| CODE | SPI3716 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Anthropology of Social Space and the Built Environment | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Spatial Planning and Infrastructure | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The meaning of social space, the built environment and natural landscape are not neutral, instead they are politically and culturally loaded categories. The rise of post-colonial ethnographies and feminism challenged the western ethnocentric assumptions that everyone experiences space in a similar way. Both location and space are imbued with class-based values, power relations, morality and rights. This unit will explore this theme further by considering the differences and similarities in our spatial experiences by comparing different theoretical positions of power through space and place (Foucault, de Certeau). This will lead students to understand and acknowledge that space is not banal, but instead is ideological and hierarchical, from the most intimate spaces to public spaces. Another key theme that this course will explore is the relationship between form and culture; buildings and everyday lives; and the role of social factors within the built environment. In short, buildings shape us and we shape buildings. In order to reach this understanding, the unit will also include a practical angle where students will be urged to do an observational study of a public space and will also include a site visit based on material relevant to the course. Study-unit Aims: The diverse and inter-disciplinary content of this unit will provide an educational platform upon which students can explore their knowledge and professional development of space and place. It will also provide basic analytical tools and methodologies to understand how we conceptualise and experience space. We will also focus on urban life, the impact of urban planning on everyday life within a Maltese and European context. This unit also aims to critically analyse several postmodern theoretical frameworks, themes and debates associated with the anthropology of space, place and the built environment. Analytical skills will be imparted through in-depth reading of literature and most importantly through class debate. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Utilise the cultural variety of architectural forms and communities in tangible ways; - Implement social and cultural thinking from the start to spatial planning and design; - Configure the relationship between power, built form and gender; - Identify challenges of mass urban development, modern demographic changes and the changing household; - Employ critical thinking on the role of the social space, built environment and infrastructure. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Conduct a simple anthropological practical exercise of a public space; - Understand anthropologically, how the local context is key to sustainable development; - Apply social thinking from the start within architecture and the built environment; and its long-term economic value; - Develop skills in presentation and debate, both verbal and written; - Develop problem solving skills and the ability to seek solutions to social problems and individual needs; - Design policies that are culturally sensitive to the needs of a specific society; - Describe different kinds of empirical data used in research on social policy in practice; - Evaluate different academic perspectives on social policy in practice; - Develop effective skills in finding and using library and internet resources. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Birdwell-Pheasant, Donna and Lawrence-Zúñiga, Denise. 1999. HouseLife: Space, Place and Family in Europe. Oxford and New York: Berg Publishers. - Buchli, Victor. 2013. An Anthropology of Architecture. London, Oxford: Bloomsbury. - Cieraad, Irene. 1999. (ed) At Home: An Anthropology of Domestic Space. New York: Syracuse University Press. - Pilkey, B, R.M. Scicluna, B. Campkin, and B. Penner. 2017. Gender and Sexuality at Home: Experience, Politics, Transgression. London: Bloomsbury. - Okely, Judith. 2012. Anthropological Practice. Oxford and New York: Berg. - Foucault, Michel. 1977. Discipline and punish: the birth of the prison. London: Penguin. Filmography relevant to the theories of space and place: - Wings of Desire, dir. Wim Wenders – 1987. - Kitchen Stories, dir. Bent Hamer – 2003. - Tokyo Waka – A City Poem, dir. John Haptas, Kristine Samuelson – 2012. - The Spirit of ’45, dir. Ken Loach – 2013. - Wasting the West, dir. Spiros Gerousis – 2019. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Rachael Scicluna |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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