Dr. Laura Valterio
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department Wolf
Laura Valterio is a postdoctoral researcher who specialises in the material history of early modern Europe and its global connections. Her work lies at the intersection of gender studies, decolonial theory, ecology and posthumanism. Her doctoral dissertation, supported by the NCCR eikones, FAG, and University of Basel, examined the medium of painting through the conceptual lens of the environment. From 2019 to 2025, she was a lecturer at the University of Zurich and coordinated the Master’s program ‘Art History in a Global Context’. Between 2019 and 2022 she worked as a scientific assistant at the Bibliotheca Hertziana, organising the activities of the research initiative ‘Materiality and Mediality.’ Since 2020, she has been co-leader of the research project ‘Rethinking Art History through Disability’ at the University of Zurich, which seeks to advance accessibility in art institutions. Alongside her academic work, she has contributed to the development of international museum exhibitions.
- Early Modern Art and Culture (17th–18th Centuries)
- Artistic Materials, Sensory Epistemologies
- Ecology, Environmental Humanities
- Animal Studies, Posthumanism
- Gender Studies, Decolonial Methodologies
- Disability Studies, Politics of Access