Architectural Studies
Last updated: September 2, 2020 at 1:54 PM
See Fine Arts.
Architectural Studies Courses
CLAS
133a
The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Greece
[
ca
hum
]
Surveys the main forms and styles of Greek art and architecture from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period in mainland Greece and on the islands of the Aegean. Archaeological remains and ancient literary evidence help explore the relationships between culture, the visual arts, and society. Usually offered every second year.
Alexandra Ratzlaff or Staff
CLAS
134b
The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Rome
[
ca
hum
]
Surveys the art and architecture of the ancient Romans from the eighth century BCE to the end of the empire in Sicily, mainland Italy (with focus on Rome, Ostia, Pompeii, and Herculaneum), and in the Roman provinces. Usually offered every second year.
Ann O. Koloski-Ostrow or Staff
FA
3a
Introduction to Drawing I
[
ca
]
Beginning-level course. No previous drawing experience necessary. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors.
A studio class that introduces a range of drawing materials and methods, intended for both studio majors and non-majors. Students will draw from direct observation of still-life, landscape, and the human figure. Drawing media may include graphite, charcoal, ink, and collage, as well as watercolor and pastel. The drawings of great artists throughout history will be studied to provide examples of what is possible within this broad and expressive visual language. Usually offered every fall.
Ariel Freiberg, Alfredo Gisholt, Susan Lichtman, and Joseph Wardwell
FA
4a
Sculpture Foundation: 3-D Design I
[
ca
]
Beginning-level course. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors.
Exploration of three-dimensional aspects of form, space, and composition utilizing a variety of materials and sculptural techniques. Emphasizes students' inventing of images through the use of modern materials and contemporary ideas about sculpture. Assignments are based on abstract thought and problem solving. The intent of this course is to give students a rich studio experience and promote a fresh and meaningful approach to visual concepts. Usually offered every fall.
Tory Fair and Christopher Frost
FA
4b
Sculpture Foundation: 3-D Design II
[
ca
]
Beginning-level course. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors.
See FA 4a for course description. Usually offered every spring.
Tory Fair and Christopher Frost
FA
5b
Sculpture: Blurring the Boundaries
[
ca
]
This studio course is an opportunity to work both in painting and in sculpture. Students are expected to create a dialogue between methods of collage, drawing, monotype, painting, and methods of constructing three-dimensional objects, including mixed media and installation. We use paintings as a source for sculpture, and sculpture as a source for painting. There will be an additional two hours of monitored shop time that students are required to attend weekly outside of scheduled class time. Usually offered every year.
Tory Fair and Christopher Frost
FA
6a
Sculpture: Body as Source
[
ca
]
Explores how the body can be involved in the subject of making sculpture. Examines different ways in which the body is used as a source, including observation, process, fragmentation, narrative, and performance. Projects are introduced through slides from contemporary artists implementing the concepts put forth. Usually offered every year.
Tory Fair
FA
9a
Introduction to Digital Photography
[
ca
dl
]
Prerequisite: One Brandeis studio art course. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
An introduction to the visual forms and concepts of the photographic image. A range of digital techniques is covered along with aspects of the history of photography. Students must provide their own digital camera. Field trips and image presentations supplement the studio aspect of the course. Usually offered every semester.
Sheida Soleimani
FA
16a
Intermediate Sculpture
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: FA 4a or FA 4b or permission of the instructor. May be repeated once for credit.
Offers an in-depth examination of sculptural concepts ranging from objects to installations, site-specific works, and more. Students will be encouraged to develop their own visual vocabulary and to understand their ideas in the context of contemporary sculpture. Usually offered every year.
Tory Fair and Christopher Frost
FA
16b
Sculpture: Object in Clay
[
ca
]
With clay as the focused material, this course offers an in-depth examination of sculptural concepts ranging from object-making to site-specific works. Numerous techniques and processes will be introduced including hand-building, wheel-throwing, and working from the figure. Students will be encouraged to develop their own visual vocabulary and to understand their ideas in the context of contemporary sculpture.
Usually offered every year.
Christopher Frost
FA
23b
Architectural Drawing and Design
[
ca
]
Priority given to Architectural Studies minors.
Teaches basic architectural drawing, drafting, and modeling skills under the umbrella of a unifying theory and/or theme. It is structured as an introductory studio course requiring no previous knowledge or background in architectural design. Students learn how to build models, execute architectural drawings, and to approach architectural design problems. Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
24a
Architectural Design and Digital Drawing
[
ca
]
Priority given to Architectural Studies minors.
Introduces students to the basic techniques and concepts of architectural design and digital drawing. This course is intended to discover and develop new skills in seeing, conceptualizing, representing, and communicating architectural ideas. Students will be introduced to architectural model making in order to explore the relationship between two and three-dimensional representation in both analog and digital formats, taught through the lens of Modern Architecture as it has developed through the 20th century, through historic and canonic examples. Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
30a
History of Art I: From Antiquity to the Middle Ages
[
ca
]
Surveys the artistic and architectural traditions of the peoples of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from prehistory to the end of the Middle Ages with an emphasis on their cultural context, meaning and stylistic characteristics. Usually offered every year.
Charles McClendon or Jonathan Unglaub
FA
33b
Islamic Art and Architecture
[
ca
nw
]
Through case studies of cities, sites, and monuments, the course presents an overview of the art and the architecture of the Islamic world beginning from the seventh century up to the present. Some of the themes include, but are not limited to, Islamic material culture, orientalist imaginations, systems of governance and the colonial present, search for the local identity, urban modernity and nationalism, and globalization. Usually offered every second year.
Muna Guvenc
FA
42b
The Age of Cathedrals
[
ca
]
Architecture, sculpture, and painting (including stained glass) in Western Europe from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, with particular attention to the great churches of medieval France. Usually offered every second year.
Charles McClendon
FA
48a
Baroque Art and Architecture in Italy
[
ca
]
Examines the artistic spectacle of Papal Rome, focusing on the works and legacy of Caravaggio and Bernini as the prevailing artistic forces, with major contributions by the Carracci, Poussin, Borromini, and Cortona. Apart from Rome and the patronage strategies of successive Popes, we will consider artistic and architectural production in such diverse centers as Venice, Naples, Bologna, and Turin. Usually offered every third year
Jonathan Unglaub
FA
80a
Modern Architecture
[
ca
]
Explores major architectural developments from the19th to the 21st century. While tracing major stylistic developments and new building types that have characterized "modernism" in architecture, the course also studies new forms of global dominance (via colonialism), expression of new sovereignties around the world (via the nationalist movements) and the creation of the new spaces of capitalism and consumption (the highway, the mall, the suburb, etc.) Usually offered every year.
Muna Guvenc
FA
143a
The Art and Peoples of the British Isles: Antiquity and the Middle Ages
[
ca
]
Surveys the art and architecture of the many peoples who inhabited England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales over the first 1,500 years of the common era, with a particular concern for the distinct nature of different cultural traditions and their synthesis that created a unique artistic legacy. Usually offered every fourth year.
Charles McClendon
FA
145a
St. Peter's and the Vatican
[
ca
]
The history, growth, and development of Christendom's most famous shrine, with particular concern for the relationship between the design and decoration of the Renaissance/baroque church and palace complex and their early Christian and medieval predecessors. Usually offered every second year.
Charles McClendon
FA
180a
Contemporary Architecture
[
ca
]
Presents major innovations and stylistic developments in world architecture
in the aftermath of World War II. Examining the larger social, political and cultural contexts within which architecture operates, the course will trace the diverse positions that characterize the contemporary architecture across the globe. Special attention will be paid to the relationships between theories, debates, and the creative capacity of design and practice in architecture since the mid-twentieth century. Usually offered every second year.
Muna Guvenc
FA
181a
Housing and Social Justice
[
ca
deis-us
dl
ss
]
Employs housing as a lens to interrogate space and society, state and market, power and change, in relation with urban inequality and social justice. It trains students to become participants in the global debates about housing. In doing so, it teaches students about dominant paradigms of urban development and welfare and situates such paradigms in the 20th century history of capitalism. It will explicitly adopt a comparative and transnational urban approach to housing and social justice, showing how a globalized perspective provides important insights into local shelter struggles and debates. Usually offered every second year.
Muna Guvenc
FA
187a
Approaches to Architecture and the City
[
ca
]
Trains students in developing the ability to conduct architectural and urban analysis of the built environment. Through a comparative case-study approach—based on selected readings, real spaces, and creative projects—students will better understand architectural and urban design in relation to social, cultural, human, and political aspects. Usually offered every year.
Muna Guvenc
FA
193a
Studies in Modern and Contemporary Architecture
[
ca
oc
]
Topics may vary from year to year; the course may be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
Usually offered every third year.
Staff