Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

To give students an introduction to the history, culture and politics of China’s built cultural environment – including the planning and architecture of cities.
To give students an introduction to the contemporary issues that impinge upon China’s architecture, planning, cities and urban development process.
To enable students to understand the cultural ideas and politics that underpin the urban development process in China.
To introduce students to political opposition, resistance and alternative practice that exists in China to the urban development process.
To give students a broader understanding of Chinese visual culture and the relationship between Chinese visual culture and the built environment.
To give students the opportunity to deepen their understanding (and advance their criticality) of the UK's planning and architecture proclivities by contrasting them with a significantly different international context.

Outline Of Syllabus

This course starts out with a series of historical lectures that introduce students to Chinese cultural history and urban development. Particularly, the course examines philosophical and metaphysical ideas in ancient and imperial China before turning to the Republican and PRC eras. By lecture 5, the course, examines the PRC era from 1949 and looks at the various changes that have taken place in terms of the political system and the rise of the Socialist city. By lecture 7, the course turns to the post-Maoist era and therefore examines pressing Chinese urban issues including rural to urban migration, Hukou, urban erasure, the destruction of urban heritage and the rise of mono-cities, ghost cities and new forms of excessive development. Having examined the urban development process in China, this module then turns to the ‘export’ of urban infrastructure to the Global South and specifically, Africa (where China has already built roads, buildings, bridges, railways and cities). In looking at the problems with Chinese urban development, the course seeks to examine alternative policies and ideas that seem to be emerging within the party-state.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

A2 Evaluate arguments for intervention in the built environment and an understanding of processes for change and the role of professionals in achieving it
A3 Evaluate political, legal, institutional and administrative frameworks and procedures in relation to the built environment
A4 Demonstrate an understanding of the complexities of issues and problems pertaining to the built environment, particularly in relation to alternative practice
A5 Demonstrate an understanding of theory and make appropriate connections between theory and practice
A6 Demonstrate a critical understanding of values and ethics in built environment intervention

Intended Skill Outcomes

B1 Define and analyse problems effectively and appropriately
B2 Develop research skills and experience in the context of the School’s research interests
B3 Make effective use of evidence and information
B4 Articulate reasoned arguments
C1 Formulate and propose cogent courses of action as responses to built environment problems through activism, policy design, strategy-making and spatial design.
D1 Effectively and fluently communicate information, ideas, principles, arguments and proposals through written, graphic, oral and electronic means, and demonstrate written, numerical, oral, IT and literary skills effectively.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The Structured Guided Learning Activities provide a detailed explanation of the key issues and an examination of important literature. The Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities provide support for discussions about the application of the techniques to planning/architecture/urban issues. The Guided Independent Study will enable students to both achieve the intended knowledge and skills outcomes identified for the module, as well as enabling to help them prepare for the creation of their assessment submission. This modules includes a mixture of online and present in person (PiP) provision.

Lecture materials provide the structure for student guided learning through reading and essay preparation to develop a detailed knowledge and understanding of the cultural history of planning, urbanism and architectural interventions in China (as well as urban development issues). The workshops will involve a series of short you tube films, which deal with urban development in China; the visual component of this module will allow students not simply to engage with written texts but with actual short online documentaries regarding the rural and urban development process in China.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The Structured Guided Learning Activities provide a detailed explanation of the key issues and an examination of important literature. The Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities provide support for discussions about the application of the techniques to planning issues. The Guided Independent Study will enable students to both achieve the intended knowledge and skills outcomes identified for the module, as well as enabling to help them prepare for the creation of their assessment submission.

There is one assessment for this module. The assessment tests the students’ ability to assemble and synthesize appropriate information to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of Chinese cultural history and urban development

General Notes

N/A