Histories of Architecture Education in the United States
Histories of Architecture Education in the United States is an edited collection focused on the professional evolution, experimental and enduring pedagogical approaches, and leading institutions of American architecture education. Beginning with the emergence of architecture as a profession in Philadelphia and ending with the early work, but unfinished international effort, of making room for women and people of color in positions of leadership in the field, this collection offers an important history of architecture education relevant to audiences both within and outside of the United States. Other themes include the relationship of professional organizations to educational institutions; the legacy of late nineteenth-century design concepts; the role of architectural history; educational changes and trans-Atlantic intellectual exchanges after WWII and the Cold War; the rise of the city and urban design in the architect’s consciousness; student protests and challenges to traditional architecture education; and the controversial appearance of environmental activism. This collection, in other words, provides a relevant history of the present, with topics of concern to all architects studying and working today.
Peter L. Laurence is Associate Professor of Architecture at the Clemson University School of Architecture, where he teaches architectural history and theory, and architecture and urban design courses. His research focuses on architectural pedagogies, urban design history, architects’ thinking about the city, and, more broadly, epistemological change in architectural history and theory. He is the author of Becoming Jane Jacobs (Penn Press, 2016), which was supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.