Academic Handbook Course Descriptors and Programme Specifications
LADES4141 Buildings and Cities: A Global History Course Descriptor
Last modified on May 29th, 2024 at 5:25 pm
Course Code | LADES4141 | Discipline | Art and Design |
UK Credit | 15 | US Credit | 4 |
FHEQ Level | 4 | Date Approved | |
Core Attributes | DD; IC | ||
Pre-Requisites | |||
Co-Requisites |
Course Overview
The course aims to introduce important monuments in the history of architecture, as well as tools for analysing the built environment. While the focus will be on the buildings themselves, they will also be considered in relation to the political, social, economic and cultural circumstances surrounding them. The course will survey architectural culture in various parts of the world over a broad span of history from the prehistoric through the modern era. Emphasis will be given to architecture as the product of cultural conventions, individual practitioners, and modes of knowledge within which they operate, such as ritual, technological, scientific, historical and philosophical discourses. Students should use this course as an opportunity to develop their eye for composition in two and three dimensions, aesthetic discrimination of detail, ability to see buildings as part of a larger social and cultural fabric, and their your ability to convey your perceptions and critical judgments.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
Knowledge and Understanding
K1a | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of architectural vocabulary and representations, and their uses in architectural design and communication. |
K3a | Understand and interpret buildings as sources of information about the past and past cultures, including the cultural, social, political, and economic contexts in which they were created. |
Subject Specific Skills
S1a | Develop skills in reading and analysing architectural representations, such as plans, sections, and elevations, including the ability to interpret and draw information from them. |
S2a | Use visual evidence as a way of building a historical argument, including the ability to analyse and interpret visual evidence to support claims about the past. |
S3a | Develop scholarly research skills, including the ability to locate, evaluate, and synthesise a range of primary and secondary historical sources related to architecture and the built environment. |
Transferable and Professional Skills
T1a | Develop skills in critical thinking and analysis, including the ability to evaluate information from a variety of sources and to make connections between different ideas and arguments. |
T3a | Display a developing technical proficiency in written English and an ability to communicate clearly and accurately in structured and coherent pieces of writing. |
Teaching and Learning
Teaching and learning strategies for this course will include:
A minimum of 36 contact hours, typically to include interactive group teaching, co-curriculars, individual meetings, in-class presentations and exams.
Course information and supplementary materials are available on the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Students will receive individualised developmental feedback on their work for this course.
Students are required to attend and participate in all the formal and timetabled sessions for this course. Students are also expected to manage their directed learning and independent study in support of the course.
Assessment
Formative
Students will be formatively assessed in class through class activities, and during office hours. Formative assessments are ones that do not count towards the final grade but will provide students with developmental feedback.
Summative
AE | Assessment Activity | Weighting (%) | Duration | Length |
1 | Exam | 50% | 1.5 hours | |
2 | Written | 50% | 2000 words |
Further information on the structure of summative assessment elements can be found in the Summative Assessment Briefs.
Feedback
Students will receive feedback in a variety of ways: written (including via email correspondence); oral (within office hours or on an ad hoc basis) and indirectly through class discussion.
Feedback on examinations is provided through generic internal examiners’ reports and are made available to the student on the VLE. For all other summative assessment methods, feedback is made available to the student either via email, the VLE or another appropriate method.
Indicative Reading
Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is used as part of the approval/modification process only.
Books
- Francis D.K. Ching, A Visual Dictionary of Architecture, 2nd edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012
- John Fleming et al., The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. New York: Penguin, 2000
- Margaret Fletcher & Robbie Polley, Architectural Styles a Visual Guide, Princeton University Press, 2020
Indicative Topics
Students will typically study the following topics:
- The language of architecture
- Architectural drawings
- The classical orders
- The problem of ornament
- Construction techniques, materials, site and the role of the patron
Title: LADES4141 Buildings and Cities A Global History Course Descriptor
Approved by: Academic Board Location: Academic Handbook/Programme Specifications and Handbooks/Mobility Courses |
|||||
Version number | Date approved | Date published | Owner | Proposed next review date | Modification (As per AQF4) & category number |
1.0 | July 2023 | August 2023 | Dr Kate Grandjouan | July 2028 |