J. English Cook

PhD Candidate

Areas of interest: Media archaeologies of architecture; film, architecture, and the archive; stereoscopy; philosophies of embodiment; ecocriticism.

J. English Cook is a PhD candidate at the Institute, where her research focuses on historical intersections between architecture, cinema, and urban theory. Her dissertation examines the impact of cinema on the postwar spread of phenomenology, particularly as expressed in international architectural exchange, critical theories of difference, and belonging in the built environment. Cook was the 2021-22 Vilcek Curatorial Fellow and a 2022-23 research assistant at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and she has held previous positions at the Architecture Film Festival London, the Grey Art Gallery, NYU, the High Museum of Art, and the Venice Architecture Biennale. She is currently at work as the co-founder and artistic director of the inaugural Climate Film Festival (CFF) NYC. She received an MA with distinction from the Institute of Fine Arts and a BA with honors from Williams College. She also goes by “English,” like the language.