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Art History 457: History of American Vernacular Architecture & Landscapes
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will examine an array of American vernacular buildings and landscapes from the colonial period to the present and consider what they can tell us about the past (and potentially the present). By vernacular, I refer to ordinary or everyday spaces and places that people encounter daily (houses, workspaces, institutional buildings) but rarely think about critically. Because these environments often were (and are) ordinary (that is, not high-style, not designed by architects, landscape architects, professional designers, etc.), traditional art historical frameworks that focus on stylistic categories or maker's biographies prove rather ineffective in interpreting them. Thus, this course will look at recent work by scholars from the fields of anthropology, history, American studies, cultural geography, landscape architecture and history, folklore, and material culture to construct frameworks that help us understand the significance that vernacular environments have had for their makers and users. A field trip and field projects in Madison are required as part of the course, as are visits by noted scholars of Wisconsin vernacular architecture and landscapes.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
There are several interrelated objectives for the course—some descriptive and some interpretive. It will be obvious to many students from the first day of class that vernacular buildings and landscapes often deviate significantly from high-style or architect-designed examples in their style, materials, typology, and/or method of construction. This doesn’t mean these spaces are necessarily inferior to more famous designed examples—just different! Furthermore, understanding these buildings as historical and cultural evidence necessitates that we think of them in ways beyond their style and/or maker’s biography. Thus a major goal of this course will be to acquire a working vocabulary that can help them describe vernacular buildings and landscapes in meaningful ways. Learning appropriate terminology will help students recognize and understand vernacular environments in a way that does not judge them relative to “high style” ones and allows us to seem them as complex forms of architectural and historical evidence.
A second major objective of the course involves gaining an understanding of different approaches and methodologies (from the disciplines listed above and potentially others) that help us make meaning out of ordinary buildings and landscapes that we encounter daily. Through a series of essays written by scholars working in the fields of American vernacular architecture and landscape history, we will discuss & evaluate the usefulness of various approaches to understanding the American built environment in all of its diversity.
While a semester-long course in American vernacular architecture and landscapes cannot be comprehensive (and this course doesn’t pretend to be), a third goal of the course is that students will gain a foundational understanding of the history of vernacular buildings and landscapes in the United States as they evolved through time—with a focus (particularly in the last third of the course) on the postwar suburban landscape in Madison. Because there is no one book that covers this history in its entirety, this knowledge will be gleaned through class discussions (based on selected readings) that will occur throughout the semester.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Success in the course is contingent upon the student's attending class sessions, participating in class discussions and activities, keeping up with readings, completing a series of writing assignments, and preparing for quizzes and presentations. Students who come to all class periods, actively participate in class activities and discussions, and regularly engage with the material (that is, prepare at least FIVE hours outside of class per week CONSISTENTLY through the semester) will earn the highest grades in the course. PLEASE NOTE: THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM FOR THIS COURSE. Graduate student requirements vary somewhat from that of undergraduates, as described below.
Reading assignments. There are two kinds of readings for the course:
1) TEXTBOOKS (available at the University Bookstore). Both of these are required for the course. It is possible that you may wish to share one or both books with classmates.
- Thomas Carter and Elizabeth Collins Cromley, Invitation to Vernacular Architecture: A Guide to the Study of Ordinary Buildings and Landscapes. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2005. ISBN: 1572333316
- Gabrielle M. Lanier and Bernard L. Herman, Everyday Architecture of the Mid-Atlantic: Looking at Buildings and Landscapes (Baltimore & London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997). ISBN: 0801853257
2) COURSE READER FOR PURCHASE. Other required readings have been compiled into a READER, which is available for purchase from BOB’S COPY SHOP, located at 616 University Ave. You are expected to purchase a copy of the reader, keep up with the readings (assigned for each class period), and come to class prepared to discuss the material ON THE DAY they are listed on the CALENDAR. The reading load for this course is heavy, largely because we have a great deal to cover in a very short amount of time. Because of the heavy reading load, assignments have been scaled back—but that means you are expected to read assigned texts by the due date, and you will be graded on participation (see below). Also, you should be aware that the readings & the lectures rarely overlap; if you miss class, you should get the notes from someone else because the readings do not duplicate lecture material (and vice-versa). To assure that students are keeping up with reading assignments, they will be asked to submit two (2) one-page précis (article summaries) on readings in the READER; each précis must be submitted by the date for which it is assigned (no exceptions). Guidelines for these précis are included in the course READER.
Quizzes. There will be two non-cumulative quizzes: the first on Feb. 19th and the second on March 13th (please note: March 13th is the Thursday before spring break week; please plan accordingly). Quiz questions will consist of a mix of short answer and short essay questions (some of which will likely involve slides) that engage with topics discussed in class or in the assigned readings. These quizzes may take up the majority of the class period on the days on which they are held. Format will be discussed in advance.
Field Trip. Students are TO MAKE EVERY EFFORT to attend an all-day field trip to southwestern Wisconsin to be held on Friday, March 28th. If you cannot go, you should make arrangements with the Instructor for an alternative assignment, or drop the course. This trip, led by Arnold Alanen, Professor of Landscape Architecture, will take us to the driftless region around Mineral Point, Argyle, and New Glarus. Our focus will be on ethnic building traditions and how they make up this complex landscape in rural southwestern WI. The bus will leave at approximately 8:00 a.m. and will return to Madison by 5:30 p.m. Cost of the bus is FREE. Students have the option of bringing their lunch, although those interested in having a vernacular Cornish lunch are invited to join the Instructor for pasties at the Red Rooster in Mineral Point (cost approximately $5). The field trip will provide an excellent summation of our discussions from the first part of the semester, and show applications in a real-world setting. IF YOU HAVE MANDATORY EXERCISES (I.E., MIDTERMS) IN YOUR OTHER COURSES, YOU SHOULD NOT ATTEND THE FIELD TRIP; please speak with the Instructor about alternative assignments.
A short (3-4 page) field trip response paper will be required upon return from the field trip. The paper should focus on what the student learned on the trip, and tie that acquired knowledge to themes/issues discussed in the course. Guidelines will follow at a later date.
Final Projects – Hill Farms. This year, we are working as a class to inventory a Madison post-war suburban neighborhood. Known today as “Hill Farms,” this suburb was built during the late 1950s and early 1960s, spurred by the University of Wisconsin. During the last third of the class, our focus will be on documenting and interpreting this neighborhood. We will be working with staff from the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. Many class periods will take place in the neighborhood (located near Hilldale Shopping Center), where we will be driving and walking around making notes about the houses and landscape features. YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO GET TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD (easily accessible by car, bike, or bus) and also get around it (by car, bike, or on foot) as you work on the class projects. You will work in teams as well as individually to gather the data on the built features, which will then be compiled for submission to the Historical Society for their records. You will also present as a group on your findings during a class session. Your grade for the documentation portion will be based on participation in activities in the neighborhood, contribution toward the group work, and your class presentation.
Also, your experience in the neighborhood will contribute toward your last written assignment: a short (3-4 page) research proposal. For this proposal, you will be asked to write about some aspect of this neighborhood that interests you, and describe – using knowledge gleaned in class – how you would go about conducting a larger research project. This proposal will require you to conduct little, if any, research. The idea is to use ideas you have gleaned over the course of the semester to consider how you would pursue independent research beyond this course on something that interests you. Students can propose to work on a single building, a feature of a building, a particular architectural style, building materials/technology, landscape design, or a theoretical issue of interest to them. The idea is to pick something you LIKE, and explore how you would continue to think about it beyond this course. These proposals are due no later than the last day of class.
Class Participation. As the CALENDAR below indicates, considerable portions of this class are devoted to CLASS DISCUSSION. This course is intended as an advanced undergraduate- or beginning graduate-level course, and the class format is geared around a mix of lecture and discussion that is appropriate for a 400-level course. All students are intended to participate in class discussions on a regular basis. To that end, a hefty percentage of your grade will be based on class participation. TO THOSE WHO FEAR SPEAKING UP IN CLASS: I feel your pain—but part of a liberal arts education involves learning to engage in meaningful intellectual dialogue. If the cat has persistently got your tongue, you may wish to meet with one or both of us OUTSIDE of class to talk one-on-one about the material or write “response papers” to improve your participation grade (though nothing can make up for complete lack of verbal participation). You may consult with the Instructor periodically to gauge how you are doing in terms of your participation grade. If the class is consistently reticent to engage in discussion, the Instructor will ask that students submit response papers EACH WEEK to be graded as part of class participation.
Students’ grades in class participation will be determined on a mix of factors, including (but certainly not limited to) regular attendance in class. Regular participation in class discussions, which includes asking questions of the professors or your peers (especially during PRESENTATIONS) and responding to queries by the professor or your classmates, will figure into this grade. Should the Instructor need to assign response papers at any point in the class, these will count toward the class participation grade as well.
Distribution of Grading (Undergraduates): |
|
| Quizzes | 20% (10% each) |
| 2 précis (article summaries) | 10% (5% each) |
| Field Trip Analysis | 15% |
| Hill Farms Project - Group Work | 15% |
| Hill Farms Project - Proposal | 15% |
| Class Participation | 15% |
| 100% |