Critical Architecture

This seminar introduces students to contemporary forms of critical architectural theory and practice by concentrating on those works that can be seen as resisting hermetic formal systems or the simplistic packaging of external economic and/or social need. The seminar traces the lineages of contemporary critical architecture to photography, film, theater, and other art forms of German Expressionism, Dada, and Russian Avant-Garde experiments. The first section of the course consists of introductory lectures by the instructor. The second section consists of student presentations. A fifteen-page research paper is required.