The comparative architecture of civilisations [ LHART2290 ]

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The course will highlight the comparisons it is possible to make between the different architectural typologies developed by different civilisations throughout the world. The aim is to provoke thought about the shared intellectual and spiritual stock of human creations, to consider relationships of influence or, to the contrary, unconnected coincidences, to show the linked diversity and commonality that emerge from these, all in the perspective of global history.

By the end of the course students will be in a position to understand the resemblances and differences that exist through a number of civilisations for the same architectural typology. They will be able to evaluate the characteristics specific to each typology and thus to situate them in the field of architectural creation in the broader sense. Students will also acquire a basic knowledge of the architectural characteristics of non-European civilisations.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Written examination or presentation of an individual assignment involving a written account

Lectures

Case studies : the house, the place of worship, the palace, the garden, fortifications... in European, Chinese, South American and African cultures from antiquity to the 21st century. Various analysis grids. Recommended reading

BROOK, T., Le chapeau de Vermeer. Le XVIIe siècle à l'aube de la mondialisation, collection Histoire, Paris, Payot, 2010
GOODY, J., Le vol de l'histoire. Comment l'Europe a imposé le récit de son passé au reste du monde, collection Essais, Paris, NRF Gallimard, 2010
JONES, D. (s.dir.), Tout sur l'architecture. Panorama des styles, des courants et des chefs d''uvre, Paris, Flammarion, 2014
 

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