Monumental Affairs [M2]

As architecture and urbanism continues to grapple with exposure from atypical authors the need for constructive examination becomes more pressing. Global terror and dissent typically identified as political and militaristic have slowly revealed their spatial influences. Design Justice continues to peak through creases often closed shut by popular architectural theory and discourse. This shift towards a more egalitarian, and non-western intellectual approach is the impetus for Monumental Affairs. Students will be challenged to identify, interpret, and posit the necessity of monuments.
 
Monumental Affairs asks: How does the process of canonization come to fruition? Who determines which architecture become part of the canon? What overt or subtle forms of oppression are inherent in this process? How does one utilize the public sphere to dismantle these canonized monuments?

Students will utilize research methods to locate monuments in various forms from objects to buildings to landscapes to digital spaces. Students will attempt to use architecture and design as a vehicle for alternative trajectories. The speculation of design ideas will support discussions surrounding race, gender, ethnicity, immigration, displacement, and nationalism.