Required Course
Credits: 3-0-3 (3 semester hours)
Type of Course: Lecture
Instructors: Mark Cottle, George B. Johnston
Prerequisites: ARCH 4106
Course Overview:The period of study runs from 33 BC to 1945 AD. Rather than sprint through two thousand years in one semester, however, the course focuses on three theorists in two periods: Alberti in the fifteenth century; Ruskin and Semper in the nineteenth, and Le Corbusier in the twentieth. Selections of primary readings from their work, taken as core texts, are supplemented by related secondary readings related to them, and also by shorter selections of primary texts from those and other periods, such as Vitruvius, Laugier, Ruskin, and Loos. The final paper and oral presentation takes a contemporary building for a case study, viewed through the lens of an ongoing discussion within architectural discourses.
Learning Objectives: Beyond a simple introduction to architectural theory through some of its "great books," the course seeks to initiate a conversation between historical discourses in writings on architecture and discussions within the contemporary milieu of studios, reviews, and offices.
Course Requirements: Attendance at all class sessions, weekly readings, participation in class discussions, preparatory and in-class writing, final paper and oral presentation.