Theory and Method in the Study of Architecture, Art and the City

The EDAR doctoral program encompasses an unusally broad array of topics, from the sociology of the city, to design and construction, to history and theory. Uniting these areas are a set of shared concerns pertaining to the built environment: its history, meaning, use, and future. While over the course of the doctoral program each of you will acquire specialist knowledge in your individual disciplines, this course offers the opportunity to develop a shared set of references: influential, historically significant, or methodologically important texts that have helped shape the ways we think about art, architecture and cities today. The readings we will do together are not intended to form a canon of essential references - the diversity of the fields encompassed by EDAR makes that almost impossible- but instead they are meant to be a starting point, a way of launching a discussion, and a tool for beginning your formation as a scholar and researcher through conversation about important texts with peers. While PhD students bring a range of distinct backgrounds and prior training, the aim of the course is to provide a common foundation for beginning your path through the program.