David Rifkind
Area of Specialization: Architectural history and theory
David Rifkind teaches courses in architectural history, theory and design at the College of Architecture and the Arts at Florida International University. His first book, The Battle for Modernism: Quadrante and the Politicization of Architectural Discourse in Fascist Italy, won the 2011 Premio James Ackerman and was published in 2012 by the Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio and Marsilio Editori. In the past year, his essays have won best article prizes from two flagship journals, the Journal of Architectural Education and the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. His current research deals with urbanism and architecture in Ethiopia during the Italian occupation (1936-1941), and is the first component in long-term studies of the built environment in modern Ethiopia and of modern architecture and urban planning throughout Africa. His work in Ethiopia has been supported by a grant from the Graham Foundation and a residency at the American Academy in Rome as the inaugural Wolfsonian Affiliated Fellow. He won a 2012 Faculty Senate Research Award, is a 2012 FIU Top Scholar, and was selected by the student body to deliver the 2012 What Would You Say? lecture.
