ARCH-152D History and Theory of Architecture 2 Discussion

2 Credits

Arch 152, History and Theory of Architecture 2, is the second course in a required four-semester sequence of history-theory courses for Architecture majors. This discussion-based course examines the global history of architecture from roughly 1300 CE through the Civil War. This course must be taken with ARCH 152 L. This semester provides students with a deeper understanding of how architecture responds to and shapes broader cultural, political, intellectual, religious and technological transformations during this period. We trace the development of key architectural movements, how empire, patronage, and economic systems have shaped architectural ideas, and the impact of cross-cultural exchanges on the built environment. We examine how architectural materials and media, such as plans, treatises, drawings, and maps inform our understanding of architectural intent and meaning. While each week has a different geographic focus, students are expected to develop an understanding of how ideas, materials, forms, and meanings circulated in the interconnected global history covered by the time span of this course. Via debates, discussions, close readings of buildings and texts, role-playing, writing workshops, and other in-class activities, students practice architectural analysis.This second semester of the four-semester history-theory sequence also helps students develop college-level research skills in architecture, and we write a research paper that builds on analytic and descriptive skills developed in ARCH 151. We further refine writing and visual analysis skills in in-class discussions and activities.