Ben is a sixth-year Ph.D. Candidate in the history of art and architecture interested in analyzing representations of twentieth- and twenty-first-century American public space, urban commons and community spaces in the popular imagination. He worked as Assistant Architecture Curator for the Modesto Art Museum from 2017-2018, continues to direct the Modesto Architecture and Design Week House History Workshop and was the recipient of the Graduate Committee Award (2018) in UCSB’s department of the history of art and architecture. Before commencing his graduate studies at UCSB, Benjamin received his B.A. in continental philosophy and M.A. in interdisciplinary studies from Stanislaus State University and was a 2014 recipient of the SERSCA (Student Engagement in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity) Presentation and Travel Grant.