History American Architecture

Catalog description

This course examines the development of vernacular architectural forms from the 17th to 19th centuries in North America. The course covers a wide range of buildings and landscapes, ranging from domestic structures, public sites, and urban landscapes to churches. Taking a thematic and critical approach, this course will also explore the development of construction technologies and the evolution of building forms. Most importantly, the material will probe the differing meanings of architectural forms and spaces by people in the past. Students will read scholarship written by preeminent scholars in vernacular architectural studies and be asked to critically evaluate the field’s methods and interpretations. Class meetings will include lectures, discussions on selected topics, and student presentations.