Introduction to Urban History & Theories

A CRITICAL STUDY OF ARCHITECTURAL IDEOLOGIES POST-WWII
The courses of the HTC curriculum provide an introduction to the history of architecture and human settlements with a transcultural perspective, inclusive of diverse canons and traditions. The course sequence addresses architecture’s cultural, ideological and material influences and exchanges, as well as the points of rupture throughout history that have determined the development of the field’s conceptual frameworks and material instrumentalities. These courses place architectural and urban history and theory in the specific contexts of the various paths of colonization at different moments in history, and will consider the geopolitical influences on principles, concepts, styles and techniques, both within the centers of power and at the peripheries. This course focuses on the major breaking points in recent history and their influence on architectural discourse and production. The course investigates architectural concepts, movements, and theories of the post-war period that are essential to an understanding of the present moment. Through the analysis of texts, drawings, and built projects, the course will offer a critical study of architecture’s relationship to ideology.

2 credits.

Course Code: Arch 133

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.