Winter 2018
- Introduction
- Learning Goals
- Prerequisites
- Course of Study
- Faculty Director
- Housing
- Excursions
- Dates
- Costs
- Meetings
- Apply Now
Introduction
This program explores European architecture using three very different approaches, each emphasizing firsthand encounters with the built environment. One course surveys European architectural history, ranging from the prehistoric trilithons at Stonehenge to contemporary housing developments aspiring to net-zero energy consumption. A second course examines practices and controversies in the management, presentation and conservation of architectural landmarks and urban historic districts. A third course, which is ungraded, teaches architectural drawing skills, training students to make site sketches on location, read technical drawings, and understand geometric pattern design.
Numerous architectural landmarks—such as the Alhambra, Blenheim Palace, the Colosseum, the Duomo of Florence, the Great Mosque of Cordoba, Notre Dame de Paris, the Pantheon, the Sagrada Familia, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Tower of London, Versailles and over a dozen other UNESCO world heritage sites—along with scores of additional venues, offer multicultural case studies pertinent to all three courses in the program. Students will spend several weeks apiece in England, France, Spain and Italy, staying in Oxford, London, Paris, Barcelona, Granada, Florence and Rome, but also making daytrips to other locations, such as Bath, Cordoba and Ravenna.
All students are welcome to apply. There are no prerequisite courses and no prior experience or skills are expected. The program fulfills the curricular exploration requirements for both Arts Practice and Literary/Artistic Analysis. It also fulfills the International Studies (IS) graduation requirement. In addition to Art History and Studio Art, this program can provide 6 or 12 credits towards a variety of majors and concentrations.
Learning Goals
- Studying cultural, technological, political and stylistic aspects of architectural history through firsthand encounters with both canonical and lesser-known buildings
- Acquiring technical skills, ranging from a command of architectural terminology to the ability to interpret plans, elevations, cross-sections and planometric drawings
- Engaging with ethical, logistical, pedagogical and financial challenges that confront professionals who oversee architectural sites open to the public
- Developing observational drawing skills through practice sketching buildings on site
- Gaining confidence and proficiency with international travel despite the inevitable unexpected difficulties that bedevil complex itineraries
Prerequisites
Students who will have sophomore, junior, or senior status in the 2017-18 academic year and can demonstrate interest in architectural studies.
Course of Study
18 Credits
ARTH 263: European Architectural History on Site: Prehistory to Postmodernism (6 credits, Art History, Literary/Artistic Analysis)
This course surveys the history of European architecture while emphasizing firsthand encounters with actual structures. Students visit outstanding examples of major transnational styles--including Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Moorish, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical and Modernist buildings--along with regionally specific styles, such as Spanish Plateresque, English Tudor and Catalan Modernisme. Cultural and technological changes affecting architectural practices are emphasized along with architectural theory, ranging from Renaissance treatises to Modernist manifestoes. Students also visit buildings that resist easy classification and that raise topics such as spatial appropriation, stylistic hybridity, and political symbolism.
Instructor: Baird Jarman
ARTH 264: Managing Monuments: Issues in Cultural Heritage Practice (6 credits, Art History, Literary/Artistic Analysis)
This course explores the theory and practice of cultural resource management by investigating how various architectural sites and urban historic districts operate. Students will consider cultural, financial, ethical and pedagogical aspects of contemporary tourism practices within a historical framework that roots the travel industry alongside religious pilgrimage customs and the aristocratic tradition of the Grand Tour. Interacting with professionals who help oversee architectural landmarks and archaeological sites, students will analyze and assess initiatives at various locations, ranging from educational programs and preservation plans to sustainability efforts and repatriation debates.
ARTS 114: Introduction to Architectural Drawing (6 credits, Studio Art, mandatory S/CR/NC, Arts Practice)
Suitable for students of any skill level, this course teaches different architectural drawing techniques in order to hone observational and sketching skills and to develop greater awareness of formal characteristics in the built environment. Workshops at various locations develop proficiencies in three aspects of architectural drawing: site sketching (façades and interiors), geometric design (especially Islamic patterning) and interpretation of technical drawing (plans, elevations and sections). These skills are reinforced with recurring sketching assignments throughout the trip at architectural sites, including religious, royal, vernacular and civic spaces.
This course is not graded; it is mandatory S/CR/NC.
Language of Instruction
English
Faculty Director
Baird Jarman, Associate Professor of Art History
Baird Jarman teaches courses on American and European visual culture and architecture, with a particular focus on the period from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. His doctoral dissertation examined the mural scheme depicting the Quest of the Holy Grail in the Boston Public Library. He currently serves on the Minnesota State Review Board that hears nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.
Excursions
Visits to cultural heritage sites will supplement sketching, patterning, and technical drawing workshops throughout the four countries.
Dates
Program dates roughly correspond to the Carleton academic term. Specific dates will be communicated to program participants.
Costs
All Carleton-sponsored 10-week off-campus study programs charge the Carleton comprehensive fee, which includes instruction, room and board, group excursions, public transportation, medical and evacuation insurance, travel assistance, and most cultural events.
Students are responsible for books and supplies, passports and visas (when required), transportation to and from the program sites, and personal expenses and travel during the seminar. Students will receive a program-specific Additional Cost Estimate at the time of acceptance.
Student financial aid is applicable as on campus. See the Off-Campus Studies website for further information on billing, financial aid, and scholarships.