Postgraduate Course: Studies in Contemporary Architectural Theory (ARCH11070)
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 | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course focuses on reading and discussing contemporary theoretical texts on a range of recent issues and debates within architectural theory and criticism, drawing on historical and inter-disciplinary texts as necessary. The course deepens and diversifies the study of theory, equipping students with a close knowledge of areas of particular interest and concern to them. All course enrollments for this course are done strictly through the Course Secretary¿. |
| Course description |
Structured through a series of thematic options, this course gives students the opportunity for close engagement with key topics in current architectural and cultural theory. Instead of the traditional lecture-based survey course, students work in thematically organised groups, led by staff with special expertise in the material. This allows for more active student participation, fosters the nuanced interpretation and debate of issues, and promotes a multi-perspectival approach to the complex field of contemporary theory.
Seminars maintain a productive relation to the urban directed concerns of the M.ARCH programme and address topics such as, for example, the semiotics of architectural and urban surfaces; urban development and contest over the city in an era of neo-liberalism; and the history of representations of the architecture of the city - projective and/or descriptive - examined via a series of symptomatic case-studies. Throughout, great value is placed on the active participation of students, who will have the opportunity to discuss and debate in detail the ideas raised in the seminar sessions and supporting readings.
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 15,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
156 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Students are required to submit two equally weighted assignments (course diary and essay). Both assignments are based on individual work.
The assignments need to carefully consider the format for presentation of the selected topic and the relevant ways of communicating textual, visual, spatio-temporal and architectural research.
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| Feedback |
Formative feedback on diary writing and essay abstract is provided in group reviews and individual tutorial sessions in weeks 6 and 11. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- A capacity to research a given theme, comprehend the key texts that constitute the significant positions and debates within it, and contextualise it within a wider historical, cultural, social, urban, intellectual and/or theoretical frame.
- An understanding of the way theoretical ideas and theories, practices and technologies of architecture and the arts are mobilized through different textual, visual and other media, and to explore their consequences for architecture.
- An ability to coherently and creatively communicate the research, comprehension and contextualitization of a given theoretical theme in relation to architecture using textual and visual media.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
1. Develop original and creative responses to reading practices and writing forms.
2. Undertake critical evaluation of complex texts and a range of modalities of representations.
3. Communicate using appropriate methods to a range of audiences with different levels of expertise and adopt communication to the context and purpose. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
All students are required to attend the 11 two-hour seminars during the semester, as well as the two days of group reviews and individual tutorial sessions for formative feedback. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ella Chmielewska
Tel: (0131 6)51 3736
Email: Ella.Chmielewska@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Ellie Wallace
Tel: (0131 6)50 2309
Email: Ellie.Wallace@ed.ac.uk |
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