Military Urbanism in the Early Modern Era

The technology of gunpowder artillery caused a military revolution in Early Modern Europe (ca. 1450-1800). Innovations in warfare created a new type of fortification, bastioned, more geometrical and solid, dense and efficient infrastructure and building typologies, and shifted and vastly expanded Europe’s border networks. At the end of the course, students make spatial and philosophical comparisons with forms of current urban design, warfare, and surveillance such as the use of drones and cyber warfare. Throughout, participants make trans-historical comparisons and discover how the past impacts the present while trying to understand the specific character of this period.