LAWRENCE E. BUTLER is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Art History in the Department of History and Art History, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. Trained as a medievalist with emphasis on Byzantine and Islamic architecture, his teaching and scholarly interests range across medieval Eurasia, from Iceland through China. He is particularly interested in Istanbul, Turkey, and the Silk Road connections between the medieval Mediterranean world and East Asia.

EDUCATION:

• PhD in Art History, University of Pennsylvania, 1989. Major field of concentration: Byzantine Art and Architecture. Minor fields of concentration: Early Medieval Art, Islamic Art and Architecture, and Northern Baroque Art. Dissertation: "The Nave Cornices of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul" directed by Cecil L. Striker.
• MA in Art History, Oberlin College, 1980. Thesis: "The Pantocrator Monastery: An Imperial Foundation," directed by Annabel Wharton and Richard Spear.
• BA in History, Oberlin College, 1978. Phi Beta Kappa.

POSITIONS HELD:

• Coordinator of Art History, Department of History and Art History, George Mason University, 2002--
• Associate Professor of Art History, George Mason University, 1996--. Coordinator of the interdisciplinary minor in Ancient Mediterranean Art and Archeology. Assistant Professor at GMU, 1989-1996.
• Visiting Instructor in Art History, University of Pittsburgh, Semester At Sea, Fall 1999
• Mellon Predoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, 1988-89.
• Instructor in Art History and head of the Art History program, Hiram College, 1985-88.
• Summer Fellow, Dumbarton Oaks, Summer 1984
• Fulbright Research Fellow, Turkey, 1982-83.
• Teaching Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, 1981-82.
• Dean's Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, 1980-81.
• Samuel H. Kress Fellow, Oberlin College, 1979-80.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

• "Putting the Silk into Silk Route Studies: A Material Culture Approach" in East-West Connections: Review of Asian Studies 2 (Spring 2002), 114-128.
• "The Role of the Visual Arts in Confucian Society," in Introduction to Chinese Culture Through the Family, ed. Howard Giskin and Bettye Walsh (Albany: SUNY Press, 2001), 59-88.
• "Mosques and Muslim Identity along China's Trade Routes," in East-West Connections: Review of Asian Studies I/1 (Spring 2001), 112-132.
• Articles for the Grove Dictionary of Art, ed. Jane Shoaf Turner (London: MacMillan, 1996): "Pantocrator Monastery, Istanbul" "Charles Rufus Morey," "Charles Texier," and "Howard Crosby Butler."
• "Hagia Sophia's Nave Cornices as Elements of its Design and Structure," in The Hagia Sophia, from the time of Justinian to the present, ed. Robert Mark and Ahmet Cakmak (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992).
• The Nave Cornices of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, PhD Dissertation, Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1989 (University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, 1990; distributed commercially by Wasmuth KG, Berlin).
• "The Pantocrator Monastery, An Imperial Foundation," Bulletin of the Allen Memorial Art Museum (Oberlin College), 37 (1979-80), pp. 88-90.

COURSES TAUGHT AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY, 1989--.

• ARTH 101: Introduction to the Visual Arts
• ARTH 200/201: Survey of Western Art I & II
• ARTH 301: Special Topic: The Museum (replaced by ARTH 394/594).
• ARTH 319: Art of the Ancient Near East
• ARTH 320: Art of the Islamic World
• ARTH 332: Medieval Art (replaced by ARTH 333 and ARTH 334)
• ARTH 333/HIST 388: Early Christian and Byzantine Art
• ARTH 334: Western Medieval Art
• ARTH 380: African Art
• ARTH 381: Asian Art/ Chinese Art
• ARTH 393/593: Art History Internships
• ARTH 394/594: The Museum
• ARTH 430/599: Advanced Studies in Medieval Art. Topics have included Art of the Christian/Muslim Frontier, Medieval Literature as Primary Source, Medieval Art On-Line, The Norse World, The Silk Road, and Textiles and Trade.
• Honors 122: Reading the Arts (interdisciplinary freshman humanities)
• CORE 103: Presence of the Past (interdisciplinary freshman humanities)
• PAGE 250/251: Strand Lectures: Cultural Encounters (interdisciplinary, team-taught)

COURSES TAUGHT FOR THE UNIV. OF PITTSBURGH'S INSTITUTE FOR SHIPBOARD EDUCATION on the SEMESTER AT SEA, FALL 1999:

• HA&A 0020: Introduction to Asian Art
• HA&A 0730: Islamic Art
• HA&A 1602: Special Topic: Silk Road Eurasian Art

COURSES TAUGHT AT HIRAM COLLEGE, 1985-88:

• Art 130/131 and Art 220: History of Western Art
• Art 221: Ancient Art
• Art 222: Medieval Art
• Art 227: Islamic Art
• Art 323: Italian Renaissance Art
• Art 324: Baroque Art
• Art 380: Seminar: Twentieth-Century Architecture
• Art 425: The Nineteenth Century
• History 308: The World of Byzantium
• Freshman Colloquium: The Mediterranean World

POST-DOCTORAL STUDY AWARDS:

• Sabbatical study leave, George Mason University, Spring 2000.
• Silk Road study tour in China, Summer 1997. Asian Studies Development Program, East-West Center/Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu.
• "Teaching the Chinese Classics in Translation," NEH Summer Institute, directed by Henry Rosemont and Roger Ames, St. Mary's College of Maryland, Summer 1996.
• "Europe and Islam," Folger Seminar, directed by Bernard Lewis, Folger Library, Washington DC, 1991.

COLLABORATIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEACHING PROJECTS:

• AP World History Institute, George Mason University's Center for World History. June 2001, 2002, and 2003. Workshop for AP World History high school teachers. My part: half-day workshop on "Eurasia, 1000-1500: History and Material Culture of the Silk Road."
• History 100: Western Civilization tele-lecture course for George Mason University: Program 3: "Early Christianity, Byzantium, Early Russia and Islam"--wrote and delivered the script, arranged for visuals; continue to serve on the course steering committee.
• "Teaching Chinese Culture through the Family"--Asian Studies Development Program, East-West Center/Univ. of Hawaii, textbook project, 1997-1999. Publication 2001 (above).

OVERSEAS TRAVEL LECTURING EXPERIENCE:

• Study leader, Smithsonian Institution's "Currents of Change" ship tour of the Danube, Summer 2003: Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria.
• Instructor, Portugal tour, Center for Global Education, George Mason University, Spring 2002.
• Visiting Professor of Art History, University of Pittsburgh's Semester at Sea world voyage, Fall 1999: Japan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Egypt, Turkey, Croatia, Italy and Morocco.
• Lecturer on Byzantine history and art in Greece and Turkey, for the Univ. of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, Summer 1995 and Summer 1999.
• Shipboard lecturer, Renaissance Cruises: Italy, Monaco and southern France, June 1992.
• Study leader and lecturer, Holly Chase tours of Turkey, May 1985 and May 1989.
• Study leader, Smithsonian Associates' "Istanbul and Beyond," Fall 1984.

  Upcoming:

• Study Leader, Smithsonian Institution's "Currents of Change" ship tour of the Danube: Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria. May 2004.
• Visiting Professor of Art History, University of Pittsburgh's Semester At Sea Pacific Rim voyage: Alaska, Siberia, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan. Summer 2004.