Maya Stiller

Maya Stiller is an Associate Professor of Korean art history & visual culture and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Art History Department at the University of Kansas.  She previously taught at Harvard University, Kyushu National University, Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Vienna, and the University of Zurich. With a double major in Korean Studies and Art History, she spent several years living and studying in Korea and Japan, followed by a doctorate in East Asian Art history from Freie Universität Berlin, and a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from UCLA in 2014.

Professor Stiller’s research concentrates on two major areas of interest: Korean Buddhism and Korean visual and material culture. Her first book Carving Status at Kŭmgangsan: Elite Graffiti in Premodern Korea won the American Historical Association’s 2021 Patricia Buckley Ebrey Prize. Her most recent peer-reviewed articles have been published in Artibus Asiae, Cahiers d’Extreme-Asie, the Journal of Asian Studies, the Journal of Korean Religions, and Religions.

The courses offered by Professor Stiller cover a broad variety of subjects including Buddhist art, landscape painting, rock graffiti, and ceramics as well as post-colonial discourses on Korean cultural heritage, pop culture and Digital Humanities. An associated faculty member in the Center for East Asian Studies, her courses also contribute to the programs in East Asian Languages and Cultures. Her classes are structured around specific problems and current research questions. Courses are designed to engage students with Korean artifacts found in local museum collections, and to teach students how to critically examine primary and secondary sources.

Prospective Graduate Students: Visit Prof. Stiller's YouTube channel "Insights on Korean Art" to view lecture videos about Korean art. If interested in the program, please do not hesitate to email her directly. Prof. Stiller is interested in advising students working in all periods of Korean art history, ancient to contemporary, and in various media, from ancient Buddhist sculpture and landscape painting to contemporary performance art. A great academic community and departmental funding for doctoral research make KU an excellent choice for obtaining a graduate degree.