Michael Windover
Associate Professor; Head of Art and Architectural History
- B.A. & M.A. (University of Western Ontario), Ph.D. (University of British Columbia)
- michael_windover@carleton.ca
I am a historian of modern architecture, design, and material culture. I have particular interests in the intersections of architecture with other media, the role of the built environment in public cultures, and the effects and affective dimensions of everyday design. In addition to my position in SSAC, I am cross appointed to the Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art and Culture and to the School of Industrial Design at Carleton, as well as being adjunct curator of Design at Ingenium: Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation. I am on the board of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada and commissioning editor of Dalhousie Architectural Press’s series Canadian Modern.
My published work has explored the socio-political consequences and historiography of the cultural production known today under the label of Art Deco. My work has looked at sites in Canada, the United States, and India, ranging in scale from a radio in a living room to a skyscraper, NHL hockey arena to super-cinema, emphasizing the vast reach and cosmopolitan quality of this mode of design. I recently co-edited with Dr. Bridget Elliott (Western University) the Routledge Research Companion to Art Deco.
A second area explores the visual and material culture of radio in Canada. “Seeing, Selling, and Situating Radio in Canada, 1922-56,” a collaborative project with radio historian Dr. Anne MacLennan at York University, was supported by a SSHRC Insight Grant (2012-2015) and culminated in an exhibition and catalogue in 2017. MacLennan and I also curated “Radio at Home,” an online exhibition for the Musée des ondes Emile Berliner with the support of the Digital Museums Canada investment program.
Relatedly, I have also published on the spatial impact and design of radio architecture and infrastructure, with particular emphasis on the architecture of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.