METU GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY
Courses | M.A. Reqired Courses | Ph.D.Reqired Courses| Graduate Elective Courses| Undergraduate Elective Courses | Current Semester Courses
The objective is to provide some overview and real understanding of the nature, power and the limitations of research in social sciences and humanities and to familiarize students with research techniques and teach them how to select appropriate techniques for a given set of data. (Staff)
AH 504 Prothesis Seminar (0-2)NC
Independent work leading to the selection and clarification of the thesis topic. Presentation of the research in departmental seminars, with a written draft of the thesis proposal at the end of the semester. (Staff)
AH 599 M.A. Thesis in History of Architecture NC
The thesis in History of Architecture aims to lead the student toward professional research with original results. The student is expected to demonstrate skills of critical appraisal and research techniques. Topics may be chosen from a wide chronological spectrum and may involve historical or theoretical issues pertaining to architecture in Turkey and the world at large. (Staff)
AH 8XX Special Studies (4-2)NC
Students choose and study a topic under the guidance of a faculty member, normally his/her advisor. (Staff)
Critical overview of the history of the built environment. Knowledge of theoretical debates and current issues in architectural historiography in order to equip students with the requisite knowledge and research tools at an advanced level. ( Staff)
Supervised research toward the dissertation topic and the formulation of a research proposal which will be presented in a departmental seminar. (Staff)
The dissertation in History of Architecture aims to lead the student toward professional research with original results. The student is expected to demonstrate skills of critical appraisal and research techniques. Topics may be chosen from a wide chronological spectrum and may involve historical or theoretical issues pertaining to architecture in Turkey and the world at large. (Staff)
Students choose and study a topic under the guidance of a faculty member, normally his/her advisor. (Staff)
Graduate Program Elective Courses|
AH 513-514 Aesthetics and CriticismI-II (3-0)3
These courses are offered as two consecutive programs: the first based on class discussions of classical texts on philosophy of art and aesthetics from Plato to Heidegger. The second semester focuses on modern concepts of art and aesthetics reviewed through readings of 20th century philosophers and critics. It aims to acquaint the participants with changing and multi-dimensional aspects of art theory and practice. The class is conducted through discussions and active student participation is expected.
AH 520 Seminar on Urban Defences: Architecture of the City Frontier (3-0) 3
A critical history survey on the conditions (anthropological, geographical, political) generating architecture/s of the city frontier. The multiple meanings of the city frontier introduced under three main headings: city and defence (fortifications bastions, garrisons, nuclear shelters, etc.), city and trade (customs, ports, tollhouses, entreports, etc.), city and speed (terminals, gates, stations, way stations, etc.). The architectural history of the city frontier studied as part of the history of human territoraility through a cross-periodical survey and by focusing on a specific city or region each semester.
AH 521 Themes on Ancient Domestic Architecture (3-0) 3
This seminar course covers the domestic architecture in the ancient Greek, Roman and the Byzantine periods in an interdisciplinary and critical framework through thematic readings that focus on home, privacy, gender, leisure, luxury, spatial iconography and time.
AH 522 Art and Architecture in Byzantine Cappadocia (3-0)3
This special topics course investigates the art and architecture of Byzantine Cappadocia in order to provide students with an in-depth understanding of a particular area in the history of Byzantine architecture. Cappadocia’s many masonry and rock-cut churches are discussed in terms of the developments in a variety of plan types; the problems posed by the style, iconography, and patronage of their painted interiors; and issues of dating. Other topics include the region's geology and geomorphology as well as the human impact on the landscape; the date and purpose of the region's underground cities; the form and function of ceremonial and utilitarian spaces; and the metropolitan and cross-cultural influences on the region’s art and architecture.
AH 526 History and Theory of Art and Architectural Styles (3-0)3
Through comparative and analytical study of styles and form/content relations, approaches within greater cultural frames are investigated. The course aims to familiarize advanced students of architecture with properties and dynamics of styles and to help them develop a methodology of formal analysis.
AH 533 Seminar in Cross-Cultural Studies: 19th Century Developments (3-0)3
A survey on 19th Century Western and Ottoman Architecture within a cross-cultural framework. Western architectural discourses, the state of urbanism, architecture and of engineering, i.e. historicism vs. progress, the notions of “Orientalism” on the one hand and “Westernization” on the other, and the great organizational, typological, stylistic and technological transformations in Ottoman architecture of the last century, form the main topic of the course.
AH 535 Seminar in Greek Architecture (3-0)3
Key concepts and developments in Greek architecture are treated with a critical and analytical outlook. Rather than concentrating on accumulating a comprehensive knowledge of Greek architecture, the seminar pursues an evaluative approach to examine past and present scholarship on selected issues and encourages discussions of different stands on the same problem.
AH 536 Seminar in Roman Architecture (3-0)3
A critical survey of the major developments in the history of Roman architecture in Rome and the provinces. Adaptation and evolution with regard to context and the Roman architectural revolution. May be taken independently of AH 535.
AH 539 Cosmological Thought and Architecture in the Middle East (3-0)3
This seminar builds a conceptual framework of connotations which can be related to architectural forms employed in early Islamic period in Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Anatolia, North Africa and Spain. Its main objective is to understand architecture in resuscitating through readings the philosophical, mythological and cosmological concepts which were prevalent in the mind of the man of the Middle Ages.
AH 541 Assimilation of Western Modes in the Eighteenth Century Ottoman Architecture (3-0)3
This course focuses on how the Ottomans received and incorporated concepts, forms and motifs borrowed from Western Europe in the eighteenth century. The course also contains an in depth survey of political, social, economic and cultural aspects of the century, which provides a kaleidoscopic vision of the Ottoman way of life in this initial era of Westernisation. The Occidentalising tendencies, a distinguishing characteristic of the century in the Ottoman world, are studied in reference to European Orientalism.
AH 544 Architectural History Research Studio: Ankara, the Modern Capital City (3-2)3
Archival study on primary sources and bibliographical study on secondary sources as part of the process of writing architectural history. The main theme changes each semester, but Ankara remains as the general study area to read and discuss theoretical frameworks of architectural modernism, and of city formation, and to search for and analyze documents in various archives and libraries, in order to accumulate architectural knowledge of Ankara and to write a critical and interpretive account of the architectural history of the city.
AH 546 Theories of History I: Althusser, Jameson and the Annales School (3-0)3
This course explores the implications of the writings of Louis Althusser for history writing. As Peter Schöttler has stated there are conspicuous parallels between the way Althusser conceptualizes the task of history and the way Annales School historians are engaged in their ‘craft’-both sides are committed to the concept of history of problems (histoire-problème) and think of history ‘in the form of a structural process of evolution of complex societies.’ After elucidating the basic terms of this potential dialogue we combine these with an analysis of spatial phenomena as it is undertaken in the writings of Fredric Jameson and Henri Lefebvre.
AH 547 Theories of History II: Visuality, Spatiality and Materiality (3-0)3
The last couple of decades witnessed a proliferation of methodologies for the analysis of visual and spatial phenomena. The common point of these new strategies-coming from fields as diverse as psychoanalysis, philosophy, literary criticism and feminism among others–is concentration on singular cases and denigration of any systematic approach aiming to develop general explicative frameworks. In this seminar we will try to develop ways of analyzing visual and spatial practices through close-readings of different texts, both canonical works of art and architectural history and recent products of interdisciplinary approaches.
AH 548 Aesthetics and the Psyche (3-0)3
Creativity, memory, and the aesthetic have long been discussed by different disciplines from sundry perspectives. In this seminar we will engage in the difficult task of probing these elusive terms that intermittently pervade architectural discourse. We will try to come to grips with them by locating aesthetic and architectural production at the interstices between the social and the psychic-the two realms between which, in Kaja Silverman’s words, “[there is a complex] interaction involving a series of ‘relays’.” What does ‘to create’ amount to? What are the ways in which ‘the aesthetic’ works? How are memory and the aesthetic intermingled? These are some of the questions we will tackle vis-à-vis different architectural and visual products.
AH 666 Medieval Buildings and Texts (3-0)3
This course surveys texts written on a selected group of medieval monuments. The monuments are studied in the context of their analogous precursors and/or coevals. The ideological contexts and structural/formal characteristics of the buildings are unfolded through modern and past narratives. These narratives are reviewed in a critical way during lectures and discussions. Authors’ thoughts, attitudes and convictions are questioned in discussions.
Undergaraduate elective courses |
ARCH 323 Developments in Modern Art (3-0)3
A course to familiarize students with the art of the 20th Century. Conducted through lectures, discussion of readings and gallery and museum visits.
ARCH 324 Thinking (Reading/Writing) on Architecture (3-0)3
The course intends to improve students’ skills in the practice of thinking in terms of reading and writing by emphasizing the significance of this Practice in the process of architectural production. In a movement from simpler to complex reading and writing, it aims to acquaint students with basic and advanced strategies in the analysis, synthesis and critique of architectural texts (texts, acting as the medium through which these strategies are developed, are selected to overlap within a contextual Framework and renewed each year). In this sense, the course attempts to play a preparatory role for advanced courses on history, theory and criticism that demand these strategies intensively in the practice of thinking on architecture.
ARCH 325 Architecture in Situ (3-0)3
I: Seljukid and Ottoman Art and Architecture in Turkey
II: Visual Narratives - the Lens of Italy
A course largely based on direct experience of built works of architecture and architectural sites in Turkey or abroad, facilitated by field studies or design workshops to be conducted by staff. Due to time to be spent far from school premises, programs for the course are offered in the Summer School, or travel periods are organized in summer or winter vacations. Expenses for travels are met by students themselves, with partial support for those held in Turkey.
ARCH 365-366 Fine Arts Techniques Workshop (Photography) (3-2)4-4
These courses aim to familiarize the student with potentialities of the adjustable camera. Terminology concerning the topic. Accessories and their function. How to look consciously to see. Seeking for a message in the picture. How to adjust the instrument to get the required result. Darkroom practice. Colour and black and white photography.
ARCH 413 Survey of Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture
This course covers the major monuments in the history of Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture using a contextual approach and proceeds chronologically, from 323 to 1453 AD. Churches, fortifications, civic infrastructures, monasteries, palaces, castles and houses are considered. Themes include the inheritance and transformation of the classical tradition; empire-building and the urban development of Constantinople; the relationship of the art and architecture of the capital to that of the provinces; developments in regional architecture; the relationship of Byzantine church architecture to its decoration; questions of form and function; the role of civic and religious ceremonials in shaping Byzantine architecture; and the meaning and significance of sacred spaces.
ARCH 420 Architecture and Politics in 20 th-Century Italy (3-0)3
Italian architecture displays an unbalanced position within architectural history scholarship. The tremendous interest directed to the architecture produced on this land in antiquity or between the 14th and 18th centuries dissolves when more recent times are at issue. In reality both the architectural production itself and the architectural discourses flourished in Italy in the 20th Century show great variety and immense intellectual depth not easily matched elsewhere. In this course we try to acquaint ourselves with this rich architectural culture that affected 20th-Century western architectural scene in many ways. With this aim Italian architectural production of this century is scrutinized vis-à-vis different problematic such as tradition/innovation, realism/surrealism, and by situating architecture within Italy’s sociopolitical conjunctures.
ARCH 422 Classical Antiquity in Asia Minor (3-0)3
Indigenous traditions in construction and building types will also be considered to stress the Anatolian contribution and the resulting synthesis in the material evidence of Greek and Roman civilizations, with particular attention to Western Asia Minor.
ARCH 423 Domestic Architecture in Antiquity (3-0)3
The development of ancient domestic architecture is covered in a contextual approach. Forms of domestic space, private life and culturally relevant social practices are emphasized to illustrate the relationship between the architectural organization of dwellings and social norms, attitudes and changes in the private sphere.
ARCH 424A Comparative Inquiry into the Built Environment of Medieval Europe and Anatolia (3-0)3
The course surveys, on a comparative basis, the Western (Romanesque and Gothic Periods) and Anatolian (Seljuk and Principalities) developments in their built environment during the Middle Ages from the 10th through the 14th centuries. The structure of the respective societies, their political, economic, cultural life, features of urban patterns, building types, building processes, art-architecture relations and the architect (the anonymous master builder vs. the banna or üstad) in both societies seen comparatively, form the main topics of the course.
ARCH 426 House and Daily Life in History (3-0)3
The course covers the developments in the domestic architecture and daily life in the pre-20th century. Changes, continuities and transformations in the meaning, use and form of dwellings and domestic spaces as well as those in the conception of private sphere and privacy are covered in thematic and chronological sessions.
ARCH 427 Studies in Greek Architecture (3-0)3
The course deals with various approaches and viewpoints in the study of Greek architecture through selected readings. Class discussions are based on specific topics and themes such as the evolution of the Greek temple. Active oral participation in the course is mandatory.
ARCH 428 Developments in Republican Turkish Architecture: 1923-Today (3-0)3
The course surveys and evaluates major developments in Turkish architecture from the beginning of the Republic until the present day. Nationalism: its emergence, sources, style characteristics, architects of the First and Second National Architecture; Internationalism; Modernism vs. Nationalism: current attitudes and the state of architectural profession and schools of architecture form the main topics of discussion.
ARCH 436 Seminar in Classical Antiquity: Roman Architecture (3-0)3
A critical survey of the major developments in the history of Roman architecture in Rome and the provinces. Adaptation and evolution with regard to the Roman architectural revolution.
ARCH 440 Masterworks of Medieval Architecture in East and West (3-0)3
This course investigates masterworks of Islamic and Christian architecture in medieval age. A group of selected buildings are analyzed in terms of their structural, formal and stylistic features. These buildings are the foremost representatives of their age and architectural type. This course is constructive in creating an overall view about the cultural and historical contexts wherein monumental buildings were produced. Exposure to the structural evolution that led to these buildings provides students with basic knowledge on design methods in medieval age. Students are acquainted with the main creative impulses in different epochs and regions of medieval architecture.
ARCH 443 Environmental Aesthetics I (3-0)3
A theoretical course conducted in discussions on assigned readings and research. Aims to introduce students to environmental concerns and issues of aesthetics related to the environment and to social and urban experiences. Apart from the discussions, students are asked to submit papers related to the environment, short stories, drawings and visual documentation.
ARCH 444Environmental Aesthetics II (3-0)3
A studio course in applied environmental art, based on the theoretical background of ARCH 443. The course aims to sensitize students towards environmental values through direct contact and projects which investigate meaning and form, and potential of objects and new materials.
ARCH 448 Issues and Problems in ‘Modernism’ (3-0)3
In this course the complex relations between western architectural production of the early twentieth century and its material and intellectual contexts are explored. We start by delving into the concepts of ‘aesthetic modernism’ and ‘social modernity.’ After setting the scene through an analysis of social, economic and intellectual background of what came to be known as ‘architectural modernism,’ each week the course focuses on specific (architectural) productions and problems with the aim to acquaint students with different ‘modernisms’ as well as cases that deviate from the ‘Modernist’ norms.
ARCH 465-466Fine Arts Techniques Workshop I-II (2-2)3-4
Basic courses of drawing and/or pointing to develop students ability to see, understand and express in visual art, objects in space.
Undergraduate
MUST
222 History of Art and Architecture II (Jale ERZEN, ALÝ Uzay PEKER, Sevil ENGÝNSOY EKÝNCÝ)
ELECTIVE
322 Developments in Modern Art (Jale ERZEN)
324 Thinking (Reading/Writing) on Architecture (Sevil ENGÝNSOY EKÝNCÝ)
366 Fine Arts Techniques Workshop (Jale ERZEN)
422 Classical Antiquity in Asia Minor (Suna GÜVEN)
426 House and Daily Life in History (Lale ÖZGENEL)
440 Masterworks of Medieval Architecture in East and West (ALÝ Uzay PEKER)
Graduate
MUST
504 Prothesis Seminar (Elvan ALTAN ERGUT)
604 Research Seminar (Sevil ENGÝNSOY EKÝNCÝ)
ELECTIVE
514 Aesthetics and Criticism (Jale ERZEN
533 Seminar in CrossCultural Studies :19th Century Developments (Elvan ALTAN ERGUT)
536 Seminar in Roman Architecture (Suna GÜVEN)
539 Cosmological Thought and Architecture in the Middle East (ALÝ Uzay PEKER)
544 Architectural History Research Studio: Ankara, 1950-80 (Elvan ALTAN ERGUT)
547 Theories of History II: Visuality, Spatiality and Materiality (Belgin TURAN ÖZKAYA)
548 Aesthetics and the Psyche (Belgin TURAN ÖZKAYA)