HAU33025/26 Architecture and Politics in Twentieth Century Europe
Political leaders use architecture to convey power, to express political ideas, and to influence how people think and act. In twentieth-century Europe, political ideologies including fascism, communism, colonialism, and democracy influenced the creation of new buildings and cities. We will explore those ideologies through the spaces that they produced, and a selection of examples spanning between Hitler’s plans to transform Berlin to public swimming pools in post-war Britain. Under the banner of democracy, we will also explore how forces within Irish politics impacted the Dublin cityscape. This is a history of modern Europe told through the mark left by political actors upon architecture and cities.
- Module Organiser:
- Dr Hannah Malone
- Duration:
- Semester 1
- Contact Hours:
- Weighting:
- 5ECT & 10ECT
- Assessment:
- 5ECT: Essay and visual analysis
- 10ECT: Essay and visual analysis & Project
- Course open to:
[M=mandatory; O= optional]
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of the module students should be able:
- Identify and analyse the architecture built by major political regimes of twentieth-century Europe.
- Identify and explain the political, ideological, and cultural basis of buildings and urban spaces produced by Fascist, Nazi, Soviet and democratic states.
- Outline the national and transnational contexts in which architecture was created and received in twentieth-century Europe.
- Engage critically with historical, political, and theoretical texts relevant to architecture and urban design during this period.
- Demonstrate original, self-directed historical and theoretical research on twentieth-century European architecture.