Michael Mackenzie

Michael "Mac" Mackenzie is a Professor of Art History at Grinnell College. He previously taught at DePauw University for 18 years and Wabash College for 3 years. His research focuses on German modernism between World Wars I and II, Postwar art in divided Germany, and contemporary art's global dimensions.

• Education: BFA from University of Illinois (1988), MA (1992) and Ph.D. (1999) from University of Chicago

His scholarship explores themes of trauma, memory, and identity in art. He challenges traditional narratives through studies of Otto Dix's war art, Leni Riefenstahl's filmography, and East Berlin architecture. His 2019 book on Otto Dix reinterprets grotesque humor as a veterans' solidarity mechanism.

Recent publications span Kaliningrad's architectural evolution, Weimar-era body-machine metaphors, and interdisciplinary analyses of modernism. His work intersects art history with cultural studies, political representation, and technological symbolism.

At Grinnell, he teaches courses on Indian art, Parisian 19th-century art/literature, and contemporary art, advocating for greater diversity in Western canon pedagogy.