ART 370: The History of Pre-Modern Architecture

DePaul University
Fullerton 202
Winter Quarter 2002, Mon.-Wed. 3:30-5:00

Paul B. Jaskot
Office: Rm. 213, x2567
Office hours: Wednesday 12:30-2:30 or by appointment
e-mail: pjaskot@depaul.edu
web page: www.depaul.edu/~pjaskot

Course Description: From ancient times to the present, architecture has been the major means of defining the human physical environment. This course briefly surveys the history of architecture and city planning in western society up to the 1789 French Revolution. We will focus on issues such as the relationship between architecture and political power, public and vernacular architecture, the development of the city, architects and their patrons, and the function of architecture in a variety of cultures. Given this scope of analysis, we will deal necessarily with significant social, political and economic events that influenced and were influenced by architecture.

In studying this area, the student is expected to do c. 6 hours of outside study on average per week for the course. If this is the case, the student can expect to have a thorough knowledge of architectural and urban developments in the pre-modern European and Mediterranean world, but also to have worked on crucial reading, writing, and argumentation skills. With these skills in mind, the purpose of the course will be to make students not only more aware of architectural history from the past but also more critical in understanding the development of western culture as a whole.

Required Text: Spiro Kostof, The History of Architecture, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1985 (Available at DePaul’s Lincoln Park Bookstore); additional readings are on reserve for this course in the Richardson Library or on electronic reserve accessible through the library's home page and listed according to professor and class number (http://www.lib.depaul.edu).

Syllabus

January 7:  Introduction:  Architecture and the History of Western Culture

January 9, 14: The Rise of Lithic Architecture:  The Architecture of Ancient Egypt January 16, 21: Ancient Athens and the Development of the Greek Temple Type January 23, 28: Ancient Rome and the Development of the Roman City January 30, February 4: Christians, Muslims and the Splintering of the Roman Empire: From Rome to Constantinople to Jerusalem February 6: Midterm Exam!

February 11, 13:  Architecture of the Pilgrimage Road

February 18, 25 [NOTE:  no class Feb. 20]: “Gothic” Architecture and the Patronage of French Urban Aristocracies February 27, March 4:  Architecture of the Italian City States: Florence and Venice
METHODOLOGY PAPERS DUE IN CLASS, MARCH 4!!!!
March 6, 11: Reformation/Counter-Reformation Architecture and the Rome of the Popes March 13: Architecture in an Age of Absolute Monarchy: Spain, Mexico City and the Distant Thunder of Revolution March 18, Monday:  Final Exam! (2:45-5:00 PM)
 
 
Paper #1:  Visual Analysis
Paper #2:  Methodological Analysis

Note on Grading: Grades in this class will be determined by the following scale:

Midterm: 20%; Final Exam: 40%.
Description Paper: 10%; Methodology Paper: 20%.
Discussion Participation: 10%.
The final exam cannot be rescheduled or taken at another time. If you cannot make the exam, you should not sign up for the course.

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