HT Criticism, Arch & Politics (HT 2536)
Term: 2019-2020 Academic Year Fall
Description
Criticism, Architecture, & Politics stems from Michael Sorkin’s assertion that “All architecture is political.” Taking this as the base condition, the line of inquiry that arises from this course is not a debate if architecture is or is not political, but how architecture is aligned with, complicit in, resistant to, or representative of contemporaneous cultural, political, and economic conditions. We will approach issues of spatial equity, immigration, power, labor, gender, human rights, and cultural representation through a series of typological case studies, with architectural examples acting as genesis for discussion. Course readings place emphasis on criticism—architecture, art, and urbanism—and its ability (née, responsibility) to amplify connections between form and socio-political context. We will unpack the art and science of writing criticism and students will write their own critical essays. Additionally, the class is structured to give students agency to bring their material