As part of the SHERA 30th Anniversary Lecture Series, we are thrilled to host a lecture by @staneklukasz.bsky.social "The Gift: Spaces of Global Socialism and Their Afterlives". October 23, 12:00-1:15pm NY time, online.
Register: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-gift-s...

Neil Brenner will be speaking at Taubman College in less than two weeks! taubmancollege.umich.edu/event/binda-...

I am honored to step in as Acting Director of the Copernicus Center for Polish Studies at the University of Michigan, and to contribute to curating its program, incl. talks on Poland's exchanges with the Global South: ii.umich.edu/ii/news-even...

In the Bloomsbury Global Encyclopedia of Women in Architecture, 1960–2020 (eds. Lori A. Brown & Karen Burns), my entry highlights the work of Eastern European women architects in newly independent African countries during the Cold War: lukaszstanek.net/latest/

Research Fellowships at the University of Michigan for advanced Ukrainian PhD students (deadline October 15): ii.umich.edu/wcee/initiat...

I'm grateful to the Graham Foundation for supporting our book The Gift: Spaces of Global Socialism and Their Afterlives. Its greatest asset is the contributors, expanding the range of voices in architectural scholarship and testing new forms of collaboration: www.grahamfoundation.org/grantees/669...

Some images from our research trip funded by the Becoming Neighbors microgrant from Taubman College @um-taubmancollege.bsky.social. Highlights included visiting Rural Studio in Alabama and exploring the work of Beverly Buchanan in Macon, GA. (Some photos by Adam Przywara).

Last week’s seminar at Taubman College with Jennifer Robinson and Christian Schmid focused on their recent books exploring comparative urbanism.

I am looking forward to the SAH 2025 conference in Atlanta later this month. Together with Michael Dziwornu we will present the paper "Contested Adaptation. Housing in Ghana by Victor Adegbite and Charles Polónyi."

A few images from the Land, Deed, and Debt workshop last week--with contributions from Kuukuwa Manful, Kwasi Adarkwa, Carina Ray, Anya Sirota, Clint Abrahams, Michael Dziwornu, Ademide Adelusi-Adeluyi, Taibat Lawanson, Dana Salama, Sarah Cheema and Derek Peterson.

It's a great honor to give a plenary lecture for the Eurasian Geography Group @geographers.bsky.social '25 in Detroit! I am looking forward to the discussion with the respondents, Elena Trubina & Jennifer Robinson, the chair, Vera Smirnova, and all who attend: aag.secure-platform.com/aag2025/soli...

On 03/27 at Taubman College we will discuss the often-forced “gifting” or “granting” of land by Indigenous people to universities in colonial/ post-independence West Africa, and the impact of such land transfers on the production of space in & around campuses: africa-alliance.org/land,-deed,-...

After many years in the making, the Anti-Atlas is out! I've contributed an annotated diagram that maps & enables exploration of a comprehensive archival repository on architectural mobilities from socialist Poland during the Global Cold War: lukaszstanek.net/latest/

Huge thanks to Helena Huber-Doudová for the thoughtful & contextualized review of The Gift exhibition in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, highlighting its interdisciplinary and horizontal approach: online.ucpress.edu/jsah/article...

I am looking forward to this book, soon available in open access: "Architecture, Empire, and Trade: The United Africa Company," by Iain Jackson, Ewan Harrison, Michele Tenzon, Rixt Woudstra, and Claire Tunstall: www.bloomsbury.com/us/architect...

I am looking forward to welcoming Jennifer Robinson and Christian Schmid to Taubman College on March 31, when they will talk about their recent books on urban comparative research, with particular focus on African cities.

"Quant à l’habitant, sa première tâche est la lucidité." Hommage à Françoise Choay, par Thierry Paquot. topophile.net/savoir/franc...

I am looking forward to my talk at Princeton’s History Department next week, as part of the lecture series on Overcoming Bipolarity in Cold War studies.