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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : Architecture - History

Postgraduate Course: Advanced Studies in British Imperial and Colonial Architecture (ARHI11004)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis 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.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Architectural History 1 (ARHI08005) OR ( Architectural History 1A: From Antiquity to Enlightenment (ARHI08001) AND Architectural History 1B: Revivalism to Modernism (ARHI08004)) OR ( Architectural History: Introduction to World Architecture (ARCH08003) AND Architectural History: Revivalism to Modernism (ARCH08005)) AND ( Architectural History 2a: Order & the City (ARHI08006) OR Architectural History 2b: Culture & the City (ARHI08007))
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements If students do not have the required number of courses for entry, concession for entry may be granted through consultation with the Course Organiser.
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate an extensive awareness of the history and cultural significance of architecture in Britain's colonies.
  2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the social, religious, and political uses and manipulation of architectural and urban space in colonial contexts.
  3. Demonstrate a sophisticated knowledge of the relationship between the motives and practices of British imperial/colonial culture and the built environment.
  4. Demonstrate a synthetic understanding of the different ways in which empire affected architecture and urban space in Britain.
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
Keywordsarchitecture,empire,britian,imperialism,colonialism
Contacts
Course organiserProf Alex Bremner
Tel: (0131 6)50 2320
Email: alex.bremner@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Brendan Sweeney
Tel: (0131 6)50 6329
Email: bsweeney@ed.ac.uk
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