Cultural History - Teaching Topics

History and Culture Lecture Series

By Alex Brown

No.   Subject Title                 Contents

Western Culture

1.            The Greeks and Romans                   History/culture from 500BC to 500AD

2.            Middle Ages/ Renaissance                  European History /culture from
                                                       476AD  to 1450

3.            Renaissance to 18^th century               Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific revolution,   Enlightenment, Neo-classicism, Napoleon  and after.

4.             The 19^th century                                    Industrial Revolution, Empires & colonies, urbanization, Capitalism, urban squalor, inventions, railways, steam, factories.

5.             The Early 20^th century                        WWI Bauhaus, Depression, WWII, 

                                                                                   American hegemony

6.            The 20^th Century                                   Post war, Cold War, international modern, post-modernism, consumerism and media, international conflict, globalization

Indian, Chinese and Japanese Cultures

1.             Indian Culture    (1)                              Indus valley origins, 

                                                                                  dynasties, religions, castes

2.            Indian Culture    (2)                              Indian art and design

3.            Chinese Culture  (1)                             Origins, society, religion, people

4.            Chinese Culture  (2)                             Chinese art and design

5.            Japanese Culture (1)                            Origins, religion, classes, influences, 

                                                                                   Zen Buddhist

6.            Japanese Culture (2)                            Tea, calligraphy, ceramics, haiku, war, 

                                                                                            Meiji,   westernization

7.            Islamic Culture (5)                               Religion, history, influences, art, 
                                                                                 design, till 15^th century

                                                                                

SOUTH EAST ASIA                                          

1.            Southeast Asia in general                  Geography, people, cultural 
                                                                                 influences,

2.            Thailand                                                 History, religion, art, architecture, design

3.            Indonesia                                                History, architecture, art, design, drama

4.            Malaysia                                                 History, races, arts, crafts, dance, batik.

5.             Singapore                                               History, Raffles, immigration, war,   

                                                                                  peranakan

6.            Sing/Malay history/  Culture            History, peoples, Indian/Chinese 

                                                                                 nfluence, Malay Empires

7.            Sing/Malay History/ Culture            Art and culture, architecture, wayang, textiles, dance, Raffles

 

MODERN POPULAR CULTURE

1.            The Fifties                                             Post-WWII, American/culture/art/music

                                                                                /lifestyle

2.             The Sixties                                             Pop culture, crises, Vietnam, hippies, 

                                                                                  music, fashion, style

3.             The Seventies                                         Pop, crises, fashion, wars, style, music, punk, technology

4.             The Eighties                                           Recession, riots, social change, end of cold war, fashion

5.             The Nineties        

6.            Modern Culture and Design              Style, modernism, postmodernism, 

                                                                                 graphics, fashion

7             Style and Design                                   Style, definitions, movements, design, 

                                                                                 decoration, society

                                                                                

READING MODERN PRODUCTS

1.            Style Image and Function                  Appropriate image, associations, 

                                                                                decoration, meaning

2             Pre-Industrial Design                          Craft, artist, industry, mass production, utility, 1851 exhibition, Colt handgun, steam ships

3             Sources of Modern Design                 Early moderns, arts crafts, art nouveau, rationalism, industry

4              The Modern Movement                      Industrialization, machine age, Bauhaus 

                                                                                 philosophy, design

5             Modern American Design                  American industrial design, art deco, 

                                                                                 streamline products

6             Image & Function                                Appropriate image/function, design

                                                                                 process, innovation, ideas

7             Creating the unfamiliar                     Innovation design process, from familiar 

                                                                                to unfamiliar strange

8.             Design Trends Styles                        Postwar design, style, fashion, modern, 

                                                                                 postmodern ideas

                                                                                      

MODERN ART

1.            Glossary of Art & Design                   Art, cultural movements, definitions, 

                                                                                 descriptions

2.            Modern Art                                            History/evolution of all modern art 

                                                                                 movements from 1850s 

3.            Power of Art & Design                        Art as propaganda, power, ideology, 

                                                                                  fashion

4.            Graphics                                                 Advertizing and graphics, consumerism, 

                                                                                 TV and Movies

5.            Movies                                                     Hollywood, history, studios, 

                                                                                 independents and organization

                                                                                      

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND CURRENT AFFAIRS

1.             Regional conflicts                                      Korea, Vietnam, Iran-Iraq, Middle 

                                                                                       East,  Latin America

2.             Ideologies                                                    Capitalism, Communisms, 

                                                                                       Religious and Regional

3.             Economic Development                           Asian emergence from WWII, growth 

                                                                                      and culture

4.             Technology Developments                      Space, Internet, Medicine, Media, 

                                                                                      Transport

5.             Cultural developments                             Influences and exchanges, lifestyles, 

                                                                                      media and TV.

                                                                                      

 Note 1:            All subjects are available with full text notes and Powerpoint graphics (Lots of Photographs/maps/diagrams per slide).

Curriculum Vitae Summary

CATEGORY	No.	SUMMARY OF CURRICULUM VITAE August 2009
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS	a	Dip. (B.Arch) Arch.
	b	Graduate Diploma in Urban Design
PUBLICATIONS		Three conference papers – theory of architecture & Design
ACADEMIC MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE	a	Setting up new Interior Design Course in Singapore. Curriculum, Development and teaching.
	b	Management: Design Cultural Studies Unit. School of Design, Singapore
	c	Acting Head of Architecture and Design Department, North Cyprus.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE	a	Considerable experience in teaching :
	b	Architecture, theory, Interior Design, history of architecture and design,
	c	Modern Design and Popular Culture.
	d	Art and culture of different societies. Teaching in Singapore and Cyprus.
DESIGN WORK EXPERIENCE	a	Large and small scale design practice in U.K., Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cyprus.
	b	Competitions: New Marina underground line in Singapore. Singapore
	c	Management University Campus. North Cyprus University campus,  - Master Plan and four buildings.  Singapore National Gallery (City Hall)
	D	Set Design: for several theatrical productions in Singapore: Snoworries -                 Jubilee Hall - 2008 Wind in the Willows – Victoria Theatre - 2008 La Traviata -                 The Esplanade - 2008 Agamemnon -                Singapore Repertory Theatre - 2007 Scrooge -                        Singapore Repertory Theatre  - 2007
COMPUTER LITERACY		Fluent in Word, Excel, Photoshop, Sketchup, & numerous Internet  applications. Blogger.
RESEARCH INTERESTS	a	Complexity, Evolution and Adaptive systems. Algorithmic processes in design
	b	Translation processes between different disciplines
	c	Manuscript finished: ‘Architecture as System’ (100000 words).
	d	Second book: ‘On the Origin of Styles’ started (25000 words so far).
	e	Pen and Ink Drawing series for exhibition in May/June
	f	Currently: Movie screenplay
APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHY		History:  Issues cannot be understood or learned without a thorough understanding of the social and cultural context within which they take place. Evolution:  Products and ideas are the result of the combination and recombination of the shape of previous ideas and products. There is NO spontaneous production of things. Coherence:  Events have causes; maybe multiple causes but they can be unravelled and forced to give explanations for the events.  All things can be understood. Interaction:  Faced with difficult issues, question and answer is the classic and still most effective mode of learning. Irony: Provocation by saying the opposite of what you mean in order to mean the opposite of what you say.  Shock then understanding. Interdisciplinary: Awareness and understanding of many disciplines and sources of knowledge provide the bridge to understanding the unique characteristics of any one of them. Global: Everything, no matter how complex can be taught. It’s all about method. Trust: Ultimately teaching is about a student’s trust in the goodwill and knowledge of their teacher. He is working for them.
OTHER		An international perspective on culture, teaching, and knowledge.
Images  & IDEAS		SEE MY BLOG AT: http://archinoid.blogspot.com/