Kirin Makker

Kirin Makker is Professor of American Studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where she has been a faculty member since 2008. She holds a Ph.D. in Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and integrates architecture, art, and critical theory in her interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D., Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• M.Arch., University of Maryland College Park
• M.A., English Language and Literature, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• B.A., English Language and Literature, minor in History, University of Texas at Austin

Kirin Makker’s research centers on critical space theory, feminist art, and the intersections of race, gender, and architecture. Trained as both an architect and a scholar, she bridges creative practice—such as hand drawing, sewing, and installation art—with academic inquiry. Her work interrogates how social power is embedded in architectural spaces and design history, particularly focusing on women’s and Black histories in urban planning and modernist design. She emphasizes participatory and collaborative methods, often leading community-based art projects that challenge dominant narratives in design culture.

Her recent publications, such as Womb Chair Speaks (2021) and A Clamoring Revolt (2022), explore the feminist reclamation of iconic mid-century furniture, critically examining how objects like Eero Saarinen’s Womb Chair reflect and reinforce patriarchal and racialized spatial ideologies. These works combine scholarly analysis with creative intervention, reflecting a trend in her research toward interdisciplinary, performative, and public-facing scholarship.

Kirin Makker actively engages in public scholarship and has been featured in media outlets such as Good Morning America. Her project Womb Chair Speaks includes pop-up sewing circles, exhibitions, and collaborative storytelling, emphasizing community, dialogue, and reimagining space through collective labor.

She mentors students through creative and research projects, though specific advisees are not named in the provided text. She also leads initiatives that connect academic work with public engagement, including digital platforms like her Linktree and Instagram, where she shares resources on race, gender, and space.