Theorising the Asian Metropolis

This subject is not offered in 2014.

Admission into the Master of Architecture AND completion of one of the subjects below:

OR approval from the subject coordinator.

• Architectural Theory
• Social Theory
• Architectural and General History (Asia, Europe, World)

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

The modern ‘metropolis’, which emerged in Europe and North America in the nineteenth century, has now expanded in demographic and geographic scope worldwide, and has now assumed a great intensity in regions across Asia. While there is a wealth of theories from the West, there is a surging quantity of urban mass and urban making in Asia today. This subject explores critical relations between ‘Western’ theories and Asian cases, on the themes of place, flow, signs, politics, form and design, with a focus on cities in East and Southeast Asia. The subject explores micro, spatial, humanistic, critical and cross-cultural perspectives.

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• Understand a basic suite of critical terms and concepts for a social and architectural analysis of cities in general;
• Understand a basic series of controversies concerning Asian cities today in the context of international debate;
• Familiarise with either a theorist’s research on Asian cities or a specific sites/cases in a city in the Asian region.

An annotated bibliography due in week 5 (40%) and a final essay due in week 12 (60%), totalling 5000 words.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• Ability to appreciate difference between cultures.
• Ability to engage ideas between disciplines.
• Ability to make written, verbal and visual presentation of ideas.
• Ability to analyse patterns in social, cultural, historical and theoretical context.
• Ability to question and test theories against empirical cases.