spring 2006
ARC 386M:
The Spiritual Dimensions of Architecture
As this is the first time this seminar is being offered, think of it as a course "in development." Future versions will depend a great deal on student response and input over the semester.
Topic
After introductory discussion of some of the meanings of "spiritual"--e.g. poetic, sacred, numinous, meaningful, holy, religious, divine, really real, nonmaterialistic, etc.--the topic will be treated under three broad subtopics: sacred space, sacred time, and sacred activity (where "sacred" is the word that sounds best in these usages, but could be "spiritual" or any of the others).
Under the rubric of sacred space, we will read Bachelard (see below) as well as excerpts from Jammer and Zajonc. Our discussions will focus not only on these texts but on our personal experiences, not only on officially religious spaces (churches, mosques, etc.) but on everyday places that by their design, and/or by accident, acquire a spiritual charge. We will consider all the senses, not just sight. We will also begin to see other people not merely as filling space, but as creating space by what they say and do.
Under the rubric of sacred time we will read Heschel and Eberle (see below). We will see that "lived time" is different to "clock time" and that not only does architecture affect the duration of lived time, but that lived time imposes an architecture of its own as periods are distinguished from each other: seasonally, maturationally, ritually, functionally. We will begin to see that architecture is as much the art of time as it is the art of space, with neither term understood in the science-envying modality offered by modernist architectural theory.
Under the rubric of sacred activity, we will read Buber and Kahn and excerpts from the instructor's recent writings (see below). We will explore the meaning of creativity in an evolutionary vs. religious context, and of service, from a secular and spiritual point of view. Our focus will be the activities related to producing architecture: from programming to designing to building/constructing, each of which require constant mindfulness, creativity, initiative, and decision-making. The benefit to the architect of these activities is only one of the goods involved. We will begin to see that "doing something good" comes close to "doing God's will" by nearly all definitions of God and that this image is equal in value, if antipodal, to the image of God conveyed by "great buildings."
In all three subtopics we will also refer to readings from CENTER 15 (see below) and students will be encouraged, indeed required, to seek out readings to present in class and to fulfill their final papers.
Modus operandi
The seminar will meet on Tuesday afternoons from 5 pm to 7pm in Battle Hall 101, and on Thursday afternoons, from 5pm to 6pm online, via UT's Blackboard system. Full participation is expected at both venues. Each Tuesday, students will be required to turn in a one-page response to the readings assigned.
Tuesdays will generally be divided into three periods: first, a discussion around one or two of the students' reading responses chosen by the instructor; second, a short lecture by the instructor, and third, an open discussion of the substance of the lecture. Thursdays will consist of an online discussion of the issues raised on Tuesday, and of the meaning of the new readings, and of other discoveries.
There will be no mid-term paper beyond evidence of thinking towards a final paper. Final papers can be in one of several forms: written essay, photo-essay, (digital) video, "radio" program, art installation, or architectural design, as long they are on-topic, done exclusively for this class, and are fully documented (CDROM and/or paper). Students are encouraged to create websites over the semester that contain their own work as well as collages and links to other material.
Grades
Students will be evaluated in four areas: attendance (20%), reading reports (20%), level of in-class and online participation (20%), and final project (40%). The instructor is looking for the same seriousness and creativity in the students that the students are looking for in the instructor.
A note about religion
No public university can promote religion or a religion. This is why departments of Religious Studies teach religions as social, cultural and historical phenomena without requiring or encouraging assent to any religion's theology, doctrines, or practices. In teaching, there can be no persuasion, preaching, or evangelism; no faith-based conditions for registration or graduation from courses. This seminar will follow suit on the premise that there is sufficient common ground in "the spiritual" to allow dialog across faith systems and the humanities and arts. But because "spirituality" so often overlaps with the content of religious thought and philosophy, the seminar will not shrink from taking God--or the idea of God--seriously, be that theistically, deistically, or atheistically as the case may be. The seminar will respect its participants' religious, non-religious, or anti-religious backgrounds, but will not shrink from discussion of their features, promises, and problems. Indeed, students may be encouraged to delve into their own beliefs more deeply, this as they seek to experience the spiritual dimension of architecture and address it in their own work.
Required Readings: (*purchase optional, excerpts provided)
- Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space
- *Max Jammer, Concepts of Space
- *Arthur Zajonc, Catching the Light
- Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath
- Gary Eberle, Sacred Time and the Search for Meaning
- Louis Kahn, Louis Kahn: Essential Texts
- Martin Buber, I and Thou
- Michael Benedikt, For an Architecture of Reality
- * CENTER 15, Divinity, Creativity, Complexity (ms., various authors)
- * Henri Bergson, Creative Evolution
- * Armand Larive, After Sunday: A Theology of Work
- * John Hick, An Interpretation of Religion
Recommended Readings
- Junichiro Tanizaki, In Praise of Shadows
- Frederick W. Schmidt, ed., The Changing Face of God
- Gordon D. Kaufman, In the Beginning...Creativity
- Henry N. Wieman, The Source of Human Good
- William James, The Variety of Religious Experience
- Lawrence Kushner, God Was In This Place & I, i did not know it.
- Tom Spector, The Ethical Architect
- Peter Zumthor, Thinking Architecture
- Margaret Visser, The Geometry of Love: Space, Time, Mystery, and Meaning in an Ordinary Church
- Grant Hildebrandt, Origins of Architectural Pleasure
- John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice and Unto This Last
- Lewis Mumford, The Conduct of Life
- Alan Watts, The Way of Zen
- Daniel Dennett, Darwin's Dangerous Idea
- Michael Benedikt, God Is the Good We Do (manuscript online)
- John the Apostle, Revelations (New Testament)
- Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz
- Colin Wilson, Atlas of Holy Places and Sacred Sites
Recommended Viewings
Ridley Scott, Blade Runner, Bernardo Bertolucci, Little Buddha, Nathaniel Kahn, My Architect, Errol Morris, Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control.