ARC 388R
History of American Architecture: The Nineteenth Century

Instructor: Dr. Christopher Long
Time and Place: T 2:00-5:00; SUT 4.118
Office: Sutton Hall 4.104
Office hours: By appointment
Tel.: 512.232.4084
E-mail: chrlong@mail.utexas.edu

Prerequisites

This course is open to SOA students who have completed Surveys 1, 2, and 3 or their equivalent. Graduate students from other departments are welcome to enroll with the consent of the instructor.

Description and Format

The history of architecture in United States has always been characterized by a remarkable--even bewildering--richness and diversity. While certain styles and approaches have dominated the scene at different times, American architecture has fundamentally been a reflection of the same pluralism that distinguishes American society. Even before the arrival of the Europeans, the North American continent was the scene of an extraordinary multiplicity of building methods, forms and ideas. Yet certain themes run through America's long architectural history: the attempt to respond to the unique American context, the desire to forge a distinctly American idiom, and the necessity of coming to terms with the changes wrought by rapid expansion and economic change.

This seminar course will survey architecture in the United States in the nineteenth century, exploring such issues as the search for an architecture distinguishable from its European roots, and the attempts to respond to the rapidly changing nature of American life and society. In addition to examples by celebrated architects such as Thomas Jefferson, H. H. Richardson, and Louis Sullivan, the course will also explore vernacular building and early commercial architecture. Readings will be drawn from a wide variety of sources, ranging from standard texts and scholarly articles to statements written by the architects themselves.

Course Requirements

Grades will be based on class participation (20%), one in-class presentation (30%) and a final paper (20-25 pages; 50%).

Required Texts

Peter Nabakov and Robert Easton, Native American Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. ISBN 0-19-503781-2 pbk.

Marcus Whiffen and Frederick Koeper. American Architecture. Volumes 1 and 2. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1983. ISBN 0-262-73069-3 (Vol. 1) pbk. ISBN 0-262-73070-7 (Vol. 2) pbk.

James F. O'Gorman. Three American Architects: Richardson, Sullivan, and Wright, 1865-1915. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. ISBN 0-226-620727 pbk.

Plus a course reader of selected articles available at Longhorn Copies, 2520 Guadalupe, ph. 476-4498.