Course Syllabus

TRADITIONAL AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE

A4341 Fall 2025  Andrew S. Dolkart asd3@columbia.edu 

Objectives of the Class

When Europeans arrived in what is now the United States, they rarely acknowledged that the indigenous people had any architectural culture. With a few rare exceptions, they ignored the often environmentally sensitive structures of native people and attempted to adapt their own built heritage in conditions in North America. While acknowledging the rich architectural heritage of native peoples, this class will explore the architecture of the United States from the earliest buildings erected by Europeans in the seventeenth century through the architecture of the late nineteenth century. In class, we will examine the iconic architectural monuments erected during this period, ranging from surviving colonial homes to the works of amateur and professional architects such as Peter Harrison, Charles Bulfinch, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, John Mills, A. J. Davis, Richard Upjohn, Frank Furness, and Henry Hobson Richardson. We will also explore lesser known and vernacular buildings and the spread of architectural ideas from centers of innovation into small towns and rural landscapes. We will review the evolving forms and styles of architecture and forces behind developments in American design, discussing the impact of the ideas of such designers and theoreticians as Frederick Law Olmsted, Andrew Jackson Downing, and Richard Morris Hunt. 

Class will meet on Tuesdays from 11:00-1:00. Supplementing the lectures will be a workshop session where we will get together to discuss the issue of slavery and enslaved people at house museums over time. There will also be two required walking tours during the semester.

Requirements

1. Research Paper.

Topic Due: October 7 (at the latest)

Paper Due: November 18

Each student will prepare a 12-15 page paper on a topic relating to some aspect of American architecture during the period covered by this class.  You can choose any topic that interests you, so long as I have approved it. You can focus on a building or group of buildings, on a building material, on the development of a building type or style, on the work of a particular architect, on architecture in a particular locale, on the restoration of a particular building, etc. What you must do, is analyze your topic within the larger framework of the architecture of the United States.  Your paper will not simply be a description of the topic chosen but must place this material within a larger context. This is an academic paper and will include:

            -a full bibliography of all sources consulted (published and archival)

-full end notes or footnotes (notes with author’s name and page number, placed within the body of the text are not acceptable)

            -appropriate illustrations with the source of each noted

If you are not sure how to create notes and a bibliography check A Manual of Style (often referred to as the "Chicago Manual" since it is published by the University of Chicago Press) which is available online through CLEO.

2. Workshop on Slavery and the Enslaved. For this workshop, students will be divided into groups and will prepare short presentations related to how slavery and the lives of enslaved people have been interpreted in house museums over time.

3. Final Exam. Date to be announced. The exam is required of anyone who needs a letter grade. It is optional for all Pass/Fail students. If you are interested in trying for a High Pass you need to take the exam.

4. Readings. The basic text for the class will be Leland Roth and Amanda C. Roth-Clark, American Architecture: A History. I have ordered copies of this book from Book Culture at 536 West 112^th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. The book is also available as an ebook on CLEO and copies can be purchased or rented via Amazon.

Additional readings will be assigned for each class and they have been compiled in a reader that can be purchased at Village Copier on Amsterdam Avenue and 118^th Street. Most readings are also available online through Avery Library (copyright issues prevent me from placing all readings online). I have tried to limit the readings so that each of you has time to complete all of the assigned pages. I will also add suggested readings or notable books and articles on specific topics. 

5. Attendance. You are expected to attend each class. Three missed classes can lead to an unofficial withdrawal.

Class is two hours. We all have no problem sitting for two hours at a movie or a play. Unless it is an emergency, please do not wander in and out of the classroom.

Academic Integrity: Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic policy. This course will adhere strictly to GSAPP’s Plagiarism Policy. For additional resources regarding academic integrity, please see guidance from the Provost and the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Generative AI usage: The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for the preparation of papers and any other assignments is strictly forbidden. AI can only be used in this course for editing purposes. Any such use must be appropriately acknowledged and cited. Not only is the use of AI in the preparation of assignments against academic policy, but it stymies your academic development. In addition,  In addition, it is important to note that AI generative tools may be unreliable, inaccurate, biased, outdated, or copyrighted.