Catalog of Courses for Architectural History
Surveys architecture from the Ancient to the present.
We will explore how architecture affects us, as well as how it informs us about past societies. In what ways does architecture shape our experiences; how does it enhance or detract from human activities? This course will cover material from the pre-historic period through c. 1420 largely in Europe with some examples from Asia, Africa and the Americas. Classes will be a combination of lectures and in-class activities.
This course will examine architecture and urbanism from around 1400 C.E. to the present, tracing connections and distinctions that have guided the design, uses, and meanings of built environments around the globe. You will be introduced to celebrated buildings and less well-known sites and cities, with particular attention to the aesthetic, social, cultural, and institutional situations in which they developed.
This course will introduce students to the multifaceted worlds of Islam, through an interdisciplinary survey of its diverse instantiations across more than 1400 years of history, and geographies that span the globe. Drawing on the resources we have at UVA across multiple departments, students will be offered a pluralistic engagement into social, artistic, intellectual, economic and political worlds infused with Islamic sensibilities and ethics.
Topical offerings in architectural history.
Thomas Jefferson architecture was an art that encompassed more than simply shelter but embodied cultural and political values. This course will focus on his architectural and other designs (gardens, interiors, towns, campuses) and his interest in the arts. Course may include field trips.
Public Humanities and Cultural Change introduces undergraduate students to the power of place and story in the shaping of the American imagination. The multi-disciplinary course centers 1) engaging complex pasts, 2) place-based and community-based methodologies, 3) the inherently political nature of public humanities, and 4) impactful public engagement, especially across difference.
This interdisciplinary course covers the American South to the Civil War. While the course centers on the visual arts, architecture, material culture, decorative arts, painting, and sculpture; it is not designed as a regional history of art, but an exploration of the interrelations between history, material and visual cultures, foodways, music and literature in the formation of Southern identities. Course may include field trips.
We will critically assess the role of digital humanities in art and architectural history through an analysis of extant digital projects, discussions of ethical concerns, and data visualizations as well as a wide range of available tools such as GIS, Storymap, view-shed analysis, & 3D visualizations.We will consider best practices in digital site development employing a design thinking process.
The Asian-African conference in 1955, known as the Bandung Conference, imagined a movement of newly independent nations of Asia & Africa, joining mutual solidarity to support the development & cultural as well as political independence. In this seminar, students will study the history of the Bandung project, the notion of freedom, liberation, independence, & sovereignty, as well as the material culture & built environment. Grad version has additional requirements.
As the construction of cities redistributes its activities across the world in the twenty-first century, this course considers the ways in which architecture and architects are changed by a complex shifting field of forces. These forces include critical and ethical discourses, digital media, global finance and trade, developments in materials science, environmental awareness, and geo-political strategies.
Topical offerings in architectural history.
The Architectural History Colloquium combines lecture and discussion. Subject varies with the instructor, who may decide to focus attention either on a particular period, artist, or theme, or on the broader question of the aims and methods of architectural history. Subject is announced prior to each registration period. Enrollment is capped at 20.
This class is a field-based seminar on methods of analyzing and recording historic buildings, especially vernacular buildings and landscapes. Students will be introduced to intensive building analysis geared to understanding change over time. Students will also learn methods of careful field recording for both documentation and analysis. Graduate students will undertake additional course requirements. Course may include site visits.
This seminar surveys preservation from its historical beginnings through contemporary emerging trends, focusing on the changing nature of its ideals and practice in a critical and international perspective. We will explore the role of historic preservation and heritage in cultural politics, historical interpretation, urban development, and planning and design practice.
Combining seminar discussions, shop exercises and laboratory exercises, this course explores the material culture of architecture from the perspective of materials science. Material culture is the physical stuff that is part of human life, and includes everything humans make and use including materials we use to shape the environment.
A cultural landscape tells the story of interactions between a natural landscape and cultural groups. In this course we'll focus on the history and development of the Virginia cultural landscape in the regional South, as well as its connections throughout North America and the Atlantic World.
American architecture from the first European contact to the death of Jefferson. Lectures and field trips.
Topical offerings in architectural history.
Research seminar in select topics in architectural history.
Advanced work on independent research topics by individual students.
Advanced independent research projects by fourth year architectural history students. Prerequisite: Instructor approval and departmental approval of topic.
This course examines the art and architecture of Venice from the fifth century until the seventeenth century. We consider the major "nuclei" of the city like Piazza San Marco and personalities that shaped the built and artistic environment -- Codussi, Sansovino, Palladio, & Titian for example. Our study explores the factors that contributed to Venetian art such as political and social context and contact with Byzantine, Islamic and northern Europe.
Special topics pursued in a colloquium.
Internship at World Heritage Site; Monticello or the University of Virginia. Some projects have a digital component. Graduate course will have additional course requirements. Course may include site visits.
Continuation of Internship in historic preservation/architectural history. 6-8 hours weekly. Course may include site visits. Graduate students will undertake additional course requirements.
Advanced work on independent research topics by individual students. Departmental approval of the topic is required.
A seminar exploring how racialized inequalities have shaped American cities North & South,past & present,and the influence of racialized urban structures on the idea & experience of race in America. Topics include the effects of segregation,redlining,urban planning,redevelopment,white flight,ghettoization & neoliberal development on the form & culture of American cities & structures of inequality in the US. Graduate level will have additional req.
This class explores the wide range of approaches that have been taken to the complex relationships between body, sex, gender, and the built environment. Some see buildings as a direct expression of sexed bodies (phallic towers and breast-like domes), while others see buildings and settlements as expressions and reiterations of the gender structures of a culture.
This course will introduce students to the tools of visual analysis, reading architectural drawings and the study of architecture as a part of the larger cultural, social and political context of its society. While the course will focus on Western Europe, it will also include topics from the eastern Mediterranean and Asia.
This course will examine architecture and urbanism from around 1400 C.E. to the present, tracing connections and distinctions that have guided the design, uses, and meanings of built environments around the globe. You will be introduced to celebrated buildings and less well-known sites and cities, with particular attention to the aesthetic, social, cultural, and institutional situations in which they developed.
This lecture course focuses on cities as centers of cultural, social, and artistic activity. It considers how we define cities, the forces that create and sustain them, and what makes them culturally distinctive. It looks at several cities at their moments of cultural, political, and architectural glory: Istanbul in the 16thcentury, London in the late 17th and 18th centuries, Paris in the 19th century, New York in the 20th century, and Shanghai in the 21st century.
As the construction of cities redistributes its activities across the world in the twenty-first century, this course considers the ways in which architecture and architects are changed by a complex shifting field of forces. These forces include critical and ethical discourses, digital media, global finance and trade, developments in materials science, environmental awareness, and geo-political strategies.
Topical offerings in architectural history.
A cultural landscape tells the story of interactions between a natural landscape and cultural groups. In this course we'll focus on the history and development of the Virginia cultural landscape in the regional South, as well as its connections throughout North America and the Atlantic World. The graduate course will have additional course requirements.
Thomas Jefferson, architecture was an art that encompassed more than simply shelter but embodied cultural and political values. This course will focus on his architectural and other designs (gardens, interiors, towns, campuses) and his interest in the arts. Graduate students will undertake additional course requirements. Course may include field trips.
A survey of American architecture from the first European contact to 1800 including Jefferson, urban form and landscape design.
Independent research on topics selected by individual students in consultation with a faculty advisor.
Required for candidates for the degree of Master of Architectural History. An investigation of the nature of architectural history, materials, methods, and writings.
This course introduces the critical practice of curating exhibitions for the public realm. It scrutinizes influential exhibitions in historical contexts to understand their impact on society and on the design professions, especially in setting new agendas. During the semester, students will research, curate and mount an exhibition at the School of Architecture based on a given archive and theme.
We will critically assess the role of digital humanities in art and architectural history through an analysis of extant digital projects, discussions of ethical concerns, and data visualizations as well as a wide range of available tools such as GIS, Storymap, view-shed analysis, and 3D visualizations. We will consider best practices in digital site development employing a design thinking process. Graduate course will have additional course requirements.
The Asian-African conference in 1955, known as the Bandung Conference, imagined a movement of newly independent nations of Asia & Africa, joining mutual solidarity to support the development & cultural as well as political independence. In this seminar, students will study the history of the Bandung project, the notion of freedom, liberation, independence, & sovereignty, as well as the material culture & built environment. Grad version has additional requirements.
Topical offerings in architectural history.
Special research topics pursued in a seminar.
This seminar surveys preservation from its historical beginnings through contemporary emerging trends, focusing on the changing nature of its ideals and practice in a critical and international perspective.We will explore the role of historic preservation and heritage in cultural politics, historical interpretation, urban development, & planning & design practice. Graduate Students will undertake additional course requirements.
This class is a field based seminar on methods of analyzing and recording historic buildings, especially vernacular buildings and landscapes. Students will be introduced to intensive building analysis geared to understanding change over time, while learning methods of careful field recording for both documentation and analysis. Graduate students will undertake additional course requirements. Course may include site visits.
Combining seminar discussions, shop exercises and laboratory exercises, this course explores the material culture of architecture from the perspective of materials science. Material culture is the physical stuff that is part of human life, and includes everything humans make and use including materials we use to shape the environment. Graduate course will have additional course requirements.
Public Humanities and Cultural Change introduces undergraduate students to the power of place and story in the shaping of the American imagination. The multi-disciplinary course centers 1) engaging complex pasts, 2) place-based and community-based methodologies, 3) the inherently political nature of public humanities, and 4) impactful public engagement, especially across difference. Graduate version has additional requirements.
Preparation and completion of a thesis..
Research on topic for Master Thesis.
For Thesis Preparation, taken before a thesis director has been selected.
Topical offerings in architectural history.
Special research topics pursued in a seminar.
Seminar discussion of special research topics. Past topics have discussed anthropomorphism in Renaissance and Baroque architecture; Alberti's De re Aedificatoria; Renaissance and Baroque buildings in their larger settings; the Rome of Julius II; Renaissance and Baroque classification of Buildings; Renaissance Space; Brunelleschi and Alberti; Renaissance urbanism; Rome and the Renaissance; and the Renaissance palace.
Special research topics pursued in a seminar.
Special research topics pursued in a seminar.
Special research topics pursued in a seminar.
Special research topics pursued in a seminar.
Advanced work on independent research topics by individual students. Departmental approval of the topic is required.