Living on Campus: An Architectural History of the American Dormitory

(Paperback)

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This richly illustrated book examines the architecture of dormitories in the United States from the eighteenth century to 1968, highlighting the opinions of architects, professors, deans, and students. Carla Yanni focuses on the dormitory as a place of exclusion as much as a site of fellowship, and considers the uncertain future of residence halls in the age of distance learning.

Reviews

"Living on Campus is an outstanding contribution to the research literature on student life and college residence halls. Carla Yannis rigorous scholarship and captivating writing style invites the reader into the lives of students and the places they live from the early colonial period to present day. She skillfully uses students life experiences and her deep historical and architectural knowledge to show how student life, architectural design, and educational philosophy interacted throughout history to shape the collegiate experience. This is a must read for anyone interested in student life in college residence halls."Gregory S. Blimling, author of Student Learning in College Residence Halls: What Works, What Doesnt, and Why

"What a lively and fascinating study! Living on Campus offers compelling looks at architectural plans, faades, and interiors of residential buildings for college and university students. Attentive to the myriad issues of college life, the work links the history of dormitories to the diverse lives lived withinand withouttheir walls and to the changing goals of campus administrators and donors."Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, author of Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Womens Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930s

"In clear, elegant prose, Carla Yanni tracks the 350-year architectural history of the college dormitory and exposes its contested social meanings, marked by inclusions and exclusions on the basis of class, gender, and race. This is a remarkable achievementa welcome addition to the architectural history of youth, higher education, and institutions."Marta Gutman, author of A City for Children: Women, Architecture, and the Charitable Landscapes of Oakland, 1850-1950

"In Living on Campus, Carla Yanni interrogates the social history of college residences to map the struggles between inclusion and exclusion that frame the daily life of the American campus. From the development of moral character to the creation of a democratic citizenry, these buildings go hand in hand with the libraries, classrooms, and laboratories that make up the pedagogical space of higher education today."Sharon Haar, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning

Author Bio

Carla Yanni is professor of art history at Rutgers University. She is author of The Architecture of Madness: Insane Asylums in the United States (Minnesota, 2007) and Natures Museums: Victorian Science and the Architecture of Display.