Sheila Crane Named Associate Editor of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians

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The Society of Architectural Historians has announced that Sheila Crane, Professor of Architectural History at the University of Virginia, will serve as the next Associate Editor of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (JSAH). Crane will begin her two-year appointment in 2026, followed by a two-year term as Editor of the journal. She will work alongside Claire Zimmerman, Professor at the University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, who will transition from Associate Editor to Editor on January 1, 2026. 

As Associate Editor, Crane will collaborate closely with Zimmerman to guide the editorial direction of the journal. Her responsibilities will include reviewing manuscripts, overseeing the peer-review process, soliciting and preparing content for four annual issues, and supervising the review editors and JSAH Managing Editor. She will also work with the Society of Architectural Historians and the University of California Press to ensure timely publication. The first issue edited jointly by Crane and Zimmerman will appear in March 2026 (Volume 85, Number 1). 

Since its founding in 1941, JSAH has been recognized as the leading English-language, peer-reviewed journal on the history of the built environment. Published quarterly, the journal features scholarly articles on architecture, landscape architecture, and urbanism across all periods and geographies, along with reviews of books, exhibitions, films, and digital media. In recent years, JSAH has expanded its digital presence, incorporating multimedia content to broaden access and enrich scholarly communication. 

Crane’s scholarship centers on the ways urban landscapes are shaped by histories of empire, migration, occupation, militarization, and struggles for decolonization, as well as by everyday practices of inhabitation and reinvention. Her first book, Mediterranean Crossroads: Marseille and Modern Architecture (University of Minnesota Press, 2011), received the 2013 Spiro Kostof Award from the Society of Architectural Historians. Her forthcoming book, The City in the Shadow of the Shantytown: A Critical History of the Bidonville (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2026)—supported by the Graham Foundation, the 2025 David R. Coffin Publication Grant, and a CGII Award—traces the emergence of the bidonville in early 20th-century Casablanca under French colonial rule and reexamines its enduring political, cultural, and spatial significance across North Africa. 

Crane has published widely in leading journals, including JSAH, Future Anterior, City, Architecture & Society Journal, Space and Culture, and Perspective: actualité en histoire de l’art. She has also contributed extensive editorial service, including a term as book reviews editor for JSAH (2016–2019) and positions on the editorial boards of the University of Virginia Press and the Journal of Architectural Education. 

A past Chair of UVA’s Department of Architectural History, Crane is currently on academic leave, serving as Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) and King’s College, Cambridge University.