Research Interests
Art and artificial intelligence, digital documentation of material objects, digital culture, heritage preservation, curatorial practice, museum theory
Education
Ph.D. in Art History, University of Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne
Ph.D. in Museology, Heritage and Cultural Mediation, University of Quebec at Montreal
M.A. Art History, University of Oklahoma
BA Political Science and French, Butler University
Biosketch
Sheila K. Hoffman, Ph.D. is an art historian, museologist, and iconologist whose work bridges material culture, digital innovation, and cultural heritage. She holds dual doctorates: one in Art History from the Université de Paris-Sorbonne, and another in Museology, Heritage, and Cultural Mediation from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Her dissertation—exploring how digital technologies can transform museum documentation—earned Canada’s prestigious Vanier Scholarship in 2013.
Hoffman has held curatorial and directorial roles in fine art museums across Oklahoma, Michigan, and New York, and has served as a cultural consultant to DreamWorks Animation. She is currently writing and presenting a series for The Great Courses on the great libraries of history, tracing their architectural, intellectual and symbolic legacies. A frequent contributor to factual television, her insights appear regularly on The Science Channel, History Channel, Discovery Channel, and Travel Channel.