ARCH678Q

During this discussion seminar, we will use intersectional feminist theory and critique to unpack how cultural norms around gender and sex are built into architecture via government regulation including laws and code, conventional wisdom, and unconscious bias. Through the examination of cultural artifacts such as literature, art, and film, we will uncover social notions of gender and sex, and trace parallels of how changing notions of sex, sexuality, and gender has been represented or not in the architecture. Analysis of a wide range of architectural typologies and styles will aid in the investigation of how the built environment reflects and shapes our ideas about gender and sex. Scholarship will be undertaken to elaborate on the central questions of: What would gender equitable architecture be like? What would sex-positive architecture be like?