Architect and History

Catalog description

Architecture is never neutral. It reflects and shapes how we live, think, and imagine our place in the world. This course introduces students to the intertwined histories of architecture, art, and urbanism by examining how monuments and cities from antiquity to the present and across global contexts have been designed, represented, and experienced. We will approach architecture not only as a product of design and craftsmanship, but also as a social, intellectual, and political practice. Throughout the semester, we will consider the architect’s role in mediating between nature, power, and imagination, and explore how architecture has been entangled with histories of colonialism, extraction, racialization, capitalism, and utopian thought. By analyzing form, structure, and representation through lectures, discussions, and sketchbook exercises, including the use of 3D and virtual reconstructions, students will develop a critical understanding of how architecture constructs meaning and how it continues to shape cultural and environmental futures.