out to students who might be feeling marginalized (what can I do so no one is left out?). I’m willing to try unconventional approaches, to challenge the status quo—I don’t necessarily do things the easy way, especially if I see a way that might be better. And I don’t give up easily—sometimes that’s good, sometimes not. My friends know me as a person with a great sense of humor, but I suspect my students don’t see enough of that side of me.


My favorite teacher was probably Walter Denny, who teaches at the University of Massachusetts. His style was down-to-earth, presenting art history in a way that made it very accessible. His expectations of students and his ideas about teaching were remarkably practical (while also embodying much idealism). He advised students to build on their strengths when selecting research topics. Instead of asking students to recall memorized names and dates as is part of too many art history exams, Walter’s tests had a section of short answer questions about information that seemed more important for understanding and interpreting the art. For graduate students, he was a wellspring of practical advice on the craft of being an art history professor. He was also very entertaining—he understood the important role that humor and performance plays in communicating to an audience. He would warn students that there is a special layer of hell reserved for those who harm library books (especially art books). I also admire that he wasn’t afraid to take a position and express opinions.


The most difficult moment in my teaching happened the first time I was a TA (for a class Walter Denny was teaching, coincidently). It was after I returned the first assignments that I had ever graded. When I got back to my office there was a long line of upset students waiting to talk with me. For much of an afternoon I met with them one at a time to talk about why I graded their work the way I did. Some were very emotional; with some there were tears; it was such a painful experience! Fortunately, it’s never been that bad since then. My more recent students probably wouldn’t call me an easy grader, so maybe I’m just more tactful in my grading.


I’m a native of central Pennsylvania, where I attended public schools through high school and where I obtained a BA in German language and culture at Juniata College (a private, liberal arts institution). I also studied for a year in Germany as an undergraduate (Philipps Universität, Marburg) and lived for about five years in Ohio before moving to Massachusetts (and studying at a large, public, research university). My parents did not attend college and while some of my siblings have a bachelor’s or master’s degree, I’m the first to pursue a Ph.D.


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