Dora Epstein Jones, Ph.D., is a theorist and teacher of architectural culture. Her work mainly focuses on the discipline of architecture, and includes interrogations of the discipline’s boundaries and operations through examinations of tectonics, practice, and pedagogy, as well as (generally external) concerns such as gender, sex, mobility, and criticality. Her work is uniquely tuned to matters of design, and has been mostly published in compilations related to design including Possible Mediums, The Building, Speculative Coolness, and the forthcoming Purple Architecture, as well as her doctoral work focused on the history of prefabrication. Her latest works have centered around collections for Morphosis and Stray Dog Cafe, notably the Morphosis Model Monograph.
A firm believer in public education, Epstein Jones holds a Ph.D. in Architectural History, Theory and Criticism from UCLA; an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA; and a B.S. in Applied Behavioral Sciences (Community Studies) from UC Davis. She has served as a principal with Jones, Partners: Architecture with Wes Jones, the Coordinator of both General Studies and History & Theory at SCI-Arc, the Executive Director of the A+D Architecture and Design Museum, and the Chair of Architecture at Texas Tech University. She holds awards as an ACLS/Luce scholar, a Getty scholar, a Siff fellow, a Regents fellow, and an AIA scholar.