Architectural History

We will explore how architecture affects us, as well as how it informs us about past societies. In what ways does architecture shape our experiences; how does it enhance or detract from human activities? This course will cover material from the pre-historic period through c. 1420 largely in Europe with some examples from Asia, Africa and the Americas. Classes will be a combination of lectures and in-class activities. "

This course will examine architecture and urbanism from around 1400 C.E. to the present, tracing connections and distinctions that have guided the design, uses, and meanings of built environments around the globe. You will be introduced to celebrated buildings and less well-known sites and cities, with particular attention to the aesthetic, social, cultural, and institutional situations in which they developed. "

As the construction of cities redistributes its activities across the world in the twenty-first century, this course considers the ways in which architecture and architects are changed by a complex shifting field of forces. These forces include critical and ethical discourses, digital media, global finance and trade, developments in materials science, environmental awareness, and geo-political strategies. "