ARTH 367 Studies in 20th Century Art and Architecture: Modernist Architecture in North America

• Wednesdays, 11:45am-2:15pm
• EV-1.605
• Instructor: Rebecca Lemire

This course will survey the history of modernist architecture in North America. Applying a cross-cultural approach, we will consider the ways in which modernism was the result of the interaction between various cultural perspectives from across the continent, as opposed to being merely a Western phenomenon. Similarly, students will learn how modern architecture was connected to a range of socio-political and technological developments, and develop their ability to define modernism as a whole. While we will examine prominent moments in the history of modern architecture such as the advent of the Bauhaus and the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, we will pay equal attention to lesser known regional examples as well as work by women and other marginalized communities. The course will also look at how other disciplines such as visual art and music influenced modernist building, including an examination of the Synthesis of the Arts movement and its various incarnations throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada, and the U.S.