Postgraduate Course: Advanced Studies in British Imperial and Colonial Architecture (ARHI11004)
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 considers the relationship between architecture and the British Empire, from the American Revolution and the loss of the thirteen colonies, to the partition of India and the demise of the imperial dream. |
| Course description |
During the nineteenth century Britain amassed the largest territorial empire the world had ever seen. With this expansion came the export of architecture and urban planning, the visual and spatial consequences of which were profound and unprecedented. This course considers the relationship between architecture and empire during this period, from the American Revolution and the loss of the thirteen colonies, to the partition of India and the demise of the imperial dream. It will examine the formal, spatial, social, and political characteristics of buildings in the context of Britain's ambition to control ever greater swathes of the earth's surface economically and culturally. Examples, both secular and religious, will be drawn from across the British colonial world - from England, Scotland, and Ireland to Canada, the Caribbean, India, South East Asia, Africa, and Australasia. These examples will be discussed in their historical context and analysed for what they reveal about notions (and anxieties) regarding modern British identity, imperialism, and nationhood.
A full schedule of lectures and tutorials will be available in the course handbook.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an extensive awareness of the history and cultural significance of architecture in Britain's colonies.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the social, religious, and political uses and manipulation of architectural and urban space in colonial contexts.
- Demonstrate a sophisticated knowledge of the relationship between the motives and practices of British imperial/colonial culture and the built environment.
- Demonstrate a synthetic understanding of the different ways in which empire affected architecture and urban space in Britain.
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Reading List
| A full bibliography will be available in the course handbook. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
At the end of this course the student will be able, through tutorial discussions and coursework, demonstrate:
- enhanced abilities in research, critical thinking, weighing up of arguments and evidence
- understanding of complex issues and how to draw valid conclusions from the past
- production of innovative research pieces that adhere to bibliographical convention
- enhanced writing skills |
| Keywords | architecture,empire,britian,imperialism,colonialism |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Alex Bremner
Tel: (0131 6)50 2320
Email: alex.bremner@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Remi Jankeviciute
Tel: (0131 6)51 5773
Email: Ramune.Jankeviciute@ed.ac.uk |
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