John Zarobell

John Zarobell is a Professor of Global Studies. His first book, Empire of Landscape, focused upon visual culture in colonial Algeria and was published in 2010. Art and the Global Economy, published in 2017, analyzes major changes in the art world as a result of globalization. He is currently working on a long-term research project on Asian Megacities and the role of arts in urban development.

• Colonial history, politics and economy
• Modern and contemporary art
• Urban studies
• Political economy

• Culture and globalization
• Urban development
• Contemporary art in the global south
• Global art market

• Academic Director, MA Global Studies (2024-2025)
• Department Chair, Global Studies (2018-2021, 2022-2023)
• Program Director, European Studies (2011-2015, 2017-2018)
• University Budget Advisory Council (2020-2023)
• Faculty Member, Board of Trustees Finance Committee (2022-2024)

• UC Berkeley, PhD in History of Art, 2000
• UC Berkeley, MA in History of Art, 1996
• Hampshire College, BA in Studio Art, 1992

• Assistant Curator, Painting and Sculpture Department, SFMOMA
• Associate Curator, European Painting Department, Philadelphia Museum of Art
• Visiting Assistant Professor, Stanford University, Tulane University

• Frank Beach Leadership Award, College of Arts and Sciences (2023)
• Fulbright Senior Research Grant for Indonesia (2020-21)

• Special Issue Editor, "Arts and Urban Development", (Arts, 2026).
• "The Art Market Out of Sight" in Global Art Markets, History and Current Trends (Routledge, 2025).
• Art and the Global Economy (UC Press, 2017).
• “Strategies of Collectivization: Art Market Alternatives from the Global South” in The Art Market and the Global South (Brill, 2023).
• Empire of Landscape: Space and Ideology in French Colonial Algeria (Penn State University Press, 2010).