Landscape Architecture History & Theory

3 units

Current work in landscape architecture draws from a wider range of references than conventional landscape gardening, engaging the deeper roots of urban design, planning, and infrastructure in order to create spaces that fully integrate with and inform the surrounding context. Accordingly, this course broadens the field of historical inquiry, taking in topics ranging from cultural understandings of space to the design of sacred sites, military installations, and water systems. The survey begins with prehistoric settlements and ends with the dawn of professionalized landscape design in the 19th century. Students will work through class discussion and writing projects to trace the cultural currents linking the first endeavors in land-making to today's practice.