Course overview
Complementing the global breadth of the foundation survey courses, History Theory I and II, this course takes an in-depth local historical approach to examine the role of the designed environment and associated design disciplines in the construction of specific places and societies. The course focuses on the colonial-modern history of South Australia and the transformation of the cultural landscape of its First Nations custodians, the Kaurna people, through the design and building of the city we know today as Adelaide. Articulating multiple story-lines and theoretical perspectives through indigenous and other expert collaborators, the course attempts a deeper critical reading of contemporary Australian landscape, architecture and urbanism. It will also introduce students to relevant areas of critical inquiry and scholarship in which academic staff and/or visiting researchers are engaged in the school. Students will enhance their foundation skills in academic research and writing, as well as the professional documentation and interpretation of built and landscape heritage through empirical inquiry using primary historical sources.
Course learning outcomes
- Outline the historical development of the architecture, urban design and cultural landscapes of South Australia since the impact of modern/European settlement in the early 19th century
- Synthesise theoretical and cultural relationships between built form, content, context, concept, and construction that may be revealed in the case of South Australia, with particular reference to Aboriginal Australian and other non-European peoples
- Articulate and interpret factors (social, economic, technological and aesthetic) that may influence the design and development of built environments
- Compose a critical argument and communicate this in a clear and concise analytical text employing academic writing and referencing conventions
- Demonstrate enhanced research skills in the use of primary sources as well as on-line resources to conduct original historical inquiry
- Apply discipline-specific knowledge and skills (including architectural drawing) as prospective design professionals to document and assess a building as a contribution to built heritage