Spaces and Institutions of Modernity

This undergraduate seminar will explore canonical and emerging theories of modernity as they intersect with our understanding of space and the role of the built environment and designed objects within it. The seminar will be organized as a series of case studies of the iconic sites and institutions of modernity (the metropolis, the world's fair, the museum, the prison) as well as others that have also come to exemplify it (the ship, the plantation, the railroad, the colony). Class time will include analysis of primary documents and field trips to local sites.