Bauhaus Dream-house : Modernity and Globalization

This original study brings critical social theory to bear on the ideas of architectural and design education at the Bauhaus – tracing the spread and influence of these ideas worldwide. Written for those in the fields of architectural and design education, architectural history and critical pedagogy, it is also for teachers and students in German art and cultural history.

Bringing critical social theory to bear on the ideas of architectural and design education at the Bauhaus, this original and innovative study traces the spread and influence of these ideas worldwide. It looks at the dissemination of not only the Bauhaus curriculum but also the impact of its thinking on cultural identity and modernity.

Developed in post-First World War Germany, the principles of Bauhaus architecture and design were transferred by some of its leading figures to architecture schools at Harvard, in Chicago and, briefly, in the USSR and Mexico. In the postwar era, they also became increasingly influential in architecture, art and design schools in Western Europe, Japan, South America, Africa, Australia and the Middle East. This book examines the profound social, cultural and spatial consequences of these developments and the erasure of class, race, gender and non-Western culture that the "modernization" of design embodied.

Written to appeal to an extensive readership, not only in the fields of architectural, art and design education, but also in architectural history and critical pedagogy more generally, it is also for teachers and students of German art and cultural history and the many architects, designers and artists worldwide who continue to be fascinated by the ideas of the Bauhaus.