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Topical Questions in History and Theory of Architecture: Gendering History. Women Travellers
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:48:59
Abstract
This course will take the form of reading seminars in which we examine women's travel writings of the 18th and 19th centuries for their commentary on the designed environment. While architectural histories often focus on male-dominated processes of design and production, this seminar sets out to discover architecture’s past as seen through the eyes of female travellers.
Objective
Students will gain experience in different forms of reading primary sources (close and distant) and in placing these into an appropriate context. We will explore methodological approaches linking literary analysis to lived architectural experience, expanding the canon of our discipline as we include the view of women into our understanding of 18th and 19th-century architecture. Students will be familiarized with feminist approaches, intersectionality, and marginal historiography. Primary readings are accompanied by secondary texts on feminist and intersectional methods and embedded into practical exercises. Students will prepare short presentations, engage in reading and sketching exercises, and undertake their own ficto-descriptive writing, expanding their critical writing skills.
Resources
Learning Materials (Links)
- Main link
- Information
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- BSC
- Frequency
- Semesterly recurring
Examination
- Type
- ungraded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| seminar |
Topical Questions in History and Theory of Architecture: Gendering History. Women Travellers
No course on 25.10. (seminar week) and 16./23.12. (before final critiques).
|
|
2 h weekly |