Prof. Ricardo L. Castro, MRAIC
Office: Macdonald-Harrington #311, Tel. 398-6718,
Mailbox : Room #201, Macdonald-Harrington
e-mail: ricardo.castro@ mcgill.ca

T.A.: Mr. Carlos Rueda, Ph. D. Candidate
e-mail: carlos.rueda_plata@mail.mcgill.ca

COURSE DESCRIPTION

History is "the process of inquiry into the past of man in society" (E.H. Carr). History and Theory of Architecture are connected disciplines. History defines and illustrates the cultural context in which theories (scientific, artistic, architectural, philosophical) and architectural objects (cities, buildings, bridges, etc.) emerge. This course comprises a series of lectures and readings on selected topics in the history of western architecture before 1400, rather than a comprehensive survey of world architecture.

OBJECTIVES

This course, covering ancient and medieval built environments aims to:

1. Give the student a basic comprehension of the significant attitudes, philosophies, and theories of the periods under scrutiny and their relevance in the contemporary architectural fields of theory and practice.

2. Explore the interrelation between architecture and the landscape (topography in its amplest definition) on which it rests, placing the character of physical form in its social-historical context.

3. Develop a comprehension of the needs and aspirations of a given epoch as these were manifested in physical form, as well as to the reception of architectural ideas and buildings in such epoch and their impact on current thinking.


MEETING FORMAT

Two lecture periods of 50 minutes and one discussion session per week. At times the discussion meeting will be replaced by a lecture period.

WE: 10:30-12:30 a.m., and FR:10:30-11:30 a.m.. Room 212, Macdonald-Harrington

TEXTBOOKS AND INTERNET MATERIAL

Jean-Pierre Vernant, The Origins of Greek Thought, Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1984.This book is available at The Word Bookstore (469 Milton Street West) .
Juhani Pallasmaa, The Eyes of our Skin, Chichester, West Sussex, GB: Wiley, 2005. This book is available at The Word Bookstore (469 Milton Street West).

Internet access to additional course material:
Many of the slides shown in the lectures can be studied through the electronic archive of slides created by the University of California at Berkeley, which is entitled "SPIRO.";
Students are encouraged to take advantage of the internet as a way to visit distant and inaccessible architectural sites. For example, consult METIS,a QTVR interphase to view Greek ancient architectural sites and visitPERSEUS, an extraordinary resource site.

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THE TERM PAPER

"The purpose of the term paper is to introduce you to the process of scholarly research in architecture.

Final Term Paper

The major part of the assignment is to write an analytical narrative, maximum 5 or 10 pages in length depending on the student's status (not including notes, illustrations and bibliography), on an aspect of your choice relevant to ancient and medieval architecture. You are not limited to the themes presented in the lectures.

In choosing the topic of your paper consider an architectural issue which interests you. Determine from preliminary readings a significant question to ask. Your paper should present and arguable and original thesis on your subject, rather than simply reporting facts. The formulation of the question is crucial to the success of the paper and it is important that you state your point of view clearly in your paper.

The most important source in architectural history is the building and its physican and cultural landscapes. You may want to choose a city or building you have visited, or a local building you can explore. Other important sources include photographs and drawings, contemporary descriptions or contracts, traveler's journals and reports which are excellent indicators of the reception of ideas and buildings at a given epoch. The work of other architectural historians and critics is obviously valuable; keep in mind that your work might shed new light on old subjects by the use of different sources.

It is fundamental that you acknowledge the use of other scholars' works in your paper. Plagiarism is not simply borrowing another writer's language, but it is also constituted by the presentation of any sequence of ideas, arrangement of material or pattern of thought of someone else, even though the ideas may be expressed in your own words. Refer to writing manuals such as the MLA Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style for the correct use of footnotes and bibliography. These are aspects of the craft of writing and are critical to the overall success of the paper. Please type, double space, your final draft. You may use your own drawings or xerox images from publications, citing the sources."

In order to reward students who submit papers on time, late papers will be penalized 10% per day.

SIMULACRUM

"Simulacrum", pl. "simulacra", from Latin,

Image, representation
Ideological representation, copy, model, appearance
Figured representation

The video-simulacra will be executed by teams of three students. Each group must choose a site (building/landscape), which is relevant to the period covered by this course.
All the simulacra videos will be screened publicly and will be discussed by visiting critic(s) on 26, 30 November and 01, 03 December.

The simulacrum-video will count as 30% of the final grade.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Last reviewed: August 2006