“My understanding is that architectural theory is entirely a Western discourse.”
This piece asks “is architectural theory Western or can it be global?” This means asking: is theory universal or is it geographically particular? Is theory inherently linked to Western notions of reason, philosophy, metaphysics, historical thought, and critique? And what is the relationship of theory to other modes of thought such as rhetoric, myth, symbolism, proverbs, moral and teachings?
Download“My understanding is that architectural theory is entirely a Western discourse.”
“I tend to have a little bit of an issue with the term ‘Western’, myself, because I feel that it is excluding of so many things.”
“I don’t think that Global is the opposite of Western.”
“There is a case to be made that architectural history as we know it, there is just so much more evidence of Western theory.”
“It seems that architectural theory is always going to be relative to the intellectual context that those ideas arose in.”
“…I was sort of surprised by this question, ‘Is there something inherently Western about theory?’”
“…I wouldn’t want to limit architectural theory to its Western vernacular, and I wouldn’t want to say that it couldn’t be globalized.”
“In this re-valuation or reevaluation of the curriculum against the background of globalism, which is necessarily must happen, and I think is happening, maybe not as fast as our students would like to happen.”
Producer
Arianna Corradi
Issue Editor
Joseph Bedford
Senior Editor
Joseph Bedford
Announcer
Trudy Watt
Interviewer
Joseph Bedford,
Interviewees
Joseph Godlewski, Jake Matatyaou, John May, Ginger Nolan, Bryan E. Norwood, Ivonne Santoyo-Orozco, Meredith TenHoor, and Marrikka Trotter.