Meredith Munson Ph.D

Meredith Massar Munson returned to Baylor, her alma mater, in 2025. She completed her B.A. in art history here, and received her M.A. from Texas Christian University in art history and her Ph.D. in art history and religion from the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley. Dr. Munson is an art historian whose scholarship examines the relationship between art and spirituality from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first centuries. 

Her scholarship is interdisciplinary and examines artworks as expressions of spiritual inquiry. Dr. Munson’s current research focuses on American modernist artistic circles of the early twentieth century, and specifically how these artists, traditionally described as overwhelmingly secular, time and again used their artwork to engage the concept of the divine in urban experience. Understanding how and why these artworks are created requires a multi-pronged approach. Dr. Munson explores the intersections of works of art with material culture, visual culture, pop culture, literature, philosophy, and theology from the nineteenth century to the present day. Her work has appeared in various venues, including the Oxford Research Encyclopedia and the International Journal of Arts Theory and History. She is currently the co-chair of the Bible and Visual Arts section of the Society of Biblical Literature annual conference.

Dr. Munson teaches advanced art history courses in the areas of modern and contemporary art, as well as Intro to Art for Non-Majors. She also loves studying food both from historical and participatory perspectives (meaning she enjoys to cook and eat, too). When not in the classroom or the kitchen, you can find her with her family, typically doing something outdoors.