CUSRD Keynote Speaker: Nancy Perloff, Ph. D. Chapman University's Student Research Day will feature a keynote address from the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Collections for the Getty Research Institute

Chapman University’s semi-annual Student Research Day will feature a keynote address from Nancy Perloff, Ph. D., Curator of Modern and Contemporary Collections for the Getty Research Institute. As a trained musicologist and art historian, scholarly research and creative activity have played an integral role in Perloff’s life and career. In fact, her scholarship spans a variety of subject areas, including the Russian avant garde, European modernism, and the relationship between music and the visual arts.

In her keynote address, Perloff will talk about how her career unfolded and the benefits of thinking both critically and creatively, especially when confronted with a big or unexpected challenge. With very few others as examples of people working across the fields of music and the visual arts, Perloff has frequently employed out-of-the-box solutions to resolve research dilemmas. In one such instance, Perloff was confronted with the challenge of studying Russian poetry without any knowledge of the language. “In order to master this problem,” she said, “I enrolled in an Intensive Intermediate Russia class[…]. I then worked with Slavic graduate students on the subtleties of Russian translation.” As a result of such a disciplined and critical approach, her book, Explodity: Sound, Image, and Word in Russian Futurist Book Art, became a more ambitious achievement.

In addition to advocating for critical thinking, Perloff also encourages students to take advantage of research opportunities in a variety of fields. While her unusual career path appears to have been carefully planned, it was actually the serendipitous result of pursuing her passion and capitalizing on the opportunities with which she was presented. “I was quite unsure of my direction early in my undergraduate years,” she says. “One never knows where paths will lead, or what new talents may emerge. Keep an awareness of one’s strengths so as to make best use of them.”

Nancy Perloff, PhD, will deliver her keynote address December 7th at 12:00pm during the semiannual Chapman University Research Day. Don’t miss this exciting event that celebrates the breadth and depth of scholarly research and creative activity conducted by Chapman University undergraduate and graduate students.

Interested in scholarly research and creative activity? Visit OURCA’s website to find out about all of our available funding opportunities.