Architectural Theory COURSE SYLLABUS Semester 1 2019-2020 Course Organiser: Dr Michelle Bastian Course Secretary: Rosie Hall Course Code: ARCH10002 Image caption: Elliptical Field – Site of Reversible Destiny Yoro by Arawaka and Madeline Gins (1995) Photograph by Léopold Lambert ESALA Course Handbook: Architectural Theory ARCH10002 1 Published on: 12 September 2019 Alternative Format If you require this document or any of the internal University of Edinburgh online resources mentioned in this document in an alternative format please contact Rosie Hall ([email protected], 0131 651 5802). Contents Introduction 3 Course Summary, Learning Outcomes 4 Teaching and Learning Environment, Reading 5 and Resources Lecture Descriptions 6 Assessment and Feedback 20 Assignments 21 General Information 26 Introduction Welcome to Architectural Theory This course explores the relationship between theory and architecture. We will use a range of case studies to look at how theory can challenge assumptions and offer new ways of thinking about key problems. This will involve close readings of: 1. Philosophical texts 2. Architectural Theory texts 3. Exemplary Architectural projects The course will enable you to explore the relationship between architecture and other areas of culture. It will also provide you with an expanded framework for understanding and interpreting architectural production. The lectures involve thematic explorations of architecture and includes issues such as the role of the body, systems of power and control, as well as provocations to rethink social boundaries around gender, nature and the commons. We will engage with a wide range of theory including deconstruction, phenomenology, feminist theory, environmental philosophy, continental philosophy and more. You will develop skills in reading complex texts and writing responses to them. You will also develop critical perspectives on how architecture might respond to a range of contemporary social issues. This is an exciting course taught by a group of lecturers who have each published and contributed to the development of theory and/or architectural theory. They will be assisted by experienced tutors with backgrounds in architecture and design ESALA Course Handbook: Architectural Theory ARCH10002 2 Published on: 12 September 2019 who are active in research via their current PhD projects. We strongly recommend that this handbook is read in conjunction with your Programme Handbook. Course Summary Introduction The course will consist of eleven lectures and eleven weekly tutorials. Lectures will take place on Tuesdays, with the related tutorials taking place on Wednesdays. In Week 1 there will be a general course introduction. In week 11 the course will conclude with a review writing strategies and tips for the final assignments. The slides for each lecture will be available on LEARN. Audio recordings will also usually be available via LEARN. There will be three items of essential reading each week. These should be reviewed before the lecture, and read closely before the tutorial. Bring copies of the readings to your tutorials so that you can refer to them during discussions. The tutorials will help you to develop your critical reflections journal, which in turn will be beneficial for developing essay themes. Readings are all available through the Resources List linked to on our Learn site. Aims The course will: 1. Provide critical frameworks that inform an understanding of architecture and architectural design 2. Demonstrate how architecture fits within wider intellectual discourses, showing what is at stake in those discourses 3. Develop skills in critical scholarship and writing 4. Promote and excite self-directed study Learning Outcomes Knowledge of contemporary design theories and the ways in which they LO1 can inform specific approaches to, and practices of architectural design1 Ability to demonstrate and analyse how architectural production fits within LO2 wider philosophical, historical, social, political and economic discourses through careful argument 2 Ability to research issues in architectural theory, to critically reflect upon LO3 them, and to organise and present those reflections in the format of scholarly writing3 1 ARB General Criteria 2.1, 2.2, 6.3, Graduate Attribute 1.4 2 ARB General Criteria 2.1, 2.2, 6.3, Graduate Attribute 1.4 3 ARB General Criteria 2.1, 2.2, Graduate Attribute 1.4 ESALA Course Handbook: Architectural Theory ARCH10002 3 Published on: 12 September 2019 The learning outcomes are designed to cover aspects of the ARB/RIBA criteria that are listed in the BA/MA ARB Mapping document in the Programme Degree Handbook. Teaching & Learning Environment Lectures On Tuesdays there will be ten lectures each covering a different topic as outlined in this syllabus, as well as final lecture giving feedback and advice for your assignments. You will be notified of any changes in the lecture sequence and topics. Tutorials Tutorial sessions will take place on Wednesdays. Each tutorial will focus on the topic of the lecture of the previous day. Readings must be completed before the tutorial. You will be assigned to one of 9 tutorial groups. This will appear on your personalised timetable by the end of Orientation Week. Tutorial rooms and the tutor assigned to each group will be listed on LEARN. Group Work There will be no examinable group work. However, we encourage you to form study groups to explore the readings in more depth. Individual Work All work in this course is to be undertaken individually. Communications Lectures and slides are posted on LEARN. Please note that the full lecture may not be posted in advance but will be available at most 24 hours after the lecture. Electronics Policy We’re going to be covering a lot of complex material in this course, and so this electronics policy is designed to help make it easier for everyone to concentrate. Please be aware that there is a lot of research that shows that people using the internet in class do a lot worse in their course work than those that don’t. There’s also research that shows that people can be really distracted by what other people are looking at. For example, if someone is looking at a video in front of them then it makes it really difficult for them to concentrate. As a result, you are expected to refrain from disrupting the class or interfering with other people's ability to concentrate. This means that small electronic devices are not permitted in class and must be put away in your bag or out of sight. You may use a laptop or tablet to take notes, although this is not recommended as it is often very tempting to multitask. If you decide to use a device with an upright screen to take notes you should sit in a back row in the side sections so that the activity on your screen doesn't create a visual distraction to your neighbours. When deciding what is best for you I would recommend that you read some of ESALA Course Handbook: Architectural Theory ARCH10002 4 Published on: 12 September 2019 the following research: So you think you can multitask? from the University of North Carolina How your phone reduces your ability to think even when only in glancing distance from Psychology Today Barak, L. (2012). Multitasking in the university classroom. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,6 (2) https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/vol6/iss2/8/ Ellis, Y., Daniels, W. and Jauregui, A. (2010). The effect of multitasking on the grade performance of business students. Research in Higher Education Journal, 8 http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10498.pdf Fried, C. B. (2008). In-class laptop use and its effects on student learning. Computers and Education, 50 (3), 906-914. Kraushaar, J. M. and Novak, D. C. (2010). Examining the affects of student multitasking with laptops during lecture. Journal of Information Systems Education, 21 (2), 241-251. Reading and Resources All readings are available online through the University’s Resource List service, which provides quick links to all the essential and recommended readings for this course. Simply go to http://resourcelists.ed.ac.uk/index.html and search for our course, or else use the link accessible via LEARN. In some cases you need to be on the University network to have full access to publications. Even when on the University wifi you may need to sign into EASE, or use the University VPN (virtual personal network) service to gain full access. We also recommend that you do your own further research, and that you learn the art of effective web search for scholarly articles, images, videos and other resources, and share links with others. We include some web links with each lecture description, but use keywords from the descriptions to find more. Please ensure that you keep careful notes from your readings and independent research, which include full references and page numbers for all quotes, sections paraphrased and other items you might be interested in using in your assessment items. ESALA Course Handbook: Architectural Theory ARCH10002 5 Published on: 12 September 2019 Lecture Please see the full list of readings on www.resourceslist.ed.ac.uk including recommended and further readings for each lecture. Descriptions LECTURE 1 INTRODUCTION: Why theory? Michelle Bastian Theory can often seem very abstract from everyday life, something that might be indulged in from time to time, but of little help when addressing practical issues. In this lecture we will explore the pervasiveness of theory within everyday life and how it might actually be seen as a type of ‘plumbing’ built into social life that is essential but Pipe Nozzle by Adam Rosenburg (CC BY-SA 2.0) often hidden from sight. This https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredmin/11083759513/ will suggest that one use of theory might be to uncover our buried assumptions and subject them to critical questioning.