ARCH-251D History and Theory of Architecture 3 Discussion

2 Credits

Arch 251D, History and Theory of Architecture 3, is the third 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 the late 19th century until World War II. This course must be taken with ARCH 251 L.This semester provides students with a deeper understanding of how architecture responds to and shapes broader cultural, political, 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. Through a critical lens, the course also interrogates how architectural media, such as plans, treatises, drawings, and maps, inform our understanding of architectural intent and meaning. We analyze the ways in which buildings reflect and influence social, economic, and intellectual contexts. In doing so, they gain an expanded view of architecture’s role within a complex, interconnected global history. Via debates, discussions, close readings of buildings and texts, role-playing, writing workshops, and other in-class activities, students practice architectural analysis.Writing assignments in this class help students refine the college-level research skills in architecture practiced in ARCH 152, and students write a comparative or thematic research paper analyzing multiple buildings which will engages questions of context, historiography, and style.