ALD4040 makes space for individual exploration within an established framework. The course approaches methodology as a way of framing and pursuing research goals and as such, any given large research project must necessarily assemble its specific set of approaches and tools. Moreover, that being aware and deliberate about one’s own approach is necessary to ensure rigorous work.

To get at this, ALD4040 will use a series of case studies to examine how questions of methodology are taken up. The course begins with a survey of how methodology is positioned in a series of PhD programs situated in architecture schools. Following that, each participant will analyze a model dissertation germane to their own topic or approach. Finally, each person will write a book review as a way to take stock of the state of their field. In parallel to these workshop-like exercises, each person will undertake a semester-long study of a genealogy of a particular methodology to be presented at the end of the term.

At the end of the course, participants should be conversant in the methodological debates in their area of focus and should have a better understanding of how methodologies and methods shape the course and outcomes of advanced research. As the range of interests and approaches is diverse, the theoretical component of the course will accumulate through the individual research projects and through triangulation within our weekly discussions.