Interdisciplinary: Ph.D. Program In The Built Environment
History, Theory, Representation
This traditional area of scholarly education and research will continue to be important. In the era of globalization and global citizenship, and supported by parallel theoretical advances in cultural studies, visual culture studies, and post-colonial studies, a major reinterpretation of the world's built traditions and innovations is underway, with special attention to differences and exchanges. Thus the specific attention to "Regional and Global Modernity" takes advantage of the current demand to reconceptualize the local-global duality in all its manifestations in the modern period-a feature that is not going to pass away as a trend, since the phenomena underlies the entire period of practical and academic activity, ranging from the design and analysis of "critical regionalism" to the international production of physical and virtual environments within the systems of global flows. The actively inter-disciplinary and comparative framework will participate in the demand for new generations of faculty and researchers who are fluent in the complex methodologies (regionalism, nationalism, migration, colonization, ethnicity, and gender studies; phenomenology, semiotics, post-structuralism; representation technologies, mass media, 'appropriate' building technology; international practices, design-build) necessary to understand and participate in the rapid transformation of cities and environments around the world. Such issues, of course, are vital to regions and cities such as Puget Sound and Seattle-a global city with strong local histories and traditions. Thus, the market for graduates consists not only of college and university programs who need newly educated faculty, but in large architecture/planning/construction firms and institutions with international practices.