Rediscovering Antiquity: Archaeology for Architects
The course engages critically with the outsized influence of antiquity on architectural theory and practice by following the intertwined histories of architecture and archaeology, from the mid-eighteenth to the early twentieth century.
Fulfills major and minor requirements for: Architectural History
Keywords: Design Ethics, Design Research
Possibly George Scharf (1820–1895), Layard and Rassam at work in Nimrud, c. 1850–60, hand-colored lithograph on canvas. https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/sparking-imagination-rediscovery-assyrias-great-lost-city
The course engages critically with the outsized influence of antiquity on architectural theory and practice by following the intertwined histories of architecture and archaeology, from the mid-eighteenth to the early twentieth century.
Artists, travelers and architects re-interpreted the traces buried in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern landscape, conjuring up their own vision of the past and nourishing their own creative pursuits from a continuous dialogue with history. At the same time, new political agendas, biases and goals were associated with antiquity, influencing the way the past of the region was explored, how the finds were studied and exhibited in collections and museums, and ultimately creating a stern national competition to appropriate this legacy, with deep links to colonialism and imperialism. This cultural obsession had a deep and lasting impact and its ripple effects are still being felt today, for example in the discussion about the repatriation of cultural heritage.