Theories & Methods of Historical Research

3 units

What is architectural history? This is an advanced reading, writing and discussion seminar intended to better prepare students for research in the history and theory of architecture and urbanism. It is based on the premise that since contemporary design practices are not only data-driven, neutral and ahistorical, the ways that designers' conceptualize their work can benefit from a historically-informed understanding of how various approaches to architectural history have emerged over time. It seeks to consider how architecture and architectural history have been understood in the past, and how the development of the discipline informs contemporary research in architectural history by examining how recent and contemporary historians of the built environment do their work.