ART 240 - Global History of Modern Architecture and Urbanism

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as URBS 240) Topic for 2026/27a: Architecture, Land, and Labor across the Atlantic III: The Age of Nations (1914 - 1945). Who builds architecture, where, and to whom do we attribute credit for its design and realization? This course studies design and construction from the beginning of the First World War through the end of the Second World War, centered around the newly predominant ideology of “efficiency.” From the scales of materials and construction assemblies to city plans, and from working-class housing projects and mass-produced schemes for architectural construction, to factories and sites of agricultural extraction, and to villas for the bourgeoisie, we consider architecture from the perspective of its production. Our focus is the architecture of the Atlantic World: U.S. imperialism and competition among states elsewhere in the Americas, continued exploitative colonialism in Africa, and political regimes in Europe, old and new. Through the lens of technological innovations and economic developments, we consider how concepts of the value of labor and territorial possession contributed to the built environment. Jonah Rowen.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS