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As art history departments shrink and specialist positions decline in colleges and universities it is more likely that new PhDs entering the job market (or even seasoned professionals seeking to change positions) will have to take on a “Generalist” teaching post, which is typically not seen as a plum position in academia. Generalists face significant challenges in trying to maintain an active research and publication record while also performing at a high level as they teach across a broad spectrum of areas, and deal with heavy course loads and large class sizes. The impact such a position can have on one’s career and scholarly output are seldom acknowledged by college and university administrations, either for adjuncts or for tenure-track faculty, who must routinely over-perform to ensure renewal of contracts. Neither are these challenges often addressed within the larger academic community. Meanwhile, generalists perform a vital function because in teaching a broad range of topic and period courses they are often the “front line,” introducing a general population of students to art history and fostering an appreciation for the arts. As generalist positions increase there will be a need for re-thinking how their work can be fairly assessed and properly valued within academia and the field of art history at large. This session proposes to invite papers that address the challenges art history generalists face and that offer strategies and solutions for maintaining an active scholarly identity and advancing in one’s career, even while feeling stretched thin by teaching responsibilities.