Autumn Quarter: Landscape Architecture History course- L ARCH 352

LA 352 - HISTORY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE  FROM MEDIEVAL TO MODERN/ FROM GARDENS TO CITIES
5 credits
Writing, VLPA
 
LECTURE: M, W 9-10:20 AM Gould 322 
DISCUSSION / QUIZ SECTION: F 9-10:20 AM  
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Thaisa Way  
 
What is landscape architecture?  Landscape architecture is a both a theoretical investigation of the symbolism, production and use of space and the professional practice of designing and building real places Landscape architects imagine, create, steward places that foster both human and environmental health and wellbeing. They design everything from gardens to streetscapes to restoration of habitats and ecosystems. They work at diverse scales from individual sites to neighborhoods and districts, corridors and networks, and cities and regions  
 
Landscape architecture is an art and it is a daily practice. Like other arts, it responds to social, economic, political and intellectual influences while serving as an agent of reflection, change, and opportunity.  But landscape architecture is unique among the arts, as it must also consider topography, water, soil, climate, changing seasons, and temporal aspects of plant growth. Culture, philosophy, religion, and intellectual attitudes have played, and will undoubtedly continue to play, a major influence upon the development of this art at the same time that landscape design informs the way we live.
 
What will we explore in this course?  This course provides a critical and historical analysis of the breadth of landscape architecture as idea, art form, experience, place and practice. We will explore three questions around landscape history: How do we read designed landscape, particularly in an urban context? How has the design of landscape reflected ideas about nature, culture, and cities throughout history?  And how has the role of a designer been manifested in the design of landscapes across cultures, places, and history?
 
History cannot predict the future, but it contributes to and enhances an awareness of the forces that shape the direction that the future may take. "If we treat history less as an assemblage of facts than as a practice of the mind, then the past becomes inseparable from the values we attach to it.  Thus, it is through history and in history that an ethic can evolve to meet the needs of the present and the immediate future." (Matthew Klingle, Emerald City, 2007: 270) This course attempts to establish how Landscape Architecture has arrived at its present state of evolution and challenges you as the student to consider how the praxis might inform our futures. 
 
COURSE REQUIREMENTS   Weekly readings   Engagement and attention during lectures   Participation in discussion section  Writing assignments   Weekly online quizzes (lowest score removed)