Dr. Walter Davis

Biography

Walter Davis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art & Design at the University of Alberta, specializing in the history of East Asian art, design, and visual culture. He teaches a comprehensive curriculum that includes historical surveys of Chinese and Japanese art and design, advanced lectures and seminars on eastern artistic traditions, and the impact of modern Sino-Japanese artistic exchanges. Davis has served as a mentor for undergraduate honors theses and supervised MA and PhD research focusing on early modern Chinese painting and contemporary Sino-Japanese visual culture. He has earned accolades for his teaching, including the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Arts Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentorship in 2023. His research investigates traditionalist painting and calligraphy in modern China and Japan, as well as efforts in cultural preservation through local Japanese initiatives. He has published works such as the exhibition catalogue 'Heaven: Chinese World Maps, Pictures, Texts' and the monograph 'Culture Common: Wang Yiting's Art Exchange Japan,' and has presented at numerous academic conferences. Davis earned his BA (Honors) and MA from the University of Kansas and a PhD from Ohio State University, focusing on premodern and modern East Asian art.

Research Interests

Experience