A4529 Colonialism and Post-colonialism
History/Theory SeminarGwendolyn Wright
The imprint of colonial past has left its mark from the Caribbean to Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The European nations represent the most conspicuous colonial powers, though we should not overlook the United States in Latin America or the former USSR in Eastern Europe. There is clearly a global dimension to this influence, encompassing colonizer as well as colonized, that has become more pronounced in the post-colonial world. Yet the particularity of local cultural traditions and conflicts cannot as it once seemed be ignored.
One goal of this seminar is to explore the specific impact of colonialism on architecture and urban design. Imperialism demanded new building types , styles, locations, and modes of construction. Urbanistic practice, both public and private, encouraged racial and ethnic segregation, functional zoning, sizable investments in infrastructure and industrial areas. One must also consider both the destruction and the preservation of so-called traditional architecture as part of the symbolic expression of cultural hierarchies.
Secondly, the class will consider more recent history since the Independence of most former colonies after World War II. How do post-colonial nations come to terms with their past, both before and under colonial domination? We will analyze Third World responses to international modernism (in architecture and urbanism as well as capital investment), as well as the more recent efforts to find authentic principles of design based on religious, cultural, and/or environmental precedents.
Assignments will consist of presentations in class, followed by short papers, analyzing particular buildings or urban plans from the colonial period, the early post-colonial era, and the present day.
WEEKLY DISCUSSION TOPICS
1. The history and legacy of colonialism
2. Global culture, local differences, and the Other
3. Defining Europe through export
4. Colonized capitals: Rabat, New Delhi, Djakarta
5. Student presentations of colonial-era buildings or city plans, analyzed in terms of different histories, locations, aesthetics and programs, local conflicts, perceived and actual roles
6. The lure of Orientalism
7. Tourism and the conservation of monuments
8. Post-colonial capitals: Brasilia, Chandigarh, Tehran
9. Student presentations of post-colonial modernist buildings or city plans
10. Neo-traditional architecture and the search for authenticity
11. Mosques, temples, and churches: the architecture of meaning and conflict
12. Student presentations of contemporary buildings
13. Summary and conclusion