Beyond Office Hours
From Park Ranger to Professor
Susie Chang
Issue date: 11/3/05 Section: Features
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Professor Dana Leibsohn's office is hidden at the corner of Hillyer, a.k.a. "the art building," which is somewhat foreign to non-art students. The first thing you notice in this roomy office may be the tall green plants by the window, but as soon as you are settled down comfortably in the chair, you will notice Leibsohn's genuine interest in you as well as many other students.
Leibsohn teaches courses on Latin American, American Indian, and African visual culture, especially focusing on indigenous visual culture in colonial Latin America.
In fact, it was her interest in Latin America that led her to pursue the study of art history in graduate school at University of Colorado. After graduating from Bryn Mawr College where she majored in anthropology, she dreamed of working in conservation. "I graduated with a degree in anthropology, and I worked for awhile as a park ranger before graduate school," she said. "I was interested in conservation, and needed chemistry and art history," she explained.
She described the transition of her interests by mentioning the place of art that was consistently present throughout her educational career. "I changed to art history and did research on Latin America, a kind of archaeological topic," she said. "I realized [the] things that were most exciting were [the] visual things. It was a good way for me to combine anthropology and art history."
Leibsohn realized she enjoyed teaching rather than field work in conservation. "I didn't like just working with objects. I enjoy research and working with students and particularly with college students because they want to be here. I enjoy working with students who want to learn something new," she said.
The transition from a park ranger to a professor may seem dramatic, but both jobs had certain values. "I like determining my own work. I only teach what I want to teach, and that's one of the things I like about this job," she said.
Leibsohn teaches courses on Latin American, American Indian, and African visual culture, especially focusing on indigenous visual culture in colonial Latin America.
In fact, it was her interest in Latin America that led her to pursue the study of art history in graduate school at University of Colorado. After graduating from Bryn Mawr College where she majored in anthropology, she dreamed of working in conservation. "I graduated with a degree in anthropology, and I worked for awhile as a park ranger before graduate school," she said. "I was interested in conservation, and needed chemistry and art history," she explained.
She described the transition of her interests by mentioning the place of art that was consistently present throughout her educational career. "I changed to art history and did research on Latin America, a kind of archaeological topic," she said. "I realized [the] things that were most exciting were [the] visual things. It was a good way for me to combine anthropology and art history."
Leibsohn realized she enjoyed teaching rather than field work in conservation. "I didn't like just working with objects. I enjoy research and working with students and particularly with college students because they want to be here. I enjoy working with students who want to learn something new," she said.
The transition from a park ranger to a professor may seem dramatic, but both jobs had certain values. "I like determining my own work. I only teach what I want to teach, and that's one of the things I like about this job," she said.