Faculty Mentor of the Week Miriam Kienle College of Fine Arts, School of Art and Visual Studies
Dr. Miriam Kienle is an Assistant Professor of Art History and Visual Studies in the UK College of Fine Arts, specializing in modern, contemporary, and American art. Kienle’s teaching and research interests include gender & sexuality, critical theory, new media, curatorial studies, and the digital humanities.
In the last year, Dr. Kienle has officially mentored two students who participated in the 2019 Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars, but her mentoring did not stop there. She explained, "I feel fortunate to have been able to closely mentor many of the students in our Art History and Visual Studies program this past year, several of whom presented at conferences, published their work, and attained competitive internships." Dr. Kienle provides opportunities for students to excel through research opportunities. "Although in-class discussion with my students often pushes me to think in new ways about my research, the most salient example of student involvement would be an exhibition that was curated with students that was on view at the Smithsonian's Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery entitled, "Pushing the Envelope: Mail Art from the Archives of American Art." Her Genres and Media seminar students researched items of mail art and wrote wall labels that provided context and significance for the work, "From their research, I learned about new artists and thought about ones I already knew in new ways." When considering research mentees, Dr. Keinle appreciates hard working, bright, intensely curious and creative thinkers, as well as students who are passionate about art history and visual studies and confident in their ideas, but are also open to feedback.
Mentoring is a learning and development partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wants to learn. When asked to explain the best thing about being an undergraduate research mentor, Dr. Kienle exclaimed, "There are so many wonderful things about being an undergraduate research mentor!" From watching her students "realize the value of truly in-depth and sustained reasearch" to seeing the students "be inspired by a theoretical proposition about which they had never thought," selecting a research topic and arriving at a research methodology that works for their project, Dr. Kienle enjoys each step in the process alongside her students. "But I think that they best thing about mentoring undergraduates, would have to be the small "ah-ha" moments when they make major realizations about their research project and things start to come together. I feel so excited for them in those moments and am grateful to be part of the process," she stated. The real value of mentoring lies in the people – the mentors and the mentees.
Kienle's personal experiences as an undergraduate research student at Centre College with phenomenal mentors inspired her education, career, and mentoring style, "I had the privilege of having a number of wonderful mentors who inspired me to want to be a researcher and educator." Whether learning the value of close looking and visual awareness, perseverance, the importance of strong research skills or inspiring her interest in feminism, aesthetics, and critical theory, Kienle explained, "Without each of them, I would not be where I am today." When asked what advice she would give to students considering undergraduate research, Dr. Kienle replied, "Go for it!" She continued, "Research expands your understanding of, and engagement with, the world. It moves you beyond simply writing papers for a grade and commits you to the topics about which you are researching and writing. It also gives you a sense as to whether or not graduate work is something you want to pursue. Serious undergraduate research can lead to important graduate and post-graduate work!"
Thank you Dr. Miriam Kienle for your unwavering support of undergraduate research at the University of Kentucky. We are pleased to recognize your dedication this week as our Faculty Mentor of the Week.
Dr. Miriam Kienle - College of Fine Arts, School of Art and Visual Studies