PhD in Art History
Finley Cowlishaw
- Email: finley.cowlishaw@temple.edu
Finley Cowlishaw (they/he) specializes in global contemporary and modern art. Their current research assesses the use of drag assemblages as a method of queer futurity and tool for deconstructing false dichotomies, arbitrary categorizations and hierarchies of identity and human experience, and facilitating critique.
Finley graduated summa cum laude at Northern Illinois University in 2024 and received his M.A. degree in Art History with a specialization in research. They have presented their research at Northern Illinois University as well as Cornell College and will present their research at this year's Midwest Bisexual Gay Lesbian Transgender and Ally College Conference. In addition to completing internships at the David Adler Music & Arts Center in Illinois as well as the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art in Iowa, Finley works with the Educational Resource Group in Maryland as an English language coach and tutor.
Finley's primary methods as a scholar entail queer theory, gender theory, and trans* theory. He privileges interdisciplinary work, incorporating various perspectives and methodologies into his research including but not limited to sociology, feminism, posthumanism, Afrofuturism, anti-capitalist and Marxist methods, post-colonial studies, and critical race theory. He hopes to develop a more well-rounded understanding of queerness, gender, and drag as it intersects with the art world.
MA, Art History, The School of Art & Design, Northern Illinois University, 2024
BA, Art History and Gender/Sexuality/Women’s Studies, Cornell College, 2019
MA Thesis Title: Queering The Future Through Speculative Drag: Posthumanism, Critique, and Queer Worldbuilding in the Art of Devan Shimoyama, Maximiliano Mamani, and Sin Wai Kin (2024)