Architectural History III: Advanced Theory

3 units

The third survey class focuses on architectural history and theory after modernism. It examines the rise of architectural theory as a field of inquiry and its links to both critical social theory - including the Frankfurt School - and to contemporary traits of philosophical postmodernity. From the contextual questions of meaning and memory to the examination of post-structuralism, cultural theory and identity politics - including race, gender and ethnicity - the course uses primary textual sources to illuminate drawings, buildings, and ideas that defined this seminal moment in architectural history. While the course closely examines this time period of intense search for a new visual language, it also probes contemporary complexities of architecture's continued search for visual and social purpose in an increasingly interconnected world.