Outline

Overview

This unit investigates topics in the study of architectural history. Assuming an undergraduate knowledge of the field, the course will explore in depth specific moments in time, bodies of work, geographies, building types, thematics, or other frames that will be defined year to year. Seminars and assessment tasks will offer an introduction to the history of architecture, broadly defined, and to the literature allowing for advanced independent study. Seminars will foster close attention to specific topics within the history of architecture, which consider a range of topics. These may include the intellectual and cultural contexts of architectural production and/or use; formal or implied debates that have shaped the field; historical problems in architectural design, planning or construction; modes of evidenced thought and communication; race, labour or religion; institutions and literature and their role in mediating knowledge. Working against a defined canon of significant works, this unit is global in its scope and open to treating the architecture of all periods of time. The unit will hone students' skills of historical analysis to prepare for both further study and a full engagement with architecture's professional culture. It will, too, foster a sense of historicity for the present moment.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	MARC5100
Academic unit	Architecture
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	BDES3011 or equivalent
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Andrew Leach, andrew.leach@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Andrew Leach, andrew.leach@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Research Paper Resolved research essay shaped by independent scholarship.	60%	STUVAC Due date: 16 Jun 2023 at 23:00	6000 words, incl notes, excl bibl
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Process Submission A working version of the final submission prepared for extensive comments.	40%	Week 07 Due date: 06 Apr 2023 at 23:00	4000 words, all requirements incl
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Assessment 1 (40%) requires students to declare a topic for an independent research paper, write an abstract, identify a minimum of 20 sources (developed over the course of the semester), and develop a working structure, into which draft text is figured. Each bibliographic item will be documented according to the formatting rules of the Chicago Manual of Style. For each item in the bibliography, a short description of the content and relevance of each item will be included.
Assessment 2 (60%) requires students to prepare and submit a resolved research paper of 6000 words’ length (incl notes, excl bibliography). As the brief will explain at greater length the parameters of the assignment topic and the objectives the project is intended to meet.
Assessment criteria for each assignment will be published along with the brief, including a breakdown of marks allocated to each criterion.

Assessment criteria

Assignment 1 (40 marks available): mark range FA-HD, submission required.

Assignment 2 (60 marks available): mark range FA-HD, submission required.

Cumulative marks of 50/100 required for a course pass, with 65 needed for CR, 75 D, and 85 HD. Failure to submit work will result in AF.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Penalties will be applied according to the relevant policy of the School of Architecture, Design and Planning.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	This course introduction takes as its starting point the final chapter of "What is Architectural History?" to ask what the field is, and must address, now. This seminar surveys current issues in architectural history and the recent major works that have brought them into view. It will introduce the assessment structure and discuss initial strategies for addressing it.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	The dome and the Square Kilometer Array. This seminar takes as its starting point a project between USyd and the Warburg Institute (London) on the history of architecture concerned with astronomy. What bases can we construct for long durational histories of forms, types and functions? Discussion of library resources for assessment.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	Architecture's Mannerisms. Exploring a current book project initiated at Harvard's Villa I Tatti, this seminar asks: what is a style, and what does it do? Through one case, it investigates how the history of architecture is organised over time. Discussion of essay structure for assessment items.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	The Private Property Frontier of New South Wales (a collaboration between USyd, U Newcastle and UNSW). This seminar introduces a digital humanities project to map the first alienation of property in NSW from the 1790s onwards. Taking the stance that it is "Australian architecture's original sin," what can be said of the tools and obligations this project raises for architectural history? Discussion of project abstracts.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	Whaling in the Tasman world. A joint project with USyd and UniMelb: what happens when architectural history's logics trade land for sea? This seminar considers material geographies for the field, with specific reference to a nineteenth-century industry. Discussion (for assessment) of project materials gathered to date.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	Viewing the Great Hall in the round. This seminar explores work in process on a book jointly authored with Michael Mossman. How to reconcile colonial architectural history with the perspectives of Country? And how to write on a building in the round, today? Discussion of organising questions within the course assessments.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	Writing the architectural history of New South Wales. This project is set up against the nationalising projects of architectural historiography (in Australia, but elsewhere as well). How can we legitimately organise the history of architecture of this region? What should it include? Where should it start, and end? Both temporally and geographically? Discussion of the work done by images (both in this project, and in the assessment items).	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	National Parks as Architecture—a seminar with Tim O'Rourke and Nicole Sully (UQ) and colleagues in ADP.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	Architecture and urbanism in post-war Rome. Taking on a current editorial project (in collaboration with PoliMilano), how does a distant, specific history shed light on broader claims as to the work that needs to be done in architectural history? Discussion of reading technique, from close to quick.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 10	Material legacies of the Holocaust. This collections based discussion reflects on the relationship of documents to narratives, and of heritage to its geographies. The drawings, photographs and prints this seminar will explore are feeding a book: but about what? Discussion on writing process.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 11	Aldo Giurgola and the Philadelphia School. This project involves partners at USyd, UniMelb, EPFL, Penn State and U Penn. It raises questions of biography, material legacies, narrative and context. What does it mean, now, to undertake a life and works project in the history of architecture? Further discussion on writing process.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Architectural history and architectural criticism. This seminar will begin to draw the course to its conclusion, reflecting on practices in architectural history in relation to its audiences—natural and constructed. The seminar will scope a range of recent work to feed a discussion on this theme.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 13	Assignment Two workshop, focussing on issues identified by the cohort as most important in the run-up to week 16 submission.	Seminar (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance requirements will be consistent with the requirements of the School of Architecture, Design and Planning. Note that all seminars will have a digital footprint so that any missed classes can be followed.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

This course is constructed as a return and extension of the observations made in Andrew Leach, What is Architectural History? (Cambridge: Polity, 2010 – available as an e-book via the USyd library). I recommend reading this as a foundation on which the seminar papers and discussions will build. Writing will be circulated at the outset of seminar. Extension readings will be made available via Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Demonstrate an advanced familiarity with the history of architecture, broadly conceived, and its disciplinary literature.
LO2. Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of a specific theme, geography, body of works or historical period within its broader scope.
LO3. Conduct research using the university library and similar resources to advance knowledge of a specific research question and apply skills to gather and analyse information on architectural works and themes from a range of sources.
LO4. Critique discourse and engage in debate on issues raised in the course.
LO5. Identify and interpret the state of debate and scholarship on defined topics, and understand the role of specific individuals and institutions in shaping knowledge of the history of architecture.
LO6. Demonstrate formal skills in written, verbal and visual communication for both academic and professional settings.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

This is the second time this unit has been offered. Student feedback has shaped the weighting and nature of the assessments, as well as the organisation and operation of the seminars.

Additional information

Additional costs

The assessment items require students to work closely with a specific edited collection (a list will be provided before week 1). Where books are not available as e-books (reducing the access constraints of the University's physical collection), students may find it preferable to purchase individual titles for private use.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

MARC5100: Advanced Topics in Architectural History

Semester 1, 2023 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect