Prerequisites: Open to all graduate students.

Description: This course is the first in a two-part series that explores the history of architecture around the world. Beginning with the earliest evidence of human habitation, we will examine the evolution of architecture and town building in places ranging from the ancient Near East, Egypt, and Classical Greece, to East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Central and South America, and Europe to around the year 1750. The approach will be interdisciplinary, combining aspects of architecture and history, as well as geography, cultural studies, and anthropology. The course will consist of two lectures per week and a separate discussion session.

Educational Objectives: The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the historical development of architecture from a global perspective; to introduce them to the basic vocabulary and concepts of architecture; and to acquaint them with the nature of architectural history and its potential for providing meaningful lessons for our time.

Course Requirements: Grades will be based on two mid-term examinations (each worth 20% of the final grade), one long paper (30%), class participation (10%), and a final examination (20%).

Class attendance is required. Students are also required to attend all discussion sessions. All exams must be taken on the dates scheduled. Students will only be permitted to take make-up exams in the case of medical or family emergencies, or if they are away on official university business. Late papers will not be accepted.

Required texts:

Spiro Kostof, A History of Architecture: Setting and Rituals. 2nd. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

William L. MacDonald, The Pantheon. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1976.

Mary Beard, The Parthenon. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2005.

Vitruvius. The Ten Books of Architecture. Trans. Morris Hicky Morgan. New York: Dover, 1960.

Plus a packet of selected articles