Samira Fathi

Samira Fathi is an Assistant Professor of Art and Architectural History at Michigan State University, part of the College of Arts and Letters. Her work focuses on urban history, modernization processes, and the intersection of architecture with power dynamics and spatial practices. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California Santa Barbara (2023), an MA in Iranian architectural history, and a BArch in architectural design from universities in Iran.

Her research emphasizes 18th-19th century Islamic architecture and urbanism in Iran, particularly Tehran and Isfahan. She examines urban transformations through literary sources like tazkira and visual representations, exploring how memory and materiality shape built environments. Her published works include Residing in the Neighborhood (2021, Persian) and a forthcoming book on post-Safavid Isfahan's urban memory and architectural patronage.

Teaching and research interests span colonial modernism, French colonial urbanism, and the relationship between architecture and socio-political power structures.