Critical Theory in Architecture

Catalog description

Inquiry into paradigms of critical theory in architecture theory, practice, and teaching. Evaluation of central texts, methods, theories, and outcomes. ARCH 512 Critical Theory in Architecture (6) ARCH 512 is composed of six chronologically arranged units of study that examine the major developments in the evolution of discursive practices that ground architecture theory, teaching, and practice. Modern and post-Modern critical theories in architecture have borrowed from a number of tangent disciplines, such as Phenomenology, Positivism, Existentialism, Narratology, Structuralism, Deconstruction, Grounded Theory (social sciences), Cognitive-Behaviorism, Neo-Kantianism, Psychoanalysis, Reception Theory, etc. Historical methodology, Archaeology, Anthropology Art History, and other disciplines have also had their impact. As a result, critical theory in architecture typically lacks uniform methodologies and stable definitions. In recent years, many disciplines have undergone attempts to consolidate discourse around the influence of language and culture within the historical context of evolving world ideologies and their effect on communication, material culture, and the physical environment. Architecture has responded to this general trend in a number of ways that invite cross-disciplinary comparisons and methodological adaptations. The course will take advantage of featuring visiting scholars whose expertise in diverse areas of study will provide participants with direct contact with the widest possible range of theoretical perspectives. The strategy of the course will be a comparison and critical evaluation of what appear to be the most effective research methods within the pressing concerns of environment, population growth, material resource depletion , and international conflict. The aim will be to establish relevance as well as research competence and effective expression.