Vishal Khandelwal

Vishal Khandelwal is an Assistant Professor of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, specializing in modern and contemporary architecture and design with a focus on South Asia. He will be on leave during the 2025-2026 academic year serving as an External Faculty Fellow at the Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley College.

• Education: B.A. from DePauw University; M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan

His research centers on design pedagogy in postcolonial India, Cold War cultural exchange, and intersections between architecture and textile art. Projects examine socio-political decolonization, rural craft traditions, and global intellectual property frameworks.

Notable awards include:

• UC Berkeley South Asia Art & Architecture Dissertation Prize (2022)
• Carter Manny Writing Award (2020)
• Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship (2020-21)
• Harvard's South Asia Institute Faculty Grant (2024-25)

Prior to Harvard, he held a Visiting Assistant Professor position at the University of Pittsburgh. Current publications focus on architectural criticism, textile reception studies, and postcolonial design aspirations.