ARTH 498 Special Topics in the History of Art and Architecture: Greenhouses: Histories, Politics, and Cultures of Cultivation

• Instructor: Dr. Cynthia Hammond

From colonial-era glasshouses to contemporary climate-controlled biospheres, greenhouses have long been sites of power, desire, and experimentation. This seminar will explore the history, politics, and cultural significance of greenhouses, considering their roles as spaces of botanical science, imperial expansion, environmental control, and utopian dreaming.

We will examine key moments within the history of greenhouse architecture, including the extravagant European glass palace of the nineteenth century and the practical and political structures of urban agriculture. Who has access to these spaces? How have greenhouses shaped human relationships with plants, land, and climate? How do they reflect broader social and environmental concerns?

Students will engage with historical texts, architectural analysis, and contemporary debates about sustainability, food security, and climate change. The course includes visits to three or four Montreal greenhouses, where students will observe firsthand how these structures function today. Assignments will encourage creative and critical responses, blending historical analysis with personal observations and reflection.