- Please refer to the HAUD Program Requirements to assist in course planning:
HAUD Program Requirements Architectural Historiography
ARCH 680 Course Schedule: Tuesdays. 10:10 am - 12:05 pm
Location: Fine Arts Library Classroom
Prerequisites: ARCH 181/182 or ARCH 581/582 or permission of instructor.
Professor: Medina Lasansky
Course Overview:
This seminar will provide a survey of architectural historiography paying particular attention to the paradigm shifts of the last twenty-five years. Through a series of readings (a combination of case studies and critical theoretical pieces) we will assess the preoccupations of current scholarship. We will consider the relationship of contemporary practice to history; the relationship between architectural history and the disciplines of art history and historic preservation; the extent to which their separation has both energized and handicapped the separate fields; canon formation and the mechanics of fame; and the changing role played by institutions (museums, universities, journals, publishers) in re-framing the field.
Through the critical readings of important texts we will discuss the current state of the field while simultaneously reconsidering our position in it. Our discussions will focus as much upon the historical studies of others, as upon our own practice of history. How can we intelligently apply theory to practice, develop research strategies that maximize methodological alliances, imbue the study of the past with contemporary relevance, and contribute as much to other disciplines as we borrow from them.
