American Studies 308, Section 1 American Studies Program, Penn State Harrisburg Fall Semester 2015 Days/Times: MWF 10:10-11 am Location: TBD Instructor: Caitlin Black Primary Email: [email protected] Primary Phone: (717) 948-6020 Office Location and Hours: TBD

Course Description

This course examines the styles, structures, and concepts of American architecture from Native American roots to modern “green” buildings. Through readings, images, and film, students will learn to identify major architectural styles and will become familiar with important buildings, communities, and movements in American architectural history and material culture. Students will consider the social and political connection of architecture to American experience and ideas. When possible, this course focuses on local examples to illuminate national trends over time.

Course Objectives

1. Students will be able to identify key buildings, movements, and figures in American architecture.

2. Students will be able to interpret primary sources (such as maps, photographs, and drawings) used to understand American architecture.

3. Students will learn to understand and use architecture as form of evidence when analyzing themes and events.

4. Students will develop the tools to analyze aspects of American architecture in their social and political contexts and interpret changes over time.

Required Texts

The following texts are available at the Campus Bookstore.

Mark Gelernter, A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999). ISBN: 978-1584651369.

Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America (New York: Crown Publishers, 2003). ISBN: 978-0375725609. (Ebook also available)

Daisy M. Myers, Sticks’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown (New York: New York Heritage Trust, 2005). ISBN: 978-0971810846.

Recommended Texts (These are texts that we will be referring to throughout the semester, and students may wish to purchase individual copies. Readings from these texts will also be available via PDF on the course site)

Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc., 1984). ISBN: 978-0394739694.

Lindy Biggs, “The Rational Factory:” Architecture, Technology, and Work in America’s Age of Mass Production (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996). ISBN: 978-0801852619.

*The instructor will post additional readings on Angel. Please see course schedule below*

Course Assignments

Students will complete a series of graded assignments, including an exam, a presentation, three short essays, a final paper, and several research assignments. Students are required to submit all assignments (exam, presentation and outline, final paper, short essays, research assignments) and cannot pass the course without doing so.

Short Essays Students will complete three short writing assignments (300-500 words each). For each essay, students will respond to one of several questions, which will relate to the previous weeks’ readings and class discussions. A handout with sample questions, tips for strong responses, and a grading rubric will be provided prior to the first essay submission.

Architectural Style Exam Students will sit for one exam, which will test students’ understanding of the architectural styles studied in class. For the exam, students must identify the architectural styles represented in a series of images. Students will complete the exam during the class period. The instructor will provide a handout detailing the specifics of the exam, including study suggestions and a grading rubric, closer to the exam.

Presentation In the second half of the semester, students will investigate a topic in American architecture. Prior to submitting a final paper (see below), each student will provide a brief presentation on his or her topic. This assignment will allow students to pursue areas of interest to them while also broadening the entire class’s knowledge of buildings, themes, and architects in American architecture. Students will determine topics in consultation with the instructor. Presentations will be evaluated on content, use of images, and delivery: a more detailed rubric will be provided in advance of the presentations.

Final Paper The culmination of this class is a research-based final paper on a topic in American architecture. Students will choose their own topic in consultation with the instructor. The final paper will provide students with the opportunity to explore an area of interest to him or her and to apply the ideas and methods we have looked at in the class to a new area of study. Students will be required to submit a proposal and outline in advance of the final document. The instructor will provide a handout with a grading rubric in advance.

Research Assignments Students will work on a series of practical projects that will give them a taste of the kind of work and analysis architectural historians perform. The focus of these assignments includes maps, census data, photography, surveying, and a site visit. Through these tasks, students will gain awareness of the tools and techniques used to study the built environment. Thorough descriptions of each assignment will be provided in advance of each due date.

The short essays, final paper, and each research assignment must be submitted on time through the appropriate dropbox on Angel. Please see below for policy on late work.

Grading

Prior to each assignment, the instructor will provide a handout with a rubric detailing the grading criteria. The exam, presentation, outline, and final paper will be graded on a letter scale. Research assignments and short essays will be graded on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being the highest score. The weight of each assignment is as follows:

Assignment Percentage Short Essays 15% (5% each) Exam 15% Presentation 15% (5% outline, 10% presentation) Final Paper 20% Research Assignments 25% (5% per assignment) Participation 10%

Revisions Mastering the skills required by each assignment is an important part of this class; accordingly, students will be permitted to revise the short essays and research assignments, though they are not required to do so. Revisions must be resubmitted no later than one week after the instructor has returned the initial submission. Late revisions will not be accepted. Revisions will be reviewed and graded based on the same rubric as the initial assignment, and students will keep the highest awarded grade (if the student were to receive a lower grade on the revision than on the original, the original grade would stand).

Late Work Submitting work on time is an important part of being in a classroom community, as it enables the instructor to provide prompt feedback to all students in the class. Late research and short essay assignments will receive a 1-point deduction for each day they are late: a 10 becomes a 9, a 9 becomes an 8 and so on. For each day that the exam, final paper, outline, and presentation are late, the instructor will reduce the awarded grade by 1/3: an A would become an A-, and A- would become a B+, and so on. In order to pass the course, students must submit each research assignment, three short essays, the exam, a presentation, an outline, and a final paper.

Make-Up Policy At times, illness or family emergencies can prevent students from attending class on the date of an exam. In those situations, students should contact the professor as soon as possible to arrange to take the make-up exam. The make-up exam will follow the same format but contain different questions than the original exam and will be administered at a time agreed upon by both the instructor and student.

Classroom Policy Statements

1. Academic Freedom: According to Penn State policy HR64, “The faculty member is expected to train students to think for themselves, and to provide them access to those materials which they need if they are to think intelligently. Hence, in giving instruction upon controversial matters the faculty member is expected to be of a fair and judicial mind, and to set forth justly, without supersession or innuendo, the divergent opinions of other investigators.” See http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hr64.html.

2. Academic Integrity: According to Penn State policy 49-20, Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an education objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. For more information, see http://www.psu.edu/dept/ufs/policies/47- 00.html#49- 20. The instructor can fail a student for major infractions and reserves the right to use Turnitin as a plagiarism detection tool.

3. Attendance: Students are expected to complete every lesson in the course and are held responsible for all work covered in the course. A student whose irregular attendance causes him or her, in the judgment of the instructor, to become deficient scholastically, may run the risk of receiving a failing grade or receiving a lower grade than the student might have secured had the student been in regular attendance. Participation by students in the course should not be disruptive or offensive to other class members. See http://www.psu.edu/ufs/policies/42-00.html#42-27. I interpret this policy to mean that students who miss more than two weeks worth of classes (6 classes) can fail, even if they maintain a passing grade on other assignments.

4. Personal Digital Devices: Personal digital devices such laptops, tablets, and e-readers can assist students in academic settings, but these devices can also distract from learning. As a matter of policy, cell phones must be turned off or silenced; texting and other communication on the cell phone are strictly prohibited in class. Laptops, netbooks, e-readers, and tablet computers that enable note-taking or viewing of course materials are permitted, but students must not engage in activities like emailing, web browsing, e-shopping, and social networking in class. If students do not abide by these guidelines, use of devices will be prohibited in class.

5. Cancellations Due to Weather or Emergencies: When the Provost and Dean makes the decision to close the Harrisburg campus or delay the start of classes, the regional media will be notified by 6:00 a.m. The college will make the announcement in the following ways:

a. On the home page of the college’s website, www.hbg.psu.edu b. Via email through the college’s email system c. Through the university’s alert system, PSUAlert (you must register for this through psualert.psu.edu/psualert) d. On the college’s AUDIX telephone system at the (717) 948-6000 and (717) 948-6029 numbers

For more information on the campus’s emergency closing policy, please see hptt://www.hpg.psu.edu/hbg/weather.html.

6. Confidentiality: The right of students to confidentiality is of concern to your instructor and to the University. According to Penn State policy AD-11, "The Pennsylvania State University collects and retains data and information about students for designated periods of time for the expressed purpose of facilitating the student's educational development. The University recognizes the privacy rights of individuals in exerting control over what information about themselves may be disclosed and, at the same time, attempts to balance that right with the institution's need for information relevant to the fulfillment of its educational missions. Student educational records are defined as records, files, documents, and other materials that contain information directly related to a student and are maintained by The Pennsylvania State University or by a person acting for the University pursuant to University, college, campus, or departmental policy. Exclusions include: Notes of a professor concerning a student and intended for the professor's own use are not subject to inspection, disclosure, and challenge." For more information, see http://guru.psu.edu/policies/Ad11.html.

7. Disability Services and Accessibility: Any student who cannot complete requirements of the class because of physical disabilities should make circumstances known to the instructor. In cases where documentation of disability is available, alternative ways to fulfill requirements will be made. For more information, see Penn State’s disability services handbook at http://www.hbg.psu.edu/studaf/disability/dshandbook.htm

8. Penn State Harrisburg Emergency Procedures: Penn State Harrisburg has an Emergency Response Plan for various disturbances and unusual events such as fires, spillage of hazardous materials, and violent behavior. For more information, see http://www.hbg.psu.edu/EmergencyProceduresflyer.pdf (Emergency Procedures-Quick Reference) and http://php.scripts.psu.edu/dept/iit/hbg/police/erp.php (Emergency Response Plan). Note the phone number for Police Services in the event of an emergency: 717-948-6232. In extreme emergencies, call 911. Offices that can provide assistance are Safety/Police Services at 717-979-7976 and Physical Plant at 717- 948-6235. For campus safety policies and initiatives, see http://btmt.psu.edu and http://www.police.psu.edu.

Course Outline and Schedule

Throughout the semester we will look chronologically at American architecture. Our approach can be divided into three sections: (1) Pre-Colonial and Colonial architecture (weeks 1-3); (2) Industrial-era architecture (weeks 4-9); and (3) post-industrial and Modern architecture (weeks 10-14).

Part 1: Pre-Colonial and Colonial Architecture Week 1

M: What is American Architecture?

In Class • Discussion of the syllabus, including assignments, readings, and class policies • Student introductions • Introduction to topic of American architecture

W: Native American Architecture Pt. 1

In Class • Villages, dwellings, land-clearing practices in the Northeast • Roles of environment, technology, and culture in shaping architecture • Archaeology and oral tradition as evidence of building practices

Reading:

Mark Gelernter, “First Civilizations” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999), 1-34.

Peter Nabokov and Robert Easton, “Introduction” and “Wigwam and Longhouse” Native American Architecture (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 10-51, 52-91.

Viewing:

The Building of the Iroquois Long House, www.youtube.com/watch?v=amvv4P4DzJU

F: Native American Architecture pt. 2

In Class • Villages, dwellings, land-clearing practices in the Plaines and South East • Roles of environment, technology, and culture in shaping architecture • Archaeology and oral tradition as evidence of building practices

Reading:

Peter Nabokov and Robert Easton, “Mound, Town, and Chickee” and “Earthlodge, Grass House, and Tipi ” Native American Architecture (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 92-173.

Week 2

M: Spanish Colonial Architecture

In Class • Missions, forts, and civic buildings in the Southwest • Roles of religion, technology, and culture in shaping architecture • Influences on modern architecture

Reading:

Rexford Newcomb, Spanish-Colonial Architecture in the United States (New York: Dover, 1990).

Mark Gelernter, “Cultures Transformed and Transplanted” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999), 35-52.

W: The Mid-Atlantic in the 17th and 18th Centuries

In Class • Jamestown, St. Mary’s City, and early dwelling-types • Architectural styles, building technology, types of buildings, common building plans • Role of archaeology and restoration projects in providing a modern understanding of architectural styles and techniques

Reading:

Paul Buchanan, “The Eighteenth-Century Frame Houses of Tidewater Virginia,” Building Early America: Contributions Towards the History of a Great Industry. Ed. Charles E. Peterson (Radnor, P.A.: Chilton Book Company, 1976) 54-73).

Cary Carson and Carl Lounsbury, The Chesapeake House (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2013), excerpts provided on Angel.

Viewing

Jamestown Reconstruction, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1WX01PJMD4.

F: Puritan New England

In Class: • Meeting houses, town plans • Architectural styles, building technology, common building plans • Influence of religion and gender on building practices

Reading:

Mark Gelernter, “Cultures Transformed and Transplanted” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999), 52-65.

Abbott Lowell Cummings, The Framed Houses of Massachusetts Bay, 1625- 1725 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1979), excerpts provided on Angel.

Anthony Garvan, “The Protestant plain Style Before 1630” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 9:3 (1950) 4-13.

Week 3

M: Georgian Architecture

In Class: • Brown, Harvard, and the College of William and Mary; Christopher Wren • Elements of Georgian Architecture (Lab)

Readings:

Mark Gelernter, “Cultures Transformed and Transplanted” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999), 66-87.

Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc, 1984), 138-151.

W: Southern Plantations and Slave Cabins pt. 1 **Short Essay #1 Due**

In Class • Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello; George Washington’s Mount Vernon; Diamond Hill • Components of a plantation; White, Black, and Native American experiences; Women’s experiences • Maps, archaeology, images, and floor plans as tools for understanding plantation architecture

Readings:

Mark Gelernter, “Cultures Transformed and Transplanted” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999), 88-98.

Dell Upton, “White and Black Landscape in Eighteenth-Century Virginia” Material Life in America 1600-1860 ed. Robert Blair St. George (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1988), 357-369.

F: Southern Plantations and Slave Cabins pt. 2

In Class • Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello; George Washington’s Mount Vernon; Diamond Hill • Components of a plantation; White, Black, and Native American experiences; Women’s experiences • Maps, archaeology, images, and floor plans as tools for understanding plantation architecture

Review:

John Michael Vlach, “The Cultural Landscape of the Plantation,” http://www.gwu.edu/~folklife/bighouse/intro.html

View:

“Mount Vernon- Home of George Washington,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo4n5u-BiDY

“Harsh Life of Washington’s Slaves Revisited,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygko3bsl_Ro

Part 2: Industrial Era Architecture

Week 4

M: Building Washington, D.C. **Map Assignment Due**

In Class • Pierre L’Enfant, Benjamin Latrobe, Robert Mills The White House, The United States Capitol Building, the National Mall, and Federal-style houses

Readings:

Mark Gelernter, “The Age of Revolution” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999), 97-129.

Donald E. Jackson, “L’Enfant’s Washington: An Architect’s View” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 50:15 (1980) 398-420.

W: Federal and Classical Revival Styles

In Class: • Key elements in Federal and Classical Revival styles (Lab) • Distinguishing between Federal and Georgian-style buildings

Readings:

Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc, 1984), 152-175.

F: Greek Revival Architecture

In Class • Dwellings and civic buildings • Key components of Greek Revival style (Lab)

Readings

Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc, 1984), 178-195.

Mark Gelernter, “Culture Realigned” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999), 130-165.

Week 5

M: Architecture of Westward Expansion pt. 1

In Class: • Temporary housing, boomtowns • Political, cultural, and economic contexts of Western expansion • Discuss survey and photography techniques

Readings:

Sara Quay, “Architecture” Westward Expansion (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002), 67-93.

Glenn Dumke, “The Boom of the 1880s in Southern California” Southern California Quarterly 76:1 (1994), 99-114.

W: **Complete Survey and Photography Assignments in class** • Bring camera or phone with camera to class

F: Emergence of Factories

In Class • Popular architectural styles, common uses of space

Readings

Mark Gelernter, “Enterprise and Turmoil” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999),166-189.

Lindy Biggs, The Rational Factory” Architecture, Technology, and Work in America’s Age of Mass Production (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), 1-35.

Week 6

M: Boardinghouses

In Class: • Popular architectural styles, common uses of space • Discuss census records and use in understanding architecture

Readings:

Richard Horwitz, “Architecture and Culture: The Meaning of the Lowell Boarding House” American Quarterly 25:1 (1973), 64-82.

W: Italianate Architecture

In Class: • Components of Italianate Architecture (Lab)

Readings:

Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc, 1984), 178-195.

F: Utopian Communities **Census Assignment Due**

In Class: • Ephrata Cloister and Shaker communities • Types of buildings, including dwellings and religious structures • Connections between ideology and architecture • View “Shaker Village,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjf06lpUkoU and “The Architecture of the Ephrata Cloister” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ucXmXvSx9o. Readings:

Ernest Gree, “Social Functions of Utopian Architecture” Utopian Studies 4:1 (1993) 1-13.

Janet White, “The Ephrata Cloister: Intersections of Architecture and Culture in an Eighteenth-Century Utopia” Utopia Studies 11:2 (2000) 57-76.

Julie Nicoletta, “Architecture of Control: Shaker Dwelling Houses and the Reform Movement in Early Nineteenth-Century America” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 62:3 (2003) 352-387.

Review:

“America and the Utopian Dream,” http://brbl- archive.library.yale.edu/exhibitions/utopia/utopcom.html, especially the entries on the Ephreta Cloister and Shakers.

Week 7

M: Gothic Revival Architecture and Andrew Jackson Downing **Short Essay #2 Due**

In Class • Components of Gothic Revival style architecture (Lab) • Churches, homes, and civic buildings as examples of style • Principles and influence of Downing on gothic revival

Reading

Robert Twomly, Ed. Andrew Jackson Downing: Essential Texts (New York: Norton and Co., 2012), excerpts available on Angel.

Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc, 1984), 196-209.

W: Victorian-Era Architecture

In Class • Components of Second Empire and Queen Anne architecture (Lab) • Social values and themes reflected in architecture • Exam Review

Reading

Mark Gelernter, “The Age of Diversity” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999), 190-229.

Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc, 1984), 240-299.

F: Early Suburbs

In Class • Edgefield, Chicago, Short Hills as examples of early suburbs • Technological, cultural, and political developments enabling early suburbs • Characteristics of early suburbs that may be comparable to later suburbs

Readings

Mark Riley, “Edgefield: A Study of and Early Nashville Suburb,” Tennessee Historical Quarterly 37:2 (1978), 133-154.

Richard Harris, “Chicago’s Other Suburbs” Geographical Review 84:4 (1994) 394-410.

Review

“Streetcar Suburbs” http://www.livingplaces.com/Streetcar_Suburbs.html

Week 8

M: Architectural Style Exam

W: Henry Hobson Richardson and Richardsonian Romanesque

In Class • Characteristics of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture and its departure from earlier styles • Trinity Church, City Hall and State Capitol in Albany, and Glessner House as examples of style • Components of style and building techniques

Readings

Ann Adams, “The Birth of a Style: Henry Hobson Richardson and the Competition Drawings for Trinity Church, Boston” The Art Bulletin 62:3 (1980) 409-433.

Mark Wright, “H.H. Richardson’s House for Reverend Browne, Rediscovered” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 68:1 (2009), 74-99.

Review

“Architecture: Henry Hobson Richardson” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PShjmUptLhU

F: The Skyscraper

In Class • View “Classic Skyscrapers of Chicago” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5SRUlZKayM • Building techniques, technologies, and social issues that made skyscraper construction possible • Architects and firms responsible for early skyscrapers

Readings

Kieth Revell, “Law Makes Order: The Search for Ensemble in the Skyscraper City, 1890-1930” The American Skyscraper: Cultural Histories ed. Roberta Moudry 38-62.

Daniel Bluestone, “Louis Sullivan’s Chicago: From ‘Shirt Front,’ to Alley, to ‘All Around Structures” in Winterthur Portfolio 47:1 (2013) 65-98.

Week 9

M: Tenements, factories, and settlement houses at the turn of the twentieth century

In Class • “Tour” New York City’s Tenement Museum • Jacob Riis and How the Other Half Lives • Triangle Shirtwaist Factory • Jane Addams and Hull House

Readings:

William Heath Kingston, “Housing the Worker” The Anatomy of the New Bedford Massachusetts, Three-Decker” Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture 10 (2005) 47-59.

W: The Chicago World’s Fair

In Class • Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmstead, and the creation of the “White City” • Beaux Arts/ Neoclassical Architecture • Technology and culture reflected in architecture, especially American exceptionalism

Readings:

Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America (New York: Crown Publishers, 2003).

F: The City Beautiful Movement

In Class • Relationship between Chicago World’s Fair and City Beautiful Movement • Harrisburg as a case study for the City Beautiful Movement Readings

William H. Wilson, “Harrisburg’s Successful City Beautiful Movement, 1900- 1915” Pennsylvania History 47:3 (1980) 213-233.

Review

“City Beautiful” http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/citybeautiful/city.html

Part 3: Post-Industrial and Modern Architecture

Week 10

M: Frank Lloyd Wright **Submit Final Paper Proposal**

In Class: • Examples of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work • Components of the Prairie style and Taliesin studio • View “Frank Lloyd Wright” film by Ken Burns

Readings

Harry Seckel, “Frank Lloyd Wright” The North American Review 246:1 (1938) 48-64.

Kathryn Smith, “Frank Lloyd Wright, Hollyhock House, and Olive Hill, 1914-1924” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 38:1 (1979) 15-33.

Review

“Wright on the Web” http://www.wrightontheweb.net/

“Falling Water” http://www.fallingwater.org/

W: The Arts and Crafts Movement in Architecture

In Class • Bungalows and Prairie-style architecture as examples of craftsman movement • Key design elements in distinguishing craftsmen buildings • Role of periodicals like Gustav Stickley’s magazine, pattern books, and mail order catalogs in popularizing design

Readings

“The Bungalow Style” The Decorator and Furnisher 25:1 (1894) 5-7.

Cheryl Robertson, “Male and Female Agendas for Domestic Reform: The Middle-Class Bungalow in a Gendered Perspective” Winterthur Portfolio 26:2/3 (1991) 123-141.

Mark Alan Hewitt, “Gustav Stickley and the American Arts and Crafts Movement,” West 86th 19:1 (2012) 157-168.

F: Greenbelts and Depression-Era Planned Development

In Class • View the film The City • Relationship between architectural values advocated for in Greenbelt and earlier forms of architecture

Readings

Joseph Arnold, “Greenbelt Maryland 1936-1984” Built Environment 9:3/4 (1983) 198-209.

Philip Wagner, “Suburban Landscapes for Nuclear Families: The Case of Greenbelt Towns in the United States” Built Environment 10:1 (1984) 35-41.

Week 11

M: Henry Ford’s Impact on twentieth-century Architecture **Short Essay 3 Due**

In Class • Dearborn and Greenfield Village as evidence of technology and control in architecture • Preview of role of automobile in shaping architecture

Readings

Lindy Biggs, The Rational Factory” Architecture, Technology, and Work in America’s Age of Mass Production (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), 95-137.

Review

Greenfield Village, http://www.thehenryford.org/village/index.aspx

W: Art Deco Architecture

In Class • Elements of Art Deco architecture • Art Deco and the skyscraper

Readings

Carla Breeze American Art Deco: Architecture and Regionalism (New York: Norton & Co., 2003), Excerpts provided on Angel

Review

“The History of American Art Deco” http://www.brynmawr.edu/cities/archx/05- 600/proj/p2/npk/historydeco.htm

F: Mies Van der Rohe and Louis Kahn

In Class • Defining Modern Architecture in terms of style, buildings, and architects • Examples of modern architecture, especially works of Mies Van der Rohe and Louis Kahn • View “75 Years of Mies van der Rohe and His Chicago School” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPYHznP8WP8 and “Louis Kahn: My Architect” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JktX-BKOjM Readings

Dietrich Neumann, “Three Early Designs by Mies van der Rohe” Perspecta 27 (1992), 76-97.

Kathleen James, “Louis Kahn’s Indian Institute of Management’s Courtyard: Form versus Function” Journal of Architectural Education 49:1 (1995) 38-49.

View

“Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-JHaP9bdBY

Week 12

M: In-Class Presentations—outline due on day of presentation

W: In-Class Presentations—outline due on day of presentation

F: In-Class Presentations—outline due on day of presentation

THANKSGIVING BREAK!!

Week 13

M: Levittown and Post World War II Suburbs

In Class • Technological, social, and political factors contributing to the emergence of post-WWII suburbs • Levittown, PA as an example of the promise and problems in suburban America • View “William and Daisy Myers in Levittown, Pennsylvania, Case Study of Racial Inequality” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En0BMuW0HZw

Readings

Daisy M. Myers, Sticks’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown (New York: New York Heritage Trust, 2005).

Review

“Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb” http://tigger.uic.edu/~pbhales/Levittown.html

W: Disneyland and the Reinterpretation of Nineteenth-Century Architecture

In Class • View “Disneyland Main Street USA” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV5GnkOKrUA • Appropriation of nineteenth-century architectural styles and modification of these styles to support certain values • Connections to other constructed places (Williamsburg, Greenfield Village)

Readings

Karal Ann Marling “Disneyland 1955: Just Take the Santa Ana Freeway to the American Dream,” American Art 5:1/2 (1991) 168-207.

Michael Steiner “Frontierland as Tomorrowland: Walt Disney and the Architectural Packaging of the Mythic West” Montana: The Magazine of Western History 48:1 (1998) 2-17.

F: Shopping Malls and the Automobile-Dominated Landscape **Submit Site Visit Write-up**

In Class • Park City as a Case Study for the modern shopping mall • Road-side architecture, including motor inns and gas stations, as part of the automobile-dominated landscape

Readings

Richard Longstreth, City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920-1950 (Boston: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998), Excerpts available on Angel.

Mark Gelernter, “Modern Culture” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999), 260-292.

Week 14

M: Post-Modernism and Frank Gehry

In Class: • Towards a post-modernist (or deconstructed) architectural style • Examples of post-modern architecture • Cultural and social values shaping this architectural style

Readings

Mark Gelernter, “Postmodern Culture” A History of American Architecture (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1999), 293-318.

View

“Frank Gehry” https://www.ted.com/speakers/frank_gehry

W: Green Buildings and Current Movements in Architecture

In Class • Role of modern environmental movement in shaping green architecture • Components of green buildings, including LEED certification, and their impact on historic structures • Modular and Prefabricated Housing

Readings

Charles Kibert and Kevin Grosskphf, “Envisioning Next-Generation Green Buildings” Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law 23:1 (2007) 145- 160.

Marc Erpenbeck and Colleen Schiman “The Past, Present, and Future of Green Buildings” Natural Resources and Environment 24:2 (2009) 33-35.

Review

“Green Building” http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/

“Historic Structures and Sustainability” http://www.nps.gov/sustainability/sustainable/structures.html

F: Wrap-up

In Class • Review of themes throughout the semester • Revisit question “what is American architecture?”

FINAL PAPER DUE DURING EXAM WEEK