Undergraduate Course: Architecture of Monasticism (ARHI10016)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Architecture - History |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Western monasticism has been a form of piety, a system of discipline and a principle of organisation of agricultural and economic activity, and of provision of social services from Early Christian times to the present. As a religious, economic, social and political agent, it has focussed thinking and has served as a laboratory for the development of ideas and practices that society at large later assimilated. The monastery, as architectural expression of a society in miniature, is, symbolically, lofty and elaborate and, practically, comprehensive and diverse. Its architectural elements have supplied a large part of the original typology of architecture - for example, for worship, meditation, deliberative assembly, eating, hospitality, treating the sick, storage of all kinds. Paying due attention to the priorities of different monastic orders, the course discusses the philosophical and utilitarian functions of the monastery, and traces their development. The activities that the monastery housed and engaged in are approached through a chronological sequence of studies of a number of Europe's most important monastic foundations. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
| Students will understand how the monastery is typically organised, what its parts are and how the definition of its functions made it an influential architectural exercise, one from which typologically varied secular architecture had much to learn. They will see how architectural form relates to monastic order - and therefore the various forms of piety practised and religious belief espoused - the setting of the complex in city or countryside, and the epoch in which the foundation was established. They will become familiar with some of the principal monastic complexes of the Western world. |
Assessment Information
1x2500 word essay (50%)
1x2 hour examination (50%) |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | abbey, monastery, religious orders, monastic orders, ecclesiastical architecture, church, cloister, |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr John Lowrey
Tel: (0131 6)50 2314
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Claire Davies
Tel: (0131 6)50 2309
Email: |
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