Dr. Charlette Caldwell

Biography

Charlette M. Caldwell is a doctoral student and Provost Diversity Fellow at Columbia University, focusing on the history and theory of architecture. Her research broadly examines nineteenth-century American architecture through a vernacular architectural perspective. Caldwell’s dissertation investigates the cultural, economic, and political processes that influenced the building culture of African Methodist Episcopal Church, from its official founding in 1816 to the 1930s. The study aims to uncover how Black church building reflected issues of class identity among AME leadership and laypeople, demonstrating that AME culture is shaped by a history marred by slavery and violence in the United States. She received her Bachelor's in Architecture from Syracuse University, followed by a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. Caldwell's work has significantly contributed to the Weitzman’s Center for Preservation of Civil Rights Sites and she has served in various capacities with the Society of Architectural Historians. In the summer of 2021, she was awarded the Sally-Kress Tompkins Fellowship.

Research Interests

Experience