Richard Wittman

Richard Wittman is an Associate Professor and Graduate Admissions Advisor in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and specializes in the cultural history of European architecture and town planning from the 17th to 19th centuries, with a focus on architectural theory, religious architecture, and the public sphere. His work examines how architectural practice and discourse shaped modern configurations of space and society. Wittman has authored several influential books, including Architecture, Print Culture, and the Public Sphere in Eighteenth-Century France (2007) and Rebuilding St. Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome (2024). His research has been supported by grants from the NEH, Academic Senate, and others. Wittman advises numerous Ph.D. students and has held visiting roles at institutions globally.

Education: Ph.D. (2001), M.Phil. (1994), M.A. (1992) from Columbia University; B.A. (1991) from Yale University.

His recent publications explore topics like the historiography of architectural modernity, 19th-century papal Rome, and the intersection of print culture with architectural discourse. He has received awards including the Rudolf Wittkower Fellowship and the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship. Wittman’s interdisciplinary work bridges art history, urban studies, and cultural analysis.