Keith Bresnahan

I am a historian and theorist of design. My research and teaching focus on architecture, urbanism, interior design, and visual communication (graphic design and typography). I hold a PhD in Social and Political Thought from York University; my other degrees are in Theory and Criticism (MA, Western University), and Art History (BA, University of Calgary).

My ongoing research focuses on three key areas: histories of emotion and sensation in architectural space; the aesthetics and politics of ruins and destruction; and histories of visual signs and symbols. I am currently completing a book on emotion and the rebuilding of Paris after the 1871 Commune, and co-editing a volume on architecture and the history of emotions. Other projects include an examination of architectural destruction from antiquity to the present, a study of mid-20th century pictographic systems, and the first historical survey of graphic design in Canada.

I am the co-founder and chair of the Design Studies Caucus of the Universities Art Association of Canada (UAAC), and a founding editor of the journal Design Studies in Canada. I also sit on the boards of UAAC and Ornamentum magazine.