Challenging Architecture.

Architecture has lately proven itself as a very difficult course of study.

Presently Im enrolled in three classes with an ARCH prefix, and these three classes are the hardest three on my schedule.

Renaissance Architecture 413
This is the most difficult history class I have taken. The exams, referred to as quizzes, consist of short essay questions which ask students to identify images and write about them. The images may be taken from any of the class slide shows. While memorizing all of the facts about the buildings discussed in class is a daunting task, the real difficulty lies in the fact that the essay questions ask students to produce multi part argumentative responses, detailing the architectural trends and cultural significances of these buildings. If I haven't convinced you of the difficulty of this task, you must also understand that each 80 minute lecture may cover anywhere between 4-10 buildings. Math will tell you that by the time the test rolls around, a student might need to know the architectural, cultural, aesthetic, and logistical information on anywhere from 30-60 images.

The homework portion of the class consists of RP questions. These questions ask students to read pieces of architectural history, which are taken as direct sources. Then students must write 2-3 pages on the reading. Three of these are required for the semester. One of these readings was fairly easy, but the other 30 page behemoth took me the bulk of a weekend to stomach. The difficulty lies in the highly specialized style of the readings. The authors use many Italian words and many technical architecture terms.

More will follow on the rigor of the two other courses.