Write a 5 page thematic essay
World Architecture I: History of the Built Environment from Prehistory to c. 1800 Eleni Bastéa, Ph.D., School of Architecture and Planning University, UNM Fall 2016
For your second and final assignment, you will choose one of the themes and two of the buildings, structures, or sites listed on the next page. In a paper of 5 to 6 pages, with images and bibliography on additional pages, compare and contrast these structures and build an argument regarding their respective engagement with this theme using architectural and historical evidence.
For example, you might argue that two very different structures engage the same theme in an unexpected way, or you might argue that two seemingly similar structures actually engage very differently with your chosen theme (i.e. in a paper using the theme of ritual, you could argue that two religious structures take opposite approaches to that theme).
You may conduct this analysis using any of the variety of architectural attributes we have considered this semester: design details, massing, urban organization, construction strategy, conceptual meaning, social and political intentions, architectural and urban theory, historical context, and style, among others.
You are required to draw from and properly cite three sources obtained through outside research (please use MLA or Chicago Style citation format, both easily found online). You must use scholarly sources (books, journal articles, essays), even if they are from the internet, and you may not use unreliable internet sources such as Wikipedia or personal websites. Visit the excellent Fine Arts and Design Library in our building and take advantage of the librarians' assistance if you need help finding sources.
The most successful papers will have a clearly stated and argumentative hypothesis or thesis, clear organization, effective use of relevant evidence, and a concise and lucid writing style. They will also use relevant sources that contribute to the argument or provide important background and contextual information that supports your argument.
Please use 12 pt Times New Roman or Garamond fonts, double-spaced, and margins no larger than 1.25 inches. Please do not add extra spaces between paragraphs. Papers that do not follow these formatting instructions, that incorrectly cite sources (or do not use three), or that do not meet the length minimum will be penalized.
If you have any questions, let us know well in advance of the due date.
Themes Belief
Diffusion (of population, goods, ideas, etc.) Patronage
Urbanization Identity Empire Ritual
Power Technology Nature
Buildings, Structures, Sites
1. Stonehenge
2. Agora, Athens
3. Parthenon, Athens
4. Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli
5. Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan
6. Hagia Sophia, Constantinople
7. Ise Shrine
8. Great Mosque, Damascus
9. The Alhambra, Spain
10. Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon
11. Rock-Cut Churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia
12. Chartres Cathedral
13. San Lorenzo, Florence
14. San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome
15. New St. Peter's and St. Peter's Square, Rome
16. Katsura Imperial Villa, Kyoto
17. El Escorial, near Madrid
18. Stowe Gardens, Buckinghamshire, England
19. Palace at Versailles
20. Boullée's idea for a Bibliothèque Nationale.