This section orients you to the various components of the course, "A Global History of Architecture, Part 1." All of the material provided here is also available for download in the "Course Info" section. Please read it, and refer back to it when necessary. It should take about 30 minutes to read through.
The text below provides an overview of the course. Please read it, then proceed to the next unit.
4.605x, “A Global History of Architecture: Part 1” serves as a platform to think about architecture in various places around the world. The architectural works presented in this course were built between 100,000 BCE to 1,600 CE. Discussion include the context in which these architectures are built, how they are situated in the landscape, as well as understanding the social structures in which these works were designed and created. At the end of the course you will receive a certificate of course completion.
Three lectures, downloadable handouts, lecture questions, discussion prompts, and readings will be released weekly, on Tuesday, at 14:00 UTC. Four exams are also included with this course, one for each six lectures. All assessment material, including lecture questions and exams, must be completed within one week of its release on edX, no exceptions.
Announcements will be posted in the updates & news section under the "Course Info" tab. Our primary communication channel will be our interactive discussion forum, where students and staff will all contribute to an ongoing discussion of the course material. Teaching assistants can address logistical and technical concerns on the course discussion forum.
The course has a companion textbook by Francis Ching, Mark Jarzombek, and Vikram Prakash, A Global History of Architecture (Wiley, 2010). All readings are available within the courseware, courtesy of Wiley. Print or electronic versions of the A Global History of Architecture and Architecture of First Societies are also available for purchase. Purchasing the textbook yourself is not necessary, as sections of the book will be made available for viewing, for free, for those enrolled in the course. Each week’s lecture will have a reading from the textbook, presenting information that is not seen in the lecture. While textbook reading does not factor into the grading of this course it is highly recommended that students compete all the readings assigned before watching this course’s lectures
How do we understand architecture? One way of answering this question is by looking through the lens of history. This course will examine architecture through time, beginning with First Societies and extending to the 15th century. Though the course is chronological, it is not intended as a linear narrative, but rather aims to provide a more global view, by focusing on different architectural "moments." The lectures will give students the appropriate grounding for understanding a range of buildings and contexts. The material in the lectures will be supplemented by readings from the textbook A Global History of Architecture. Each lecture analyzes a particular architectural transformation arising from a dynamic cultural situation. How did the introduction of iron in the ninth century BCE impact regional politics and the development of architecture? How did new religious formations, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, produce new architectural understandings? What were the architectural consequences of the changing political landscape in northern Italy in the 14th century? How did rock-cut architecture move across space and time from West Asia to India to Africa? How did the emergence of corn impact the rise of religious and temple construction in Mexico? These are the types of questions that the lectures will address.
Watch all weekly lectures, complete all lecture review questions, participate in forum discussion, and complete all four exams. Grading will be weighted as follows: 20% on Lecture Review Questions, and 80% on exams (meaning each exam is worth 20% of your grade). If you earn more than 80% of the points in the course, you will receive a certificate of completion.
Four bonus lectures will also be made available at the beginning of the course. It is not mandatory that you watch them. There is no assessment associated with this supplementary content.
A “Study Map,” identifying locations of many key buildings discussed in course lectures, has been made to accompany the online courseware. There is no assessment associated with this map.