Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence

In 1994, the Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence for the Integration of the Arts, Rhetoric, and Science was named in honor of an individual who has continuously supported the university over many years. This chair helps to bridge the gap in academia between the sciences, the arts, and the humanities disciplines. Chairholders serve for one semester, or the equivalent, allowing a number of individuals from a variety of fields to participate over time. The primary duties of the chairholder are to teach two courses, typically one undergraduate and one graduate, and to present four public lectures/performances.

Caro Novella, Basler Chair of Excellence, Spring 2024

Upcoming Events!

Some pictures from Dr. Novella's recent March 20th event "Arts in Health, Making Vital Signs Otherwise"

Biography

Dr. Caro Novella (PhD), a Catalan-Mediterranean white queer crip improviser, cultivates health justice within lineages of experimental dance, transfeminist activism, and research-creation. Caro’s work centers bodily experiments and movement practices as tools to collectively examine structures of inequality and to co-create being well. Caro writes, moves and mediates at the intersection of community dance/performance making and Health. In 2011, she created Oncogrrrls (making performance pieces with folks who care about cancer), and in 2019 started Co-Sense Lab (a research on learning from silkworms about collective transformation and cycles of live and death). In 2022, Caro was a Queer Arts Initiative Fellow at Stanford, and this past 2023, she has been researching pedagogies for arts and health with Museums and Cultural/Art centers in Spain.

Caro’s award-winning work has been presented at exhibitions and festivals on Biomedia/Art, Medicine and Dance/Performance internationally. Caro has received support in the form of Art grants and residency fellowships by the Mellon Foundation, Kettering Institute, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Querétaro (Mexico), Amoqa Queer Art Museum (Athens), Finmatun Barcelona, Emmetrop (France), Queer Arts Initiative at Stanford, among others. Caro recently co-edited the compilation: Posologies, transfeminist micro-doses for collective health in Spanish.  MA in Health Communication and Community Dance. Caro has a PhD in Performance Studies, Practice as Research and Feminist STS.

More information about Dr. Novella can be found in the libguide here!.

Dr. Caro Novella will be teaching THEA 4957/5957-001 Special Topics: Performing Arts and Medicalized Bodies on Fridays 1:40-4:30 PM in Gilbreath Hall 115. This class is cross-listed with WGSS 4957/5957.

She will also be teaching THEA 4410-001 Devised Theatre Tuesday/Thursdays 11:45-1:05 in Gilbreath Hall 115. This class is in collaboration with Art and Design.