Syllabus
Ø WEEK 1-2
Theme 1: Norman to Perpendicular Style - 7th to 16th c.
First relevant buildings in the East of England, castels, cathedrals and chapels - Ely, Norwich, King's College Chapel
Ø WEEK 3-4
Theme 2: Elizabethan Renaissance - 17th c.
Stately homes and Jacobean houses
Ø WEEK 5-6
Theme 3: Scottish Architecture in Time
Stirling Castle and Scottish Parliament
Ø WEEK 7-8
Theme 4: The Impact of Industrial Revolution - 18th c.
Georgian houses, canals, mines, bridges, Cornwall, Wales, Ireland
Ø WEEK 9-10
Theme 5: Victorian Period and the Urban North - 19th c.
Factories, town halls, hospitals, dance halls, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Blackpool
Ø WEEK 11-12
Theme 6: Modern Britain and the Suburban South - 20th c.
Tower blocks in London, functionalist houses in South East England
Annotation
The first part of the course focuses mainly on British architecture, particularly on some of Britain's greatest historic buildings throughout the course of the last thousand years and examines their impact on Britain's social history. Each of the six thematic units opens with a viewing of a documentary on the respective historical period buildings and is accompanied by a discussion of a selected text or a novel relevant to that particular period. The emphasis is put on the 'living' aspect of architecture and its indispensable role in shaping and reflecting a given society and its national and regional identities respectively.
On completing this part of the course, the students should have gained a 'vantage-point' perspective that will deepen and broaden their understanding of the British social structure and the differences and similarities that obtain between theirs and our own cultural and social spaces.