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Race & ethnicity in architectural discourse & practice: General resources

Recommended resources on the general issue of racial and ethnic diversity in architecture, providing location info for print resources and links for digital resources.

Organizations / programs

American Institute of Architects’ (AIA), “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” page. Features links to programs, initiatives and scholarships offered through AIA. See also: “Guides for Equitable Practice”.

Beyond the Built Environment, advocacy group. 

Dark Matter University

Design Justice for Black Lives

National Association of African American Studies & Affiliates (NAAAS). Affiliates include Hispanic and Latino, Native American, and Asian Studies groups.

National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA)

NCARB by the Numbers, “insights into data along the path to licensure, diversity in the profession, and more.”

Race & Architectural History Group, Society of Architectural Historians (SAH). See also: the "Race &" podcast sponsored by SAH.

Other resources

James, Michael & Adam Burgos, "Race", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, revised 2020

Song, Sarah, “Multiculturalism,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, revised 2020

Recommended for all architectural research

Specialized resources on related topics

Anthony, Kathryn H., “Designing for Diversity: Implications for Architectural Education in the Twenty-first Century,” Journal of Architectural Education, May 2002, (PDF via Jstor)

"Can we teach an anti-racist architectural history? A toolkit for future workshops

Center for the Study of Practice, University of Cincinnati, African American architects and their education: a demographic study, Winter 2009 (Downloadable PDF available via 1library.net)

Cheng, Irene, et al, "Roundtable: what is an anti-racist architectural history?" GAHTC (Global Architectural History Teaching Collective), July 24, 2020

Gürel, Meltem Ö, and Kathryn H. Anthony, “The Canon and the Void: Gender, Race, and Architectural History Texts,” Journal of Architectural Education, February 2006, p.66-76 (PDF via Jstor)

Joyner, Sean, "Equity in architectural academia: a conversation with Cory Henry", Archinect, January 11, 2021

Sutton, Sharon Egretta, When ivory towers were black : a story about race in America's cities and universities, Empire State Editions, NA2300.C635S87 2017

Tayob, Huda & Suzanne Hall, Race, space and architecture: towards an open-access curriculum, The London School of Economics and Political Science, 2019 (Open access PDF book)

Walters, Kelly, Black, Brown + Latinx design educators : conversations on design and race, Princeton Architectural Press, NX650.R34 W35 2021

Wilkins, Craig L., “Race and diversity: African Americans in architecture education,” in Architecture School: Three centuries of educating architects in North America, by Joan Ockman, MIT Press, NA2105.A73 2012

Anthony, Kathryn H., “Designing for Diversity: Implications for Architectural Education in the Twenty-first Century,” Journal of Architectural Education, #4, 2002, p. 257-267 (PDF via Jstor)

Append X, culture, theory, praxis (A journal of architectural theory published 1993-1996)

Berke, Deborah, “Making the mold: the lack of diversity in architecture isn’t a simple problem, but there are better and worse ways to approach the issue,” Architect, July 2012, p.35-36

Davis, Charles L., "Viollet-le-Duc and the body: the metaphorical integrations of race and style in structural rationalism," Arq: Architectural Research Quarterly, #4, 2010, p. 341-348

"Diversity within the profession of architecture: executive summary 2016," The American Institute of Architects, 2016 

Joyner, Sean, "Thoughts on Black tokenism in architectural practice," Archinect, October 22, 2020

Wilkins, Craig L., Diversity among architects: from margin to center, Routledge, NA1995 .W55 2016

Armborst, Tobias, et al, The arsenal of exclusion & inclusionActar Publishers, HT167 .A84 2017

Dwyer, Claire & Caroline Bressey, New Geographies of Race and Racism, Ashgate, 2008 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central)

Fichte, Hubert, The black city: glosses, Sternberg Press, PT2666.I25 S3913 2018

Hood, Walter & Grace Mitchell Tada (Editors), Black landscapes matter, University of Virginia Press, E185.86 .B52559 2020

 

Armborst, Tobias, et al, The arsenal of exclusion & inclusion, Actar Publishers, HT167 .A84 2017 

Baydar, Gülsüm, “The Cultural Burden of Architecture,” Journal of Architectural Education (1984-), Vol.57, #4, 2004, p.19–27 (PDF via Jstor)

Bindman, David, Ape to Apollo: aesthetics and the idea of race in the 18th century, Cornell University Press, 2010 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central) 

Boone, Kofi, "Black landscapes matter," Ground Up, November 13, 2020 (via Internet Archive)

Davis, Charles L., II, Building character: the racial politics of modern architectural style, University of Pittsburgh Press, NA2543.S6 D385 2019

Hammonds, Evelynn Maxine, Nature of difference: sciences of race in the United States from Jefferson to genomics, MIT Press, 2009 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central) 

Harris, Cheryl I., “Whiteness as property,” Harvard Law Review, Vol.106, #8, June 1993 (PDF via Jstor) 

HoSang, Daniel, et al., Racial formation in the twenty-first century, University of California Press, 2012 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central) 

James, Michael and Adam Burgos, "Race", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2020

McDonald, Jason, American ethnic history, Edinburgh University Press, 2007 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central) 

The Other, Otherness and Alterity (via PostColonialWeb) 

Prashad, Vijay, Everybody was Kung Fu fighting: Afro-Asian connections and the myth of cultural purity, Beacon Press, 2001 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central) 

Raphael-Hernandez, Heike, AfroAsian Encounters: Culture, History, Politics, New York University Press, 2006 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central) 

Rattansi, Ali, Racism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2007 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central) 

Winant, Howard, New Politics of Race: Globalism, Difference, Justice, University of Minnesota Press, 2004 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central) 

Boone, Kofi, "Black landscapes matter," Ground Up, November 13, 2020 (via Internet Archive)

Harris, Dianne Suzette, “Race, space, and the destabilization of practice,” Landscape Journal, Vol.26, #1, 2007 (introduction to theme issue) 

Sandoval-Strausz, Andrew K., “Viewpoint: Latino vernaculars and the emerging national landscape," Buildings and Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum, Vol.20, #1, 2013, p.1-18 (PDF via Jstor) 

Gaye, Theresa Johnson, Spaces of conflict, sounds of solidarity: music, race, and spatial entitlement in Los Angeles, F869.L89 A2533 2013 

Gilmore, Ruth Wilson, Golden gulag: prisons, surplus, crisis, and opposition in globalizing California, University of California Press, HV9475.C2G73 2007 

Hise, Greg, "Identity and social distance in Los Angeles," Landscape Journal, March 2007, p. 45-60 (PDF via Jstor)

Jensen, Joan M., “Apartheid: Pacific Coast style,” Pacific Historical Review, August 1969, p. 335-340 (PDF via Jstor)

Johnson, Gaye Theresa, Spaces of conflict, sounds of solidarity: music, race, and spatial entitlement in Los Angeles, University of California Press, F869.L89 A2533 2013 

Markwyn, Abigail M., Empress San Francisco; The Pacific Rim, the Great West, and California at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, University of Nebraska Press, 2014 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central) 

Minorities in Architecture Panel, SCI-Arc, January 28, 1976 (Ray Kappe moderates a panel consisting of Jack W. Haywood, David Angelo, Jesus Arguelles, Arthur Silvers in the SCI-Arc Media Archive) 

Preston, Steven A., “New in town: ethnic diversity enriches the LA suburbs,” Planning, January 2012, p. 32-35 

Torres-Rouff, David Samuel, Before L.A.: race, space, and municipal power in Los Angeles, 1781-1894, Yale University Press, 2013 (ebook via Proquest Ebook Central)  

Please note

  • These guides are intended to provide initial orientation, and suggest a variety of different lines of investigation—not take the place of individual research.
  • All the resources cited here--print and digital--are available through the Kappe Library at SCI-Arc.Items not available at SCI-Arc are not included.
  • Surveys covering multiple projects are preferred over monographic studies focusing on specific works or individuals.
  • Resources on Los Angeles and Southern California are stressed.
  • Proprietary digital resources (Avery Index, Oxford Art Online, ArtStor, etc) can be accessed on-campus at SCI-ARC via any SCI-Arc internet provider. Off-campus they can be accessed 24/7 via the Kappe Library proxy server, and a valid SCI-Arc Network username and password.

The Kappe Library at SCI-Arc

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