What is degrowth? Where does the concept come from? How does it relate to the practice of architecture?This seminar is based on readings of different theories of degrowth and their contexts, with a particular focus on Western Europe. Themes include: resource limits, political ecology, critique of development paradigms, eco-feminism, alternative economies and the idea of self-sufficiency.

In this seminar, we will examine the impact of a select group of international organizations in conjunction with the utilization (and at times, voluntarily or involuntarily mis-use) of media of development.The seminar revolves around 5 key topics, each representing central media in development: Reports & Bulletins, Manuals & Model Houses, Exhibitions & Films, Correspondence, and Headquarters.

This seminar explores the different actors working for UNESCO and the role of bureaucracy and international relations in their work. We will focus on the 1970s project on “Traditional Forms of Architecture”, the collaboration with the International Union of Architects on an international information network in architecture, and the 1983 Bangkok workshop on “Training of Barefoot Architects”.

This class examines how architecture acts through its disciplinary toolbox and bodies of knowledge in spatial predicaments such as war and dispossession; population exchange and nation-building; territorial expansionalism and nationalized pasts.