Indigenous Architecture of the Americas ARTH H653 Department of the History of Art & Visual Culture Fall 2010 Meeting Time & Location: Wednesday 1:10 – 4:10pm, College Building, Room 412 Instructor: Michelle Charest Contact: [email protected] Office Hours: By Appointment Course Overview: This course will explore the architectural traditions of the Indigenous cultures of North America, Mesoamerica, and South America in historic perspective. Examinations will focus on the critical cultural and environmental circumstances which led to the development of distinctive architectural styles throughout the Americas. Approached from an anthropological/archaeological perspective, specific topics of discussion will include the following: construction methods and material choices, spatial arrangements and use areas, the relationship between physical and social community structure, and architectural manifestation of cultural belief systems. Emphasis will also be placed on manipulations of the landscape in response to social and climatic needs. Architectural culture discussed in this course will range widely in scale, dispersal and geography - from the igloo of a small Inuit hunting party to the entire Mayan city of Chichen Itza, to the terrace and irrigation systems of the Inca. Course Organization & Requirements: Each class will be composed of roughly half lecture and half discussion. Lectures will primarily present materials not addressed within the weekly readings. Discussions will address both the readings and lecture content from a critical perspective. All readings should be completed prior to the class under which they are listed. Students should be prepared to discuss all texts. In order to get the most out of this course, full participation in discussions and class activities is necessary and required. Readings for this course are drawn from scholarly journals, edited volumes and books. There is no textbook for this course. There will be approximately 3-5 articles or chapters to read for each class. Readings will be announced well in advance of the date of discussion and can be accessed either via RISD Library e-journal subscriptions or via this course’s Digication site. Course Assignments & Evaluations: Midterm Research Paper (20%): 5 – 7 page research paper focusing on the relationship between environment and architectural choice in a particular time and culture (e.g. Preclassic Maya, or Mississippian). Students should orient their papers toward traditional architecture and landscape architecture and not on modern interpretations, evolutions or ‘Western’ influences. Paper is due at the start of class on October 27 in hard copy format only. 1 Final Research Paper (35%): 10 – 12 page research paper focusing in depth on a topic that fits within the scope of the class. Students may elect to address a particular theme within a single culture or they may adopt a more cross-cultural approach. As with the previous paper, students should focus on traditional or (pre)historical architectural topics. Specific details related to format and content of the paper will be discussed well in advance of the due date. Students are required to obtain approval of their selected topic in order for the paper to be accepted. Paper is due at the start of the last day of class on December 8 in hard copy format only. Final Exam (25%): This will be a take home exam consisting of a series of essay questions requiring critical assessment of materials presented during the course including lectures, readings and discussions. Exam questions will be distributed on the last day of class. Exams are due on Monday, December 13 (specific time TBA). Please Note: Late papers and/or exams will not be accepted. Participation (20%): Includes Discussions & Attendance. Discussions: Students are expected to participate in discussions. To further facilitate these discussions, each student will sign up in advance to be responsible for helping to lead two (2) weeks of discussion. This means that there will be multiple student discussants each week. Discussants will be expected to raise questions related to the texts and to generally encourage a lively critique of the readings. It should be noted that all students must be prepared for discussion, even if they are not the scheduled discussant for the day. Any student may be called upon to respond to concepts posed during lecture or discussions. A student’s role as discussant and participant will be included in the overall Participation portion of the final grade. Attendance: Students are expected to attend all class meetings. Lack of attendance will negatively impact the Participation portion of the final grade. Final Course Grade: Evaluation % of Grade Due Date Midterm Paper 20 October 27 Final Paper 35 December 8 Final Exam 25 December 13 Participation 20 N/A 2 Course Schedule: Date Topic Assignments September 15 Introduction and Overview of Course Eastern Woodlands September 22 Hopewell Mississippian Great Plains September 29 Plateau Arctic October 6 Northwest Coast California October 13 Southwest Olmec October 20 Maya I Maya II Midterm Research Paper October 27 Western Mexico Shaft Tomb Tradition Due Toltec November 3 Zapotec Aztec November 10 Teotihuacan Chavin Paracas November 17 Moche Nazca November 24 No Class (Thanksgiving Break) Tiwanaku December 1 Inca I December 8 Inca II Final Research Paper Due (Last Day of Class) Course Wrap Up December 13 Final Exam 3 .