Undergraduate Course: Architecture and Empire in Britain and the British Colonial World 1783 - 1947 (ARHI10027)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines architecture and urban planning in Britain and the British Empire from the late eighteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century. It considers how architectural ideas were developed and then exported to Britain¿s colonies, where they were then adapted in various ways. The course balances formal analysis with a broader contextual approach that considers how architecture was implicated within wider understandings of power, as well as social and economic change. The themes of this course are of considerable contemporary interest. |
| 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. This course will allow students to gain a thorough understanding of this architecture and its relationship to empire and imperialism. It will examine the formal, spatial, social, and political characteristics of buildings in the context of Britain's global expansion. Examples will be drawn from across Britain and the British colonial world - from England, Scotland, and Ireland to Canada, the Caribbean, India, South-east Asia, Africa, and Australasia. Topics to be considered may include the impact of imperial expansion on British architecture; built landscapes of transatlantic slavery; architecture and power in South Asia; colonial settler architecture and urbanism; relationships between race, architecture, and environment. The course welcomes students from Architectural History, History of Art, History, and cognate disciplines. It is a companion to ARHI10033, Victorian Architecture - Themes and Ideas, but may be taken as a standalone course. No detailed knowledge of nineteenth-century architecture is assumed.
There are two sessions per week of 1 hour 50 minutes each, and attendance at both is expected, plus independent study of c. 8 hours per week. The first taught session will usually consist of a lecture or lecturer-led discussion. The second session will engage directly with the topics of the course as well as specific readings, which students will be expected to do in their independent study time. Your study time will also be devoted to an essay, submitted towards the end of the semester, as well as reading and exam revision. Relevant study skills will be discussed in class.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed (
Architectural History 1A: Introduction to World Architecture (ARHI08009) AND
Architectural History 1B: Revivalism to Modernism (ARHI08004)) AND
Urbanism and the City: Past to Present (ARHI08010)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students should normally have passed at least 60 credits of Architectural History or History of Art/History courses at Level 8. If the pre-requisites cannot be met, entry to this course can be negotiated in consultation with either the Course Organiser or Programme Director (Architectural History).
This Course does not require additional costs to be met by the Student.
Materials: Students will be expected to fund the purchase of general stationary materials such as paper and pens.
Printing:
Students are expected to fund occasional printing of A4/A3 sheets. This will be optional as all submissions are online.
Equipment and software: Most equipment and software required will be provided by the School. A personal laptop with a word processing application is helpful. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 History of Art/Architectural History courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key examples and themes in the history of architecture and urbanism in Britain and its Empire, c. 1783-1947
- Situate the architecture and urbanism of Britain and its Empire, c. 1783-1947, in its wider cultural, social and political contexts
- Engage analytically with academic and other appropriate scholarship relevant to the themes of the course
- Deploy their knowledge to support their analysis of buildings, sites and themes
- Produce coherent and clear pieces of writing which articulate their analyses and ideas
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Reading List
G.A. Bremner (ed.), Architecture and Urbanism in the British Empire (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016)
Nezar AlSayyad (ed.), Forms of Dominance: on the Architecture and Urbanism of the Colonial Enterprise (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1992).
Preeti Chopra, A Joint Enterprise: Indian Elites and the Making of British Bombay (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011).
G.A. Bremner, Building Greater Britain: Architecture, Imperialism and the Edwardian Baroque (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2022)
Thomas Metcalf, An Imperial Vision:
Indian Architecture and the British Raj
(London: Faber, 1989).
Louis Nelson, Architecture and Empire in Jamaica (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2016). |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Personal development and personal autonomy: by engaging with required and further reading, by preparing a substantial piece of assessed coursework, and by preparing for the exam, you will learn to organise your time, prioritise your workload, and to work effectively as an active, engaged learner.
Research and Enquiry: engagement with class discussion, independent reading and assessed work will contribute to the development of analytical and critical thinking, as you research topics and start to articulate your own view of these topics based on detailed knowledge and understanding.
Communication: through class discussion and written submissions, you will develop as an engaged, informed communicator able to engage sensitively with topics which may be contentious or disputed.
Enquiry and lifelong learning: by engaging with new research in an area of contemporary debate, students¿ development as innovative, life-long learners who make a difference will be fostered. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
2 x 2-hour lectures per week. |
| Keywords | empire,imperialism,architecture,identity,nationalism,colonial,Britain |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Alex Bremner
Tel: (0131 6)50 2320
Email: alex.bremner@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Aidan Cole
Tel: (0131 6)50 2306
Email: acole33@ed.ac.uk |
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