Rachel Ozerkevich has been a visiting assistant professor at Kenyon since January 2023. She previously taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she received her Ph.D. in 2022.

Her research focuses on the visual field surrounding spectator sports in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly the intersections between the illustrated sports press and painting. Her work examines how retouching, manipulation, and the arrangement of photomechanical images provided readers in Europe and North America vicarious experiences of major sports events. She is especially interested in how similar the techniques and aims of anonymous overpainters in the sports press were to those of several major modernist painters and printmakers between the 1880s and First World War.

Ozerkevich’s writing has been published or is in press in Olympika, Iron Game History: The Journal of Physical Culture, 19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century, and Sport History Review. She is currently preparing her first book, tentatively titled "Aesthetes and Athletes: Media Debates and French Sports Images, 1881-1914."

Her teaching interests span the history of photography, art and sports, the history of North American architecture, Indigenous arts of Canada and the U.S., and European modernisms.

Areas of Expertise

French and North American modern art (1850-1960), sports history and physical culture

Education

2022 — Doctor of Philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2016 — Master of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2014 — Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia

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.

This course introduces students to the study of the practical and theoretical principles governing architecture. Architectural traditions from the ancient through the contemporary period will be considered. This counts toward the 100-level course requirement for the major. No prerequisite.

This course surveys the history of photography from the medium's invention in the 1830s to the present. Key issues include the way photography functions as documentary evidence, demonstrates technological innovation, and is used as a means for artistic creativity. The role of digital imagery, social media and the internet also is addressed. Through lectures, critical readings, class presentations and discussions, students develop a comprehensive understanding of the history of the medium within specific historical and cultural contexts. Emphasis is given to the social history of photography in an international context. This counts toward the after 1800 time requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ARHS 111.

This seminar probes specific problems in modern European and contemporary art. Focusing upon a theme, artist or movement, the course provides a forum for the in-depth study of the methods of art historical research. Discussion of weekly readings, classroom presentations and research papers is required. This counts toward the after 1800 time requirement for the major. This course can be repeated up to two times for credit, so long as each covers different topics. Prerequisite: ARHS 111.