Postgraduate Course: Landscapes of Empire (PG Version) (ARHI11017)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores conversations around empire, conflict, slavery and white supremacy through its architectures and landscapes. Within this, it will discuss how the design and development of landscape is linked with notions of land ownership and control, and consider these through political, cultural and environmental dialogues. Through explorations of archival material and historic texts, it will explore political geographies, and link these with communities, the climate emergency and racial inequality, and will use these to better understand the ongoing legacies of historic imperialism found throughout the globe in the present day. |
| Course description |
Landscapes of Empire begins by outlining the premise of our understanding of landscapes and their role in aesthetic, political and cultural discourse from the 1700s onwards. In particular it will explore how conversations around the development and ownership of land were set up to support particular objectives and processes for the furtherance of imperial gain. Through thematic, geographic and chronological case studies, this course will then highlight how the built and natural environment - in both the U.K. and abroad - have developed and/or evolved as a result of financial gain from the transatlantic slave economy, and the exploitation of resources of colonised nations throughout the British Empire. These case studies will be assessed alongside archival analysis and seminal texts that decolonise conversations around race, Empire and the built environment, in order to consider the lasting legacy of the impact of imperial operations of Britain throughout the last c. 300 years. The course will finish by addressing the legacies of imperial practices in the present day. This will address the impact of Empire on the resources, economies and environments of postcolonial nations, to the recognition of current societal conversations around anti-racist practices, and how this relates to discourses on climate change and a post-Covid society in the future management and development of our built and natural environments.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 5 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Formative Assessment Hours 5,
Summative Assessment Hours 6.25,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
141 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Formative Assessments
Presentation:
Each student will present one reading from the Syllabus to the entire class during the week in which that reading is scheduled to be discussed. The ten-minute presentation will 1) review the content of the article or chapter and 2) critically assess the thesis, methods, and conclusions of the text. The presenter will thereafter lead a brief discussion with the entire class and answer questions that arise from the presentation. Constructive, verbal feedback from the Instructor will follow the presentation in a private meeting during Office Hours.
Summative Assessments
Log: 40% of course grade
Each student will write a log with evaluations of each week's readings and/or seminar discussion. This log will include a roughly 300-word log entry for every week. For each entry, the student can choose to respond critically to one of the weekly readings or to develop a line of inquiry covered in class discussions. Students should submit the completed logbook of around 3,000 words during the Examination period.
Research Paper: 60% of course grade
Each student will write a 4,000 word original research paper on a specific topic, exploring the deeper theoretical discourses of the subject area, and using case study examples to support their approach. Primary sources should be examined and included as supporting evidence. Students should clear the selected topic with the Instructor by mid-semester. The research paper is due during the Examination period.
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| Feedback |
Students will receive written feedback on the log and research paper. This will be returned within 15 working days. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge that covers and integrates most, if not all, of the the principal theories and concepts of how the history of architecture and landscape links to the history of empire, colonialism and white supremacy and how these intersect with the challenges of climate change in postcolonial landscapes in the present day, using appropriate terminologies and discourses.
- Apply knowledge, skills and understanding in using a significant range of the principal professional skills, techniques, practices and/or materials associated with the history of colonialism, and addressing how this manifests in the built environment.
- Apply critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis to forefront issues, or issues that are informed by forefront developments on the legacies of imperial landscapes to informed audiences.
- Communicate with peers, more senior colleagues and specialists.
- Ability to plan and execute a significant project of research, investigation or development on the themes covered within the course, notably working with a partner organisation or archival collection.
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Reading List
Beckert, S., 2014., Empire of Cotton: A New History of Global Capitalism
Dresser, M. and Hahn, A., 2013. Slavery and the British Country House (English Heritage Report)
Gopal, P., 2020. Insurgent Empire: Anticolonialism and the making of British Dissent
Nelson, Louis P., 2016. Architecture and Empire in Jamaica
Wilson, Mabel O. et al, 2020. Race and Modern Architecture |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
1. A critical understanding and reflective skill related to landscape and the legacies of empire.
2. A creative engagement with a wide range of research methods.
3. Ability to contribute effectively in peer discussion.
4. Ability to communicate skilfully with informed audiences. |
| Keywords | Landscapes,Architecture,Empire,Environment |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Kirsten Carter McKee
Tel:
Email: Kirsten.McKee@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Fanny To
Tel: (0131 6)51 5773
Email: oto@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
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