Advanced History & Theory 1 PG (9780.3)

Please note these are the 2026 details for this unit
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Advanced History & Theory 1 PG
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Arts And Design
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
School Of Design And The Built Environment Post Graduate Level Band 2 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 3 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
Architecture and the City:
Examining the realization of various visions of the city since the emergence of Modern movement, and the transformation of metropolis to megalopolis, this unit discusses the historical connection between architecture and the city. Central to this connectivity are the urbanity; the amalgamation of the built and natural in the form of a totality that in many ways disguises the economic, political and cultural forces reforming the city. The unit will explore the Modern and contemporary theories of the city offering a critical understanding of forces shaping the urbanity of contemporary cities.

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Analyse and compare various theoretical approaches to urban design and architecture;
2. Critically evaluate contemporary theories of urbanism;
3. Demonstrate and discuss the complexities involved in architecture's rapport with the city; and
4. Report and conduct individual research and develop analytical skills in writing essays on selected buildings, theory and history, using appropriate conventions of research and writing.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development


Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

8411 History of Australian Architecture PG

Assumed knowledge

Architectural knowledge in accord with the learning outcomes of the Bachelor of Arts in Architecture or equivalent.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 03 February 2025 On-campus Dr Milica Muminovic
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 On-campus Dr Milica Muminovic
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

Note: The following list is indicative and is subject to change. 

Where feasible, readings will be made available on short term loan or via the Unit Canvas site via Reading List.

Additional or different readings and resources may be added over the course of the semester.

W1 (urbanity) intro

Porter, L. (2018) From an urban country to urban Country: confronting the cult of denial in Australian cities, Australian Geographer, 49:2, 239-246, DOI: 10.1080/00049182.2018.1456301

Calthorpe, P. (2020) Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change, in LeGates, RT, & Stout, F (eds), The City Reader, Taylor & Francis Group, Milton.

Fishman, R. (2020) Urbanity vs Suburbanity: France and the United States, in LeGates, RT, & Stout, F (eds), The City Reader, Taylor & Francis Group, Milton.

Additional readings:

Porter, L. (2020). Indigenous Cities. In: Rogers, D., Keane, A., Alizadeh, T., Nelson, J. (eds) Understanding Urbanism. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4386-9_2

Mumford, L. (2016). What is a city? The city reader, Routledge. 6, 110-114.

Wirth, L. (2016) Urbanism as a way of life. The city reader, Routledge. 6, 115- 123.

Alexander, C. (1965). A city is not a tree. Paper presented at the Architectural forum.

Koolhaas, R. (1995). Whatever Happened to Urbanism? Design Quarterly, 164, 28–31. https://doi.org/10.2307/4091351  

Additional option for all that are interested in an Eastern perspective (Japan): Ginsberg, R. (2007) What is a City? Philosophy and the City, State University of the New York Press, 241-249.

W2 Utopia

Howard, E. S., & Osborn, F. J. (1965). Garden cities of to-morrow (Vol. 1st MIT Press paperback). Cambridge, Mass: M.I.T. Press

Rowe, C. and Koetter, F. (1983) Collage City, MIT Press, pp.11-31.

Le Corbusier. (2016). A Contemporary city. The city Reader. 6, 379-387.

Le Corbusier (2007) The Pack-Donkey's Way and Man's Way and A Contemporary City, in The Urban Design Reader, eds. M. Larce and E. Macdonald, pp. 66-75.

Wright, F.L. (2016). Broadacre City: A New Community Plan. The city Reader. 6, 388-393.

W3 Tradition

Rossi, A. (1982). The Architecture of the City. Cambridge, Mass: M.I.T. Press, 1-51

Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. New York Random House.

Jacobs, A., & Appleyard, D. (1987). Toward an urban design manifesto. Journal of the American Planning Association, 53(1).

Ellin, N. (2000). The Postmodern Built Environment. Knox, P. and Ozolins, P.(2000)(eds), Design professionals and the built environment: An introduction, Wiley, London, 99-106.

W4 Future

Rogers, R. (2008). Cities for a small planet: Basic Books.

Koolhaas, R. (1994). The generic city. S, M, L, XL. In: The urban design reader, 2007, Routledge: New York.

Frey. H. (1999). Compact, Decentralised or What? The Sustainable City Debate. In: The urban design reader, 2007, Routledge: New York.

Thomas, L and Cousins, W. (1996) The Compact City: A Successful, Desirable and Achievable Urban Form? In The Compact City, A Sustainable Urban Form?  eds. Jenks, M. Burton, E. and Williams, K. E & FN Spon. Pp. 53-65.

Mews, G., Muminovic, M., Tranter, P. (2018). Time for action: implementing the New Urban Agenda in public spaces for health and wellbeing. The Journal of Public Space. 3(1), 193-202.

W5 The Place  

Heidegger, M. (1971). Building Dwelling Thinking (A. Hofstadter, Trans.). London: Harper & Row.

Sharr, A. (2007). Heidegger for Architects. London and New York: Routledge

Pallasmaa, J. (2012). The eyes of the skin: architecture and the senses: John Wiley & Sons.

Norberg Schulz, C. (1980). Genius loci: towards a phenomenology of architecture (Trad. de l'ital.).

Alternative: read Norberg Schulz, C. (1979-1980). The loss and recovery of Place. In: Philosophy and the city. Ed. Meagher, S.M., State University of New York Press: Albany

Chemero, A. (2003). An Outline of a Theory of Affordances. Ecological Psychology, 15(2), 181-195. doi:10.1207/S15326969ECO1502_5

W6 OOO + Assemblage + Derive 

Debord, G. (1994). The Society of the Spectacle (D. Nicholson-Smith, Trans.). Camebridge & London: MIT Press.

Harvey, D. (2020) The Right to the City, in LeGates, R. T., & Stout, F. (Eds.). The city reader. Taylor & Francis Group.

Debord, G. (1957). Report on the Construction of Situations and on the International Situationist Tendency's Conditions of Organization and Action. (K. Knabb, Trans.). Paris.

De Landa, M. (2000) A thousand years of nonlinear history, Zone Books, New York, pp. 25-56.

Mitrovic, B (2011) Philosophy for Architects, New York, Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 165-173.

DeLanda:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3aE3Z6llMc

Harman:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k8Gm2SPRrA

W9 Heterotopias    

Shane, D. G. (2005). Recombinant urbanism; Conceptual modeling in architecture, urban design and city theory. Wiley.  (chapter 4)

Stavrides, S. (2006). Heterotopias and the experience of porous urban space. In Loose Space (pp. 174-192). Routledge.

Shane, D.G. (2021). Urban Design in the Anthropocene. In: Contin, A. (eds) Metropolitan Landscapes. Landscape Series, vol 28. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74424-3_4

Foucault, M. (1967). Of other space; heterotopias. https://foucault.info/doc/documents/heterotopia/foucault-heterotopia-en-html.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Artificial intelligence

Students are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in assessments for this unit.

GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at UC. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when:

  1. the Unit Convener has authorised GenAI use for that assessment
  2. the student uses GenAI in the way that the assessment instructions allow
  3. the student fully acknowledges their use of GenAI, with proper citations, references and a GenAI Acknowledgement Statement in line with the assessment instructions.

Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not permitted for that assessment. Students must still provide the required GenAI Acknowledgement Statement to indicate whether GenAI has or has not been used in the preparation of the assessment. If unsure, students should seek advice from the Unit Convener.

The GenAI for StudentsLinks to an external site. Library Guide provides further information, including how to reference GenAI.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available only for a final subject required for Course completion, as provided by University policy.

Please see UC’s Supplementary Assessment Policy.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Participation requirements

Students are expected to have read the assigned weekly materials, attend the scheduled classes and actively engage with tutorials (forum participation). It may be challenging to pass the unit without attending and regular participation.    

Required IT skills

Students are required to have basic IT skills. You will have to prepare and submit their online presentations, use email, send an attachment, write a paper and use Canvas. This unit might involve  online meetings in real time using the Virtual Room in your UCLearn teaching site. The Virtual Room allows you to communicate in real time with your lecturer and other students. To participate verbally, rather than just typing, you will need a microphone. For best audio quality we recommend a microphone and speaker headset. For more information and to test your computer, go to the Virtual Room in your UCLearn site and 'Join Course Room'. This will trigger a tutorial to help familiarise you with the functionality of the virtual room.

Work placement, internships or practicums

"None"

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