Vision Statement

The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) has tasked the SAH IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accountability, Sustainability) Committee with envisioning structural change within the Society as it approaches its centenary. The vision of the SAH IDEAS Committee is to shape, support, and inform the Society’s interrogation of structures of power and help the Society maintain a strong commitment to sociopolitical equity and environmental justice. The IDEAS Committee supports and advises SAH in repairing past harms and redressing foundational structural inequities in order to take into account past injustices, ensure future sustainability, and care for the diverse community for which histories of architecture hold meaning.

Mission Statement

The IDEAS Committee holds SAH accountable to this vision by advising the SAH Board and Executive Committee in establishing standards and initiatives that assure the inclusion of wider understandings of architectural history and radically diversify the Society’s membership and publics. In the first phase, the SAH IDEAS Committee’s priorities include:

  1. Promoting an understanding of architecture as a historical practice that intersects with power and society and envisioning architectural history in its most inclusive and intersectional sense, as a field producing narratives that interrogate structures of power.
  2. Building a culture of horizontal collegiality and structures of mutual support in SAH.
  3. Developing community expertise and mutual mentorship within and beyond SAH membership to nurture research that challenges existing paradigms.
  4. Elevating scholars within SAH whose self-identification or work represents previously under-recognized and/or unsupported directions for architectural history as researched, thought, or applied.
  5. Supporting scholarship and publications by women, particularly women of color, whose output has been most significantly affected by the pandemic.
  6. Forming structures within the organization for broad support of scholars and scholarship outside of the United States.

The SAH IDEAS Committee will carry out this mission by pushing forward a series of achievable initiatives aiming for structural change in SAH rather than reform.

Committee Members

Will Davis, Università della Svizzera italiana, Co-Chair
Sonali Dhanpal, Princeton University, Co-Chair
Lenora Arthur, Independent Researcher
Lynne Horiuchi, Independent Scholar
Kelvin Kung, MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA)
Tellina Liu, McGill University
Olivier Vallerand, Arizona State University
Armaghan Ziaee, California State University San Marcos
Helena Dean, SAH Director of Communications, Ex Officio
Patricia A. Morton, SAH President, Ex Officio
Ben Thomas, SAH Executive Director, Ex Officio

Get Involved

All members are encouraged to raise concerns and provide input to the SAH IDEAS Committee. To provide input, please contact the co-chairs, Will Davis and  Sonali Dhanpal.

The SAH IDEAS Committee is a standing committee of the SAH and reports to the SAH Board biannually. Applications to serve on the SAH IDEAS Committee will be accepted in May of each year, for a two-year commitment. SAH IDEAS Committee members must be SAH members throughout the duration of their term. All are welcome to participate.

SAH IDEAS Research Fellowship

This fellowship supports a cohort of emerging scholars who self-identify as members of marginalized groups and nurtures research that challenges existing paradigms.

Learn More

SAH IDEAS Fellows

The cohort receives research funding, mentorship from senior scholars, and meets regularly to foster relationship building and encourage peer support.

Meet the Fellows

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