History & Theory
Area Coordinator: Eve Blau, Adjunct Professor in Architectural History
This area of study provides course content for scholarly study, as distinct from project design. Like the other areas of the MDesS program, it is intentionally interdisciplinary both within the GDS and with other schools and institutes within the University. Topics covered focus on the history and theory of the GSD’s core offerings in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design and planning. Particular emphasis is placed on the history of modern and contemporary architecture and urbanism, and on the most current theoretical and methodological approaches to the analysis and interpretation of architectural culture.
The many University resources available to students in specializing in this area include the workshops, conferences and guest speaker events at the Radcliffe Institute, the Charles Warren Center for the Study of American Culture, the Schlesinger Library, the Barker Humanities Center, and the Center for European Studies, among others.
Collaborative group learning is the primary mode for study in this area, and students also frequently organize specialized reading groups, lectures and presentations. The program is appropriate for individuals considering application to the DdesS program, for studio professionals interested in expanding their knowledge of contemporary theory and analysis, and for midcareer professionals seeking to broaden their background in the history and theory of architecture.
Required Courses:
4201 (M1-M6) Buildings Texts and Contexts
Typical Electives:
4337 Digital Culture, Space and Society
4355 Architecture, Science, and Technology
4404 Modernism/Modernity
Related Faculty
John Beardsley, Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture
Eve Blau, Adjunct Professor in Architectural History
Margaret Crawford, Professor of Urban Design and Planning Theory
K. Michael Hays, Professor of Architectural Theory
Timothy Hyde, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Sanford Kwinter, Visiting Associate Professor of Architecture
Dorothee Imbert, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture
Antoine Picon, Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology
Christine Smith, Robert C. and Marian K. Weinberg Professor of Architectural
History
Student Profiles
Alumnus: Carson Chan