Research Methods in the History and Theory of Architecture

Abstract

Introduction to methodological approaches in the history and theory of architecture; presentation and discussion of individual doctoral projects.

Objective

This required two-semester course in the first year of the gta doctoral program combines a traditional doctoral reading seminar with a practical writing workshop geared towards the development of the doctoral plan.

Content

“Again. If a thing can be done adequately by means of one, it is superfluous to do it by means of several; for we observe that nature does not employ two instruments where one suffices.” - Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, III.70, in Basic Writings of Thomas Aquinas, ed. and trans. Anton Pegis, New York 1945, 2:129. The methodology of humanistic research grows more complex with every academic generation: it presents a thicket of epistemological frameworks rather than a straightforward array of tools. In the omnivorous field of architectural history and theory, the scholar faces yet further possibilities. This course considers the variety of available strategies for the creation of architectural histor(ies) and theor(ies) as an intellectural opportunity distinctive to our discipline. Through close study of a range of historically significant or innovative texts, we will deepen our understanding of how other scholars have structured their work and refine each student’s research methodology. The course, held over two semesters, combines a traditional doctoral theory seminar with a practical writing workshop. We will alternate reading-based discussions with working sessions directed towards the development of the doctoral plan to be submitted at the end of the first year. The course schedule will be available at the beginning of the semester on the course website: https://doctoral-program.gta.arch.ethz.ch/courses Please note gta doctoral program courses begin the third week of the semester (the first week of October).

Resources