The City 1600-1800

Catalog description

This course examines the architecture and urbanism of cities from 1600-1800. This course will examine what transformed the cities into centers of power, culture, and learning. We will look at new building types, the creation of civic institutions, and changes in the urban plan. The course will therefore provide an overview of the architecture and urbanism of the period and also explore the political and social contexts that made them possible. Topics include capitals of great political importance such as Paris, Beijing, and London as well as smaller centers like Turin and Lisbon that underwent major urban and architectural transformations. The social function of buildings that mark these capitals, from poor houses to opera houses, will also be explored. Primary and secondary reading, ranging from Pepy's Diary to Habermas' examination of the public sphere will offer period accounts as well as conceptual frameworks for understanding the capital. The objective is to challenge students to think deeply about our urban environment and its debts to this earlier era. This course fulfills elective and 400-level requirements in Art History and General Education (IL), but it is also designed to complement concentrations in History, Music, and Architecture.