American Architectural History Spring 2016

Transcription

1 OVERVIEW: This course serves as an introduction to the history of American architecture from the colonial period to the present. Special emphasis will be given to significant buildings and architects, vernacular traditions, and city planning of the 19th and 20th centuries. REQUIRED TEXTS The following books are required reading for the course. Roth, Leland. American Architecture: A History. (2001). Get the one with the bright yellow cover; Do not get the concise edition. There is no ebook version. Wright, Gwendolyn. USA: Modern Architectures in History. (2008). This is available as an ebook as well as a paperback. McAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guide to American Houses: The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America's Domestic Architecture. 2nd Revised & Expanded Edition (2013). This is a new edition, only available as a hardcover. Don t buy the paperback edition from Also worth reading (but not required) is Vincent Scully s American Architecture and Urbanism. Buy the New Revised Edition (1988) in paperback rather than the newly-published reprint of the 1969 edition. The one you want has a picture of Robert Venturi s Vanna Venturi House on the cover. 1

2 CLASS STRUCTURE: Attendance, readings, and participation in class activities and discussions are all mandatory. All slide lectures and handouts from class are posted to a class Dropbox folder for access by students for use in completing quizzes and other coursework. Note-taking during class is strongly advised. LECTURES Similar to an art history survey class, this course s content consists primarily of in-class lectures illustrated with slides. This is more entertaining than it sounds. READINGS: Weekly readings are to be completed after the class date on which the reading is assigned. QUIZZES: The bulk of each student s grade is determined by his or her scores on take-home quizzes. Questions expand upon material presented in class and will require some additional research outside of the class materials. There are a total of 7 quizzes during the semester. IN-CLASS PRESENTATION: Each student will create a short (ten minute) slide presentation featuring a particular building assigned to him or her. There will be a short question-and-answer period after the presentation. Presentation dates are scattered throughout the semester to correspond roughly with the content of class lectures. Buildings and presentation dates will be assigned after the class roll is finalized. FIELD TRIP AND FIELD REPORT: The class will take at least one Saturday field trip during the last half of the semester. We will discuss the destination early in the semester and plan date(s) according to students schedules. Among the exciting possibilities are Atlanta, Macon, Columbus, Augusta, Rome, Milledgeville, and Madison. Students can carpool or drive individually, but some form of transportation to and from Atlanta/GSU will be provided for all. After the field trip, a short field report will be assigned. The purpose of the assignment is for each student to analyze his or her own experiences through the lens of the course s subject matter, and to begin the process of observation and reflection necessary to understand the built environment. CLASS PROCEDURES: LATE QUIZZES/ASSIGNMENTS: Students who are late returning completed quizzes or assignments will face a grade penalty of ten points per week or partial week that the work is overdue. PRIOR NOTICE OF MISSED CLASSES: Students who must miss a class due to illness or a work-related scheduling conflict are required notify the instructor in advance of the missed class. Unexplained absences will result in a penalty of ten points per missed class. CHEATING: Consult the University s Policy on Academic Honesty (Section 409) for details of the University s policies regarding cheating. Members of the Faculty must report violations of academic conduct, and the penalties for such violations may include 1) a grade of zero points for the assignment or for the course, 2) suspension or expulsion from the University, and/or 3) annotation of the offending student s transcript. 2

3 USE OF COMPUTERS AND/OR ELECTRONIC DEVICES: Use of computers, cell phones, smart phones, and or other electronic devices in class is permitted solely for taking notes or for reference. Texting, IM-ing, Instagramming, Snapchatting, Facebooking, and similar non class-related activities are prohibited during class. Students are expected to be present in class both physically and mentally. Any other activities which disrupt the learning environment or distract other students during class time are prohibited. DISABILITIES, ESL, WITHDRAWAL: Please advise the instructor as early in the term as possible if you have a documented disability that requires accommodation or if English is your second language. Please note on the Registrar s calendar which is the last day to withdraw from the class with the possibility of receiving a W. If a student withdraws from the class by this date but is failing the course at the time of withdrawal, he or she will receive a WF. All students withdrawing after the cutoff date will receive a WF. Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by registering a signed Accommodation Plan with the Office of Disability Services. Students seeking accommodation are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which an accommodation is sought. GRADES: Course letter grades will be given on a +/- basis and are calculated using the following scale. Each student s accrued points are totaled from scores on assignments and quizzes. There is no curve, but + letter grades (except A+) may be rounded up to the next whole letter grade at the discretion of the instructor (as a reward for meritorious service). CLASS TASK PERCENT OF GRADE POINT VALUE Quizzes (7 total) 70% 700 points In-class presentation 5% 50 points Field trip and field report 10% 100 points Attendance and Participation 15% 150 points TOTAL 100% 1000 points FINAL GRADE POINT RANGE A pts A A B B B C C C D F

4 SCHEDULED CLASSES AND READINGS: Class 1: Colonial North America: Europe and its Influence Quiz 1 posted online Reading for the coming week: Roth, Ch. 2, pp 39-65: Europeans in the New World, Class 2: English North America: the Georgian Period, Roth, Ch. 3, pp : In the Latest Fashion, McAlester, Colonial Houses Class 3: The New Republic: Early Neoclassicism and the Federal Style, Quiz 1 due before start of class Quiz 2 posted online Reading for the coming week: Roth, Ch. 4, pp : A New Architecture for a New Nation, Class 4: Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, and Exotic Revivals, Roth, Ch. 5, pp : Appropriation and Innovation, up to the start of The Impact of Industry and Exploitation of Cast Iron McAlester, pp : Romantic Houses Class 5: The Victorian Era, Part I, Quiz 2 due before start of class Quiz 3 posted online Roth, Ch. 6, pp : Architecture in the Age of Energy and Enterprise, up to the start of High Victorian Gothic Roth, Ch. 6, pp : The Centennial Exposition, 1876 up to the start of Transportation and the Impact of Technology McAlester, pp Victorian Houses Hold off reading section on Folk Victorians until Class 10 Class 6: The Victorian Era, Part II, Roth, Ch. 6, pp : High Victorian Gothic up to the start of Industry Buildings and Housing Roth, Ch. 6, pp : read Transportation and the Impact of Technology through the end of the chapter Class 7: Cast Iron Architecture, Early Skyscrapers, and the Chicago School, Quiz 3 due before start of class Quiz 4 posted online Roth, Ch. 5, pp : Impact of Industry and the Exploitation of Cast Iron Roth, Ch. 7, pp : Architecture of the American City and Suburb, up to the start of Classicism and the Search for Order Wright, pp 6-15: Introduction Wright, Ch. 1, pp 16-45: Modern Consolidation,

5 SCHEDULED CLASSES AND READINGS (CONT.) Class 8: The City Beautiful and Beaux Arts Classicism Roth, Ch. 7, pp : Classicism and the Search for Order up to the start of American Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts Roth, Ch. 7, pp : Urban Planning up to the start of Housing Reform Class 9: American Greenspace, Urban Growth, and Suburban Development, Quiz 4 due before start of class Quiz 5 posted online Roth, Ch. 5, pp : read Urban Growth through the end of the chapter Roth, Ch. 6, pp : read Industry Buildings and Housing to the start of The Centennial Exposition, 1876 Roth, Ch. 7, pp : read Urban Planning through the end of the chapter McAlester, pp : Neighborhoods: The Groupings of American Houses SPRING BREAK (no class) Class 10: Building Types in Georgia + Nationally Popular Housing Styles of the Early 20th C. Reference for the coming week: McAlester, pp : Folk Houses - Pre-Railroad and National McAlester, pp : Folk Victorian McAlester, pp Eclectic Houses McAlester, pp Modern Houses 1900-present Class 11: American Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, and Collegiate Gothic, Quiz 5 due before start of class Quiz 6 posted online Readings for Class 11: Roth, Ch. 7, pp : American Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts to the start of Urban Planning Roth, Ch. 8, pp : Read the Architecture of Reassurance and Movie Palaces Wright, Ch. 2, pp 47-77: Progressive Architectures, Class 12: Modernism and the Art Deco in Europe and America, Readings for Class 12: Roth, Ch. 8, pp : Read American Modernism, Skyscrapers , Art Deco and Moderne, Frank Lloyd Wright, The Middle Years, and Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler Wright, Ch. 3, pp : Electric Modernities, Wright, Ch. 4, pp : Architecture, the Public and the State,

6 SCHEDULED CLASSES AND READINGS (CONT.): Class 13: Post-War America, Community and City Planning, Quiz 6 due before start of class Quiz 7 posted online Readings for Class 13: Roth, Ch. 8, pp : read the chapter introduction, The First World War and Industrial Housing, and The Suburb and the Automobile Roth, Ch. 8 pp : read Urban Planning and Housing and The Great Depression Roth, Ch. 9, pp : The Emergence of Modernism, Wright, Ch. 5, pp : The Triumph of Modernism, Class 14: Class 15: Post-Modernism, Neo-Traditionalism and Neo-Modernism, 1965 to Today Readings for Class 14: Roth, Ch. 10, pp : Responses to Modernism, Wright, Ch. 6, pp : Challenging Orthodoxies, Wright, Ch. 7, pp : Disjunctives and Alternatives, 1985 to the Present Final class activity Quiz 7 due before start of class 6