Architectures of Globalization: Contested Spaces of Global Culture

3 credits · Undergraduate

This seminar examines the relationship between architecture and the processes associated with globalization. The social and spatial changes connected to the global economic restructuring of the last four decades are explored in relation to disctinctive national conditions and their connection to historical forces such as colonization and imperialism. Theoretical arguments about international urban political economy, uneven development, deindustrialization, and the growth of tourism and service industries, are grounded in specific urban and architectural contexts. Case studies explore issues such as urban entrepreneurialism and the branding of cities and nationstates; heritage practices and the postcolonial politics of place; border cities, and the urbanism of transnational production; cities, terrorism, and the global architecture of security; critical regionalism, localism, and other responses to debates on place and placelessness. Readings and class discussions examine course themes in a comparative framework and consider their implications for architectural design, education, and professional practice.