96. The Modern Politics of Classical Architecture (FULL DAY)

This panel explores how the classical language of architecture has been deployed to serve a wide range of political projects worldwide, from the late-nineteenth century to the present. The rise of nationalistic movements globally from Asia to Europe and North America has renewed attention to the political stakes of architectural form, illustrated by the political endorsement of classical architecture within the United States’ government. Dell Upton (2023) has argued that classical architecture, intended as a reference to the democratic values of Ancient Greece and Rome, ultimately embodied the ‘dominance of male elites, rulers, and whites generally.’ While long associated with republican ideals, democratic governance, and equality, it has equally been deployed to articulate imperial power, white supremacy, national ideology, and authoritarianism.

How does the same architectural vocabulary come to serve such divergent, even opposing, political projects? Contributors are invited to explore specific moments when classical architecture has been instrumentalised by the state, appropriated by political movements, or reinterpreted by architects and publics amid shifting political conditions. We seek papers emphasising the political plurality of classical architecture, complicating reductive readings of its meaning. Possible topics include classicism in imperial or postcolonial contexts; its role in revolutionary, nationalist, or authoritarian regimes; its application in democratic civic architecture; and its reception, critique, or rejection amid political transition. Papers may focus on buildings, monuments, professional discourse, or pedagogy.

This panel will take the form of a full day session of paper presentations, with time reserved for extended discussion across contributions.

Themes: Architecture, Political History, Empire

Additional format comment: Full day session.

Lead Convenor: Faraz Olfat, PhD Candidate at Yale University, Germany

Co-convenors: Federico Marcomini, Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio, Italy

Rebecca Yuste, Columbia University, USA

To submit a Paper to this Session, please follow the guidance on our website and complete the AAH 2027 Call for Papers Proposal Submission Form.