ARCH 04 — Building the Renaissance: Architecture Across the World
Quarter: Summer
Instructor(s): Brittany Forniotis
Date(s): Jul 9—Aug 13
Class Recording Available: No
Class Meeting Day: Thursdays
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—7:20 pm (PT)
Tuition: $415
Refund Deadline: Jul 11
Unit(s): 1
Status: Open
Quarter: Summer
Day: Thursdays
Duration: 6 weeks
Time: 5:30—7:20 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jul 9—Aug 13
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $415
Refund Deadline: Jul 11
Instructor(s): Brittany Forniotis
Recording Available: No
Status: Open
When we picture the Renaissance, we often imagine familiar Italian icons such as Brunelleschi’s dome or Michelangelo’s ceilings. Yet the spirit of renewal that transformed Italy between 1400 and 1600 also reshaped societies far beyond Europe. This course tells a global story of architectural reinvention, showing how builders across continents adapted classical forms, local traditions, and new technologies to imagine modern worlds of their own. Through richly illustrated lectures, we examine how architectural ideas traveled along empires and trading networks, taking on new meanings far from their origins. Weekly case studies range from Russian palaces to the town halls of Jakarta and the mosques of Isfahan, showing how architecture expressed political power, religious belief, and cultural identity. Short readings and virtual site visits will help students learn how to interpret buildings as deliberate statements about values and authority, revealing the Renaissance as a global phenomenon whose legacy continues to shape the spaces we inhabit today.
No prior knowledge of architecture or early modern history is required.
BRITTANY FORNIOTIS
Art Historian
Brittany Forniotis is an art historian specializing in the architecture of the medieval and Renaissance Mediterranean. She received a PhD in art history and visual culture from Duke. Forniotis has lectured broadly on architectural history and published on the intersection of architecture and medicine. Her research interests include hospital architecture, isolation and the built environment, and depictions of architectural monuments in two-dimensional media. She is a Stanford faculty affairs administrator in the Department of Chemistry. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.