Society of Architectural Historians : Member

German Studies Association : Member

Historians of Islamic Art Association : Member

College Art Association : Member

DOCOMOMO : Member

Association for Asian Studies : Member

GAHTC (Global Architectural History and Theory Collaborative, working group with Itohan Osayimwese [Brown University], Mrinalini Rajagopalan [University of Pittsburgh], Shundana Yusaf [University of Utah]) : Member

Association for Computers and Humanities : Member

Society for the History of Technology : Member

Association of Architecture Organizations : Member

Comparative analysis of homologous buildings using range imaging

Expertise and the Economies of Knowledge of Architectural Practice in the Islamic World since 1800

The ‘Inventive Jump’: Curiosity, Culture and Islamicate Form in the Works of Peter and Alison Smithson

The complex political and cultural relationship between the German state and the Ottoman Empire is explored through the lens of the Ottoman Railway network, its architecture, and material culture With lines extending from Bosnia to Baghdad to Medina, the Ottoman Railway Network (1868–1919) was the pride of the empire and its ultimate emblem of modernization—yet it was largely designed and bankrolled by German corporations. This exemplifies a uniquely ambiguous colonial condition in which the interests of Germany and the Ottoman Empire were in constant flux. German capitalists and cultural figures sought influence in the Near East, including access to archaeological sites such as Tell Halaf and Mshatta. At the same time, Ottoman leaders and laborers urgently pursued imperial consolidation. Germany and the Ottoman Railways explores the impact of these political agendas as well as the railways’ impact on the built environment. Relying on a trove of previously unpublished archival materials, including maps, plans, watercolors, and photographs, author Peter H. Christensen also reveals the significance of this major infrastructure project for the budding disciplines of geography, topography, art history, and archaeology.

Germany and the Ottoman Railways: Art, Empire, and Infrastructure

The University of Rochester is one of the country's top-tier research universities. Our campuses are home to 200 academic majors, more than 2,000 faculty and instructional staff, and some 10,000 students.The University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by its Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery. 





University of Rochester

Peter Christensen is Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Rochester. His specialization is modern architectural and environmental history, particularly of Germany, Central Europe and the Middle East. His theoretical interests center on issues of geopolitics and multiculturalism. He also maintains a strong interest in infrastructure and its history. He explores critical applications of the digital humanities in his research and teaching which includes a major research project entitled Architectural Biometrics. He is the author of the book, Germany and the Ottoman Railway Network: Art, Empire, and Infrastructure (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017).

He has served as Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter at the Technische Universität München (2012-2014) and Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (2005-2008).  Peter is the recipient of the Philip Johnson Book Award (2010) from the Society of Architectural Historians and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Fulbright Foundation, the Forum Transregionale Studien in Berlin, the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), the Society of Architectural Historians, and the Historians of Islamic Art Association, among others. Peter's writing has appeared in leading scholarly journals including MUQARNAS: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World, The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, The International Journal of Islamic Architecture, Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide, Harvard Design Magazine and New Geographies, among others. He is the co-editor of three volumes: (with Vimalin Rujivacharkul, Hazel Hahn and Ken Oshima) Architeturalized Asia: Mapping a Continent Through History (Hong Kong University Press & University of Hawai'i Press, 2013), (with Mohsen Mostafavi) Instigations: Engaging Landscape, Architecture and the City (Lars Müller, 2012) and (with Barry Bergdoll) Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling (The Museum of Modern Art, 2008). Peter has also curated and assisted in the organization of a number of exhibitions, including at the Museum of Modern Art, the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Denver Art Museum.

Architectural design theory and history

Critical Digital Humanities

Historicism

19th Century Architectural History

20th Century Architectural History

Cartography and Architecture

Architectural Design

University of Rochester Profile

Personal Website

Architectural Biometrics Website

Academia.edu Profile

Rochester historian takes a role in preserving world cultural heritage

Harvard Announces the 2019 Richard Rogers Fellows

I Run “Facial Recognition” On Buildings To Unlock Architectural Secrets

Faculty earn NEH honors for religious history, art history research

Facial Recognition Gives Art History Academic New Architectural Insights

The biometric identities of buildings

Looking at urban history as a fight for space, power

100-Plus Things: Buffalo History Museum

Expertise and the Ottoman Railways

The Art of Infrastructure: The German Construction of the Ottoman Railway Network

Infrastructure Matters

Ambiguity and Authorship: The Case of the German Construction of the Ottoman Railway Network

Arthur Satz Professor of the Humanities and Professor of Art History

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