History of Art and Architecture VI: Vernacular: Architecture's Persistent Other

The term “vernacular architecture” is a recent invention, but the idea is as old as the art of building itself: From the moment someone tried to define what architecture is and who is allowed to practice it, an “other” and an “outside” was born.

The course will trace this long history of the vernacular as the persistent other of architecture, by going backwards in time and examining a series of texts and images: Starting with projects by contemporary architects and writings by 20th-century theorists like Bernard Rudofsky, we will move to 19th-century reconstructions of nationalized and exoticized dwellings, and from there to the “cottages ornés” and “fêtes pastorales” of the 18th century. Going further back, we will look at images of peasants’ houses in Dutch genre painting, depictions of primitive and ideal huts in Renaissance treatises, and medieval tapestries of “Wildleute” and their abodes.

The course will include lectures, in-class discussions, as well as assigned readings. There will be a short writing assignment, to be handed in at the end of term.