Christian A. Hedrick is a recent graduate of MIT’s doctoral
program in the History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and the Aga Khan
Program for Islamic Architecture. He is currently a researcher at the Aga Khan
Documentation Center at MIT where he is leading a new research initiative
focused on pedagogy and architectural history. The project involves the design
and development of online course curricula and other material for instructors
teaching subjects related to Islamic art and architecture. In addition, he is preparing a chapter
for an edited text on the World’s Exhibitions and revising his dissertation,
Modernism with Style: Form, Meaning and the Origins of Modern Architecture in
Berlin, 1780-1870, into a book manuscript. The dissertation examines the
reception and interpretation of Islamic architectural forms within German
architectural discourse and practice from Karl Friedrich Schinkel through Carl
von Diebitsch and has been supported in part by grants from the ARCE (American
Research Center in Egypt) and the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service),
among others. Another current project Pilgrimage: From Mobility to
Monumentality examines the phenomenon of pilgrimage and its global, historical,
architectural implications and is being funded by a grant from the Global
Architectural History Teaching Collaborative.
