History of Art and Architecture

Welcome HAA Concentrators!

The Departmental Writing Fellow (DWF) is a resource for all undergraduates enrolled in History of Art & Architecture (HAA) courses who would like help with their writing. I am available to answer questions and provide feedback regardless of where you are in the writing process: from developing initial ideas to formulating an argument, editing a draft, and understanding the conventions of writing and scholarship in HAA.

The 2023-2024 DWF in HAA is Vaishnavi Patil

I, Vaishnavi, am a Ph.D. candidate in the History of Art and Architecture (HAA) Department at Harvard University, writing my dissertation on goddess imagery from the first to the tenth century CE. My work seeks to understand the evolution of the “mother-child” iconographic type in South Asia and shed light on little-understood aspects of the religious lives of ordinary people through the lens of gender, trans-regionalism, and trans-sectarianism. My recent scholarship also includes writings on contemporary South Asian Art, including an essay on the Public Art Fund’s exhibition, Ancestor.

My expertise lies beyond Asian Art, having taught a wide range of courses in HAA. I am currently the Head TF for HUM 20 (Fall 2023) and have been a Teaching Fellow for HUM 20, HAA 11, and HAA 97 Sophomore Tutorial in the past. Before joining Harvard, I pursued a B.A. in Ancient Indian History from St. Xavier’s College Mumbai, an M.A. in Art History from SOAS London, and an M.A. in China Studies from Peking University.

Schedule an Appointment

Please sign up for an in-person / Zoom meeting with me using the Writing Center Scheduler. Appointments are available on Tuesdays (between 10 am – 5 pm) and Wednesdays (1:30 pm – 5 pm). I offer two types of appointments:

  • A 30-minute introductory appointment to develop ideas and strategies for your upcoming assignment.
  • A 1-hour appointment during which we will closely review your draft.

We can also set up appointments outside of my scheduled hours if necessary. You can reach me at vaishnavipatil@fas.harvard.edu. Please put "Request for Writing Appointment" in your subject line.

Resources to get started with writing

 

Writing about art

Citation

  • Follow the Chicago Manual Style for your writing. [Access is available through Hollis]
  • The Chicago Manual of Style Online is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. It is an indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice.

Harvard Research Tools

  • This list of Harvard Library Resources is a great place to start your research.
  • Your first search should be on HOLLIS, the Harvard library catalog.
  • Digital Image Collections Databases is a helpful website for image collections, and so is Hollis Images for high-quality photographs of art objects. You can look at Facsimiles of rare manuscripts at the Fine Arts Library.
  • Harvard University Libraries also offer Research Guides categorized by Library, Subject and Type.
  • You can also reach out to the FAL librarians with any questions about finding resources. They will be delighted to help!
  • Harvard’s many museums are a great resource for finding artworks to study. You can find the complete list of Harvard Museums here.
  • Harvard Art Museums’ collection is available online in its entirety, which you can browse through. The Houghton Library also has digitized many of its holdings of rare manuscripts and archival materials.

Workshops

Questions?

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at vaishnavipatil@fas.harvard.edu