About
Kishwar Rizvi is the Robert Lehman Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at Yale University’s Department of the History of Art. She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, an M.Arch. from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. from MIT. Her research focuses on Islamic art and architecture with a particular emphasis on the Safavid, Ottoman, and Mughal empires, transnational architectural practices, and the intersection of art, politics, and historical memory in the Middle East.
Her notable works include The Transnational Mosque (2015), awarded Carnegie Foundation Scholar recognition, and The Safavid Dynastic Shrine (2011). Current projects explore Gulf region museums and Safavid ruler Shah Abbas's global early modernity. She teaches courses on Islamic art surveys, art historical methods, and transnational art-politics dynamics.
Research interests span Safavid shrines, Ottoman-Mughal cultural exchanges, Persianate poetry-painting intersections, and illustrated travel literature. Awards include the Carnegie Foundation honor. She advises students via email and emphasizes accessibility for international applicants.
Her publications address architectural historiography, gender in art, and controversial spaces like the Park51 mosque. Grants include the Graham Foundation for Modernism and the Middle East (2008). She collaborates with institutions like the Yale University Art Gallery and the MacMillan Center’s Middle East Studies program.
