This course provides a global view of the ideas shaping architecture from prehistory to the end of the 1500s, and how they impact us today. The relationships between built form, site, materials, meaning, and technology are explored through examples from around the world. Students will research, discuss, analyze, and write about the form, composition, and context of buildings. The course will situate current architectural ideas and practice within the larger history of the relationships between building, nature, and culture.