Required of juniors concentrating in History of Art and Architecture. A group tutorial consisting of weekly meetings with a graduate student, with regular reading and writing assignments. HAA 98 offers concentrators the choice of several study groups investigating a particular field or topic in art history, including each year: museums and collections; race and aesthetics; the art of looking and writing, and; architectural methods. Concentrators select two of the group tutorial topics.
For AY 24-25, the following topics will be offered:
Required of juniors concentrating in History of Art and Architecture. A group tutorial consisting of weekly meetings with a graduate student, with regular reading and writing assignments. HAA 98 offers concentrators the choice of several study groups investigating a particular field or topic in art history, including each year: museums and collections; race and aesthetics; the art of looking and writing, and; architectural methods. Concentrators select two of the group tutorial topics.
For AY 24-25, the following topics will be offered:
Required of all History of Art and Architecture concentrators in their sophomore year. An introduction to the practice of art and architectural history through object-based teaching led by faculty members in HAA.
The practice of architecture fundamentally asks us to continuously engage with, and re-conceptualize, the world for which we are designing. As such, architecture as a discipline is not only about designing buildings, but also about challenging us to imagine new ways of seeing the world. This studio takes on the challenge through a series of design exercises focused on understanding, engaging with, and reimaging the urban condition. Throughout the course, we will approach architectural design as both a method of producing urban environments, and also as an avenue...
Architecture assembles multiple models, surfaces, and materials; it is not a single monolithic thing, rather it is comprised of disparate parts and organizational systems operating at different scales. Design, the bringing together of these elements, requires sensitivity, registers scale, and renders perceptual effect. This course is an introductory architectural design studio focused on building foundational architectural concepts and design methodologies studied through a process of making. A series of physical modeling/fabrication assignments explore spatial...
Seminar offered under special arrangements consisting of weekly meetings with designated faculty, where regular reading and writing assignments are focused on a topic of mutual interest.
Limited to juniors and seniors. Students wishing to enroll must petition the Head Tutor for approval, stating the proposed project, and must have the permission of the proposed instructor.
This course introduces concentrators to on-site study of art and architecture through the case study of a particular geographic and cultural area. This year: Munich
How do Buddhists understand the world around them? From vast cosmic mountains to humble domestic altars, Buddhists use places and spaces to define everything from the loftiest goals of the religion to the routine methods of daily practice. Understanding Buddhism, therefore, requires understanding the visual worlds in which Buddhists see themselves to live. This course introduces Buddhist art and architecture that defines concepts of space and place, including depictions of cosmology, geography, and landscape as well as constructions of monuments, mandalas, and...
Money is everywhere. As both an abstract construct and a material entity, money makes the world go around. Since before the invention of writing, money has been a common facet of everyday life, informing how we think and act. The course explores how societies across human history have made, used, and valued money in divergent ways. We will consider money as an object of aesthetic appreciation, an ethical problem, an architect of social relations, an environmental disruptor, a tool of political resistance, and much more. How has coinage design functioned as...
A survey of the diverse architectural traditions of the Japanese archipelago from the prehistoric era through the twentieth century. Various building types-including the Shinto shrine, Buddhist temple, castle, teahouse, palace and farmhouse-will be studied through representative surviving examples. Issues to be explored include the basic principles of timber-frame engineering, the artisanal culture of master carpenters, and the mixed legacy of the functionalist interpretation of Japanese architecture.
What is known as the Renaissance was a period of intense cultural transformation, and it is a history whose legacy we have inherited. From the construction of the liberal arts to the Doctrine of Discovery (only rejected by the Vatican in 2023), we live with the traditions of this period and its repercussions. Artists reached an unprecedented stature creating some of the most powerful works of art in Europe. This course traces an artistic narrative that moves from Giotto to Caravaggio as it coincided with Columbus' disastrous voyages, the Sack of Rome and the...
Examines major works of world architecture and the unique aesthetic, cultural, and historical issues that frame them. Faculty members will each lecture on an outstanding example in their area of expertise, drawing from various historical periods and diverse cultures across the world. Weekly discussion sections will develop thematically, expanding on the given examples to focus on significant issues in the analysis and interpretation of architecture.
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) is a dominant figure in the history of art and in the history of the discipline. A sculptor, architect, painter and poet, Michelangelo was the quintessential Renaissance man and embodies the paradigm of artistic genius. He was a complex figure, individual and “terrible”, who transformed the art of the Italian peninsula over the seven decades of his career. Harvard is unique in providing the opportunity to study Michelangelo through direct encounters with original drawings by the artist and books that date to the 16th century,...
In the fall term, HAA 99 includes several group tutorial meetings with the senior honors adviser, where assignments are aimed at facilitating the writing of a senior honors thesis; spring term consists of independent writing, under the direction of the individual thesis adviser. Part one of a two part series.
