My name is Jamie Higgs, and I am an Associate Professor of Art and Art History. Additionally, I serve the university as the Director of the Honors Program and the Curator of the Marian University Permanent Art Collection. I have taught full time at Marian since 2002. My singular goal as an educator, to quote Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, is to help Marian students realize their “muchness.”
The full complement of regular semester course offerings I have taught include:
Global Humanities: Ways of Knowing
Humanities: The Search for Meaning through Culture
Humanities: Literature, Art, and Music in the Western Tradition
Global Art History I: What is Art For?
Global Art History II: What is Art For?
Survey of Western Art I
Survey of Western Art II
Survey of Intercultural Art
The Classical World: Long Memories of Greece and Rome
The Ancient World: Humanity’s Relationship with the Gods
The Ancient World: The ‘Life’ and ‘Death’ of Classical Art
The Byzantine East: Grandeur and Conflict
The Middle Ages: Outer Reality and Inner Truth
The Renaissance: The Power and Politics of Art
The Modern World: Artist’s Voices Heard
The Contemporary Scene: The Art World Expands
Study abroad course destinations and topics have included:
Greece and Italy: Stories that Last Forever
Ireland, Spain, and Italy: Myth and Imagination
Portugal, Spain, and Italy: Navigating the Waves of Time
The Golden Ages of Greece and Italy
Turkey, Greece, and Italy: Civilizations Lost and Found
Greece and Italy: The Enduring Myth
Greece and Italy: The Enduring Myth
Italy: Caesars and Saints, Poets and Prophets
France: Revolutionary Ideas
The Roman World: Its Time, Its Transformation, and Its Influence
My master’s thesis focused on Iberian Mozarabic architecture and the origins of its distinctive use of the horseshoe arch; my doctoral dissertation examined the connections between Visigothic and Anglo-Saxon architecture comparing their space usage to the liturgies celebrated in those spaces. As a result of studying Mozarabic, Visigothic, and Anglo-Saxon architecture insitu (and working two summers in Portugal on a Roman-period archaeological site called Torre de Palma), I developed a passion for travel. I leveraged that passion into offering the first study abroad course for Marian students in 2001. Since our 2001 venture, I have offered nine such courses over a twenty-year period with destinations that have spanned the Mediterranean to the Irish Sea from Turkey and Greece to Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and Ireland.
Within my curatorial work, I am captivated by the artistic complexity of the St. John’s Bible (on permanent display in the Hackelmeier Memorial Library). Related to the St. John’s Bible, I train students as docents and am energized by sharing this bible through public lectures. However, my most recent curatorial projects work with students and focus on accessioning the Marian University permanent art collection (300+ artworks) while developing seasonal Franciscan value art walks, which introduce students and visitors to our art collection through the lens of Marian’s Franciscan values, and creating on-line galleries, to make our specific collections accessible to the public.
Recent Curatorial Work Highlights:
Higgs, Jamie. (2026, August). Franciscan Values Art Walk: Fall (Peace & Justice). Marian University. https://www.marian.edu/art-walks/fall.
Higgs, Jamie. (2026, September). Franciscan Values Art Walk: Spring (Reconciliation). Marian University. https://www.marian.edu/art-walks/spring.
Higgs, Jamie. “The St. John’s Bible and the ‘Power’ of the Page.” Faith Speaker Series, 14 September 26, Trinity Episcopal Church, Indianapolis, IN. Invited Lecture.
Higgs, Jamie. “The St. John’s Bible and the ‘Power’ of the Page.” Community Talks, 8 May 26, Plymouth Community Library, Indianapolis, IN. Invited Lecture.
Higgs, Jamie. “The St. John’s Bible: A Work of Contemporary Art and Authenticity.” Modern Art and Religion, 13 October 23, SECAC, Richmond, VA. Conference Presentation.
Higgs, Jamie. “The St. John’s Bible: Holding Mirror Up to Life.” Art as Mirror of Life, 8 December 20, SECAC, Richmond, VA. Conference Presentation.
Higgs, Jamie. “The St. John’s Bible and the ‘Power’ of the Page.” Spirit and Place Festival, 6 November 19, Marian University, Indianapolis, IN. Juried Presentation.
