Temple University

Michael J. Ernst is currently a doctoral candidate studying Islamic art history. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with Renata Holod before her retirement.  

Ernst’s primary research area is the modern & contemporary Islamic visual culture of the Caucasus and Central Asia, in particular, that of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and the Greater Caspian Region. Intersecting with this area is his interest in digital images, video games, quotidian art, affect theory, affective computing, semiotics, nationalism, national narratives, and national identity formation. He is very much a proponent of the digital humanities and incorporating technology into the field of art history. Among the courses he has taught at Temple University is “The Art of Video Games: Art, Affect, and the Responsive Image" for which he had video game designers speak to his class, including Patrice Désilets, the creator of the popular Assassin's Creed video game series.  Presently, he is working on his dissertation, tentatively titled, “Visual Culture & Spaces of Nationalism and Islamic Identity in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan.” 

M.Phil. in Middle East & Islamic Studies (University of Pennsylvania, 2022)  
M.S.Ed. in The Learning Sciences & Technologies (University of Pennsylvania, 2020) 
Certificate of Proficiency in Turkish (Azerbaijan University of Languages, 2018) 
M.L.A. in Middle East & Islamic Studies (University of Pennsylvania, 2016) 
A.B. in History (University of Pennsylvania, 2013) 

Advisor: Emily Neumeier