Affiliated Departments & Programs

Dani Ezor specializes in the material culture of exchange in the early modern French and Spanish empires, with a focus on gender, race, and colonialism in the long eighteenth century. They teach courses on Latin American and Caribbean art, race and colonialism, material culture, and ecocriticism in the early modern era as well as Intro to Art of the Americas and Intro to Western Art: Renaissance to Contemporary. They previously taught at Texas State University, San Marcos and Southern Methodist University, where they received their Ph.D. in 2023.

Ezor’s research focuses on the materiality of luxury goods, such as porcelain, lacquer, silver, tropical hardwood, cotton, and tortoiseshell. They are currently finishing their first book project: “Violent Beauties: Race, Gender, and Materiality at the Toilette in the Early Modern French Empire.” In this book, Ezor uses ecocriticism, theories of the object, and post-colonial theory to examine the materials and material culture of the toilette table in the French Caribbean and France prior to the French Revolution. They argue that the objects and consumables of the toilette table not only allow for but actively construct white femininity often at the expense of forced Black and Indigenous labor. Ezor published an excerpt of this project as an article with Journal18: “‘White when polished:’ Race, Gender, and the Materiality of Silver at the Toilette Table.” Their second book project addresses tortoiseshell as a marine material in early modern material culture focusing on Spanish America and the Caribbean.

Ezor also has a background in printmaking and bookmaking, and other research interests include print culture, the art of the book, queer art and queer theory.

Areas of Expertise

18th-century French empire, colonial Latin America and the Caribbean, race and postcolonialism, early modern exchange

Education

2023 — Doctor of Philosophy from Southern Methodist College

2016 — Master of Arts from Williams College

2013 — Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College

Courses Recently Taught

This course surveys Western art and architecture from the Renaissance to the present. Framing the study of art history within a social context, this course provides students with the tools for understanding style and interpreting meaning in individual works of art. Although this is a lecture format, discussion is encouraged. This counts toward the 100-level course requirement and Europe and Americas place requirements for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every semester.

Various topics in the history of early modern art between the late 13th and 18th centuries are explored in a seminar format. Each seminar provides a forum for the in-depth study of the methods of art historical research. Discussion of weekly readings, classroom presentations and research papers are required. This counts toward the Europe and the Americas place and the 600-1800 time requirements for the major. This course can be repeated up to two times for credit, so long as each covers different topics. Sophomore standing.

Normally, students may enroll in an individual study only if they have taken all the courses offered by the department in that particular area of the curriculum. Exceptions to this rule are at the discretion of the instructor with the support of the department. Individual study is considered an advanced course and, as such, the work produced should be the equivalent of a seminar or high-level intermediate class. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in art history courses is required. Exceptions to this rule are at the discretion of the instructor with the consent of the department. The professor and the student should establish and agree on the extent and nature of the work required for the individual study. This may take several forms: several short papers, one long paper, one in-depth project (small exhibition or assisting in doing research for an exhibition), a large (and lengthy) generalized outline and annotated bibliography, public presentations and so on. The student and the professor should meet on a regular basis. The frequency is to be determined by the professor in consultation with the student. Students must seek the permission of the instructor before enrolling. Individual study is undertaken at the discretion of the instructor and must be approved by the department. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study by the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the deadline.