Pre-Modern Architecture of the Circumpolar North

In this course we will explore the ways that circumpolar and Nordic architecture developed in an interconnected world, ca. 1000-1400. In the Arctic and subarctic, climate has required communities to adapt their built environment in creative ways, from snow houses to turf construction to stave churches. Dealing with themes of materiality, cultural translation, and hybridity, in this architectural survey we will think about spaces, their function in pre-modern communities, the ways they communicate ideas and interact with the landscape where they’re built, and their enmeshment within wider economic systems. We will learn together to read groundplans, practice in- depth visual analysis, consider a range of building materials and techniques, and interpret buildings as both sites and objects of material culture.