HHIS-293B: Indigenous Arch of the America

This course explores the architectural traditions of the Indigenous cultures of Northern America, Middle America, and South America in historic perspective. Studies will focus on the critical cultural and environmental circumstances in which Indigenous architecture developed in the Americas and consider how architectural forms have changed or found expression today. Topics will include the following: construction methods and material choices, spatial arrangements and use areas, the relationship between physical and social community structure, and architectural manifestation of cultural belief systems. Emphasis will also be placed on manipulations of the landscape in response to social and climatic needs. Architectural culture discussed in this course will range widely in scale, dispersal, and geography from the Inuit igloo or a Tongva kiiy, to the entire Mayan city of Chichen Itza, to the terrace and irrigation systems of the Inca.