W 9:30am–12:00pm, Anderson Hall, room 217
 
Small, focused, advanced discussion, workshop and/or design based courses on topics of recent research in architecture, delivered by Rice Architecture full time or visiting faculty.
 
What are the forces that control and shape urban space, and how do they operate? Cities are the most diverse places of human habitation, in terms of who lives in them, in terms of the activities conducted in them, and in terms of the images that are constructed of them. An investigation of the relationship between identity and urbanity inevitably comes upon tensions because it means investigating who and what has a place in the city, in its history, and in its representations. Focusing on urbanism in the US, this seminar is structured in four thematic parts to answer important questions about issues of identity in the city. Part 1 investigates the notion of public space, and asks who controls it, and controls access to it. Part 2 focuses on the constructions of race as a form of oppression in the city by studying the history of government-sponsored segregation of Black communities, as well as the construction of Chinatowns as racial enclaves. Part 3 follows mobility, history, and protest as forms of resistance against the control of urban space and urban identities. Part 4 discusses the alleged homogenization of cities in an age of global capital, together with arts initiatives poised to restore identity to urban space and urban populations. Open to non-architecture majors, juniors and above. Space is limited and registration does not guarantee a space in this course. Cross-list: HART 412.
Apply Featured