Dr Sam Bowker is a Lecturer in Art History and Visual Culture. Prior to joining CSU, he worked for the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of Australia, and lectured in Art Theory for the Australian National University's School of Art.

Sam's PhD thesis, "Their War and Mine", examined the implications of the use of self-portraiture by war artists, focusing on the collection of the Australian War Memorial. His previous thesis studied the biographic myths promoted by travelling artists in the nineteenth century.

His current major research project is an art historical survey of Khayamiyya, or Egyptian Tentmaker Applique, from the late Ottoman Empire to the present. This has resulted in exhibitions around Australia and for the Islamic Art Museum Malaysia, which hosts an annual scholars-in-residence program for CSU students.

• Portraiture and self-portraiture
• War Art
• Khayamiya (Egyptian Tentmaker Applique)
• Textiles
• Australian Art
• Travelling Artists
• The History of Design
• Orientalist Art
• Anonymity in Art History
• Tourist Art
• Ancient Art
• Nineteenth-century European Art
• Islamic Art and Architecture
• Research Methods in Art History and Curatorship

Sam Bowker currently teaches subjects ranging from European Art between 1850-1930, Australian Art (Colonial to Contemporary), the Body in Art, Aspects of Design, Italian Renaissance Art and Perspectives in Photography. Sam also supervises PhD, Masters, and Honors students across a range of fields.

Sam is the Subject Coordinator for ART240: Introduction to Islamic Art.

Sam also has extensive experience in the design and delivery of learning programs for a wide range of museum and gallery collections.