History and Philosophy of Design
Area Coordinator: Timothy Hyde, Associate Professor of Architecture
History and Philosophy of Design is a platform for scholarly inquiry into design in the disciplines of architecture, urbanism and landscape architecture and in other aesthetic, spatial and technological practices. The aim of the program is to advance design knowledge through historical research into social, cultural and political contexts, through theoretical explorations, and through the formulation of critical perspectives.
The program is directed toward individuals for whom the advanced study of topics in the History and Philosophy of Design will lead to subsequent work in the development and dissemination of design knowledge. The program provides a thorough preparation for the subsequent pursuit of the PhD degree in the histories of design, architecture, urbanism or landscape architecture, or in the many adjacent fields that incorporate the study of the built environment. The program is also suited to practitioners who are or will be involved in academia or contexts outside professional practice requiring research in historical or theoretical topics. The program also provides an intellectual training for individuals who intend to pursue careers in criticism, media or curatorship in established institutional settings or in newly emerging forms.
The three-semester program is structured around a curriculum consisting of seminars and lectures taught by the history/theory faculty of the GSD. Course topics taught by this faculty include history of art and architecture, history of modern urbanism, the history of science and technology in design, modern landscapes and territories, experimental design practices and many others. The curriculum culminates with an individual research project defined by the student in consultation with advisors. During their residence, students in this MDesS program have access to an unparalleled array of resources, at the GSD and throughout Harvard University. The study of architecture, urbanism and landscape architecture has a natural affinity with courses offered in departments such as History of Science, Visual and Environmental Studies, History, Anthropology, Literature and others. In addition, there are many dedicated centers at Harvard such as the Humanities Center at Harvard, the Laboratory at Harvard, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, that are a venue for conversations among scholars at Harvard and internationally, hosting speakers, seminars, workshops and conferences. Together with the numerous activities at the GSD, these events provide a diverse and stimulating intellectual environment in which to pursue the degree in the History and Philosophy of Design.
Required Courses
4121, 4122, 4123 Buildings, Texts and Contexts
Typical Electives
3434 Architecture and Art: From Minimalism to Neuro-phenomenology
4358 Authority and Invention: Medieval Art and Architecture
3431 A Science of the Environment
4408 Situating the Modern: Modern Architecture and Vernacular Traditions
4420 The Ruin Aesthetic: Episodes in the History of an Architectural Idea
4430 Paris: The Design of a Metropolis
4474 Critical Memory and the Experience of History
4429 The Personifications of Modernism: Phillip Johnson
Courses of interest outside of the GSD
HAA 199 The Study of Architectural History: Critical Issues and Methodologies
HAA 271 Reading, Drawing, Printing Architecture
HAA 271x The Origins of Modernity: The “New” 18th Century
HSCI290 Critical History: Curating Images, Objects, Media
LIT 242 Text, Image, Public Sphere
LIT 256 Archeology of Modernity and Visual Culture
VES 162 Media Archaeology of Place
Associated Faculty
John Beardsley, Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture
Eve Blau, Adjunct Professor in Architectural History
K. Michael Hays, Eliot Noyes Professor of Architectural Theory
Timothy Hyde, Associate Professor of Architecture
Sanford Kwinter, Professor of Architectural Theory and Criticism
Erika Naginski, Associate Professor of Architectural History
Antoine Picon, Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology
Christine Smith, Robert C. and Marian K. Weinberg Professor of Architectural History
