Robin Thomas

Robin Thomas is Professor of Art History and Architecture and Head of the Department of Art History at Pennsylvania State University's College of Arts and Architecture. His office is located at 238 Borland Building. He earned a BA from Emory University, followed by an MA, M.Phil, and PhD from Columbia University.

Thomas specializes in European architecture and urbanism (1400–1800), with a focus on Naples. His research explores:

• Early-modern urban development and palace architecture
• Slavery's role in construction practices
• Baroque spatial aesthetics
• Architectural education and intellectual history
• Music-space relationships
• Bourbon dynasty's building programs

His publications consistently examine 18th-century Italian architecture through interdisciplinary lenses, merging political history, social anthropology, and visual culture. Recent works analyze racial dimensions in construction, Enlightenment reforms, and royal iconography.

Awards include:

• College of Arts and Architecture Outstanding Teaching Award (2014)
• Fulbright Fellowship
• Whiting Foundation Humanities Fellowship
• Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
• Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry Fellowship