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Subject Semester - What do Buildings Mean? (gta)
Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:14:00
Abstract
A History Research Studio fostering in-depth research where each student will propose and then develop their own individual project.
Objective
The course will be organised in weekly meetings. We will begin with talks by researchers at Chair Delbeke, but we will mostly focus on discussing your findings and work, sharpening your tools of analysis and fostering the development of each project. Rather than individual ‘desk crits’, we will discuss each project collectively, in a round table, to enable mutual feedback and a more collective exchange of ideas. As each project develops, there will also be individual feedback sessions. This Research Studio will teach you to be both historically and critically competent. By combining different historiographical approaches, you will develop the skills to articulate research questions, carry out appropriate primary and secondary study and you will be trained in academic research and writing.
Content
Delbeke Fachsemester: What do buildings mean? Meaning in architecture is often a more fraught question than in painting or literature. Architecture’s non-figurative nature may not appear as easy to read as the iconography of a painting or the narrative of a novel, but buildings do mean things and this meaning is inflected through audience and time. At its creation, occupation, or even violent destruction, architecture can embody all sorts of specific identifiable meanings, for definable even antagonistic groups. This Fachsemester is a place where you can pursue your own research interests. You come to us with a topic and we will help you develop it from initial idea, through focused research, ending with a carefully edited essay which you will deliver as a lecture at the end of the course. Weekly discussions will be focused on your research and how you can most quickly develop your own expertise. Complimentary talks will be given by members of Chair Delbeke where they will explain how they have conducted their own research from initial idea to published paper.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- MSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| independent project | Subject Semester - What do Buildings Mean? (gta) | No time listed | 400 h semesterly |