Public Sphere Pedagogy

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

PRE SYNOPSIS ON PUBLIC SPHERE PEDAGOGY IN ARCHITECTURE

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VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

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INTRODUCTION Public sphere pedagogy (PSP) represents a method to educational arrangement that connects classroom assignments with real world civic engagement. The focus of PSP programs is to connect class assignments, content, and readings with contemporary public issues. Students are then asked to participate with fellows of the community in various forms of public sphere conversation and democratic participation such as town hall meetings and public debate events. Through these events, students are challenged to practice civic engagement and civil discourse. The research would be based on the theoretical ground of Jürgen Habermas' conceptualization of the public sphere. In his seminal work ‘The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere’, Habermas envisioned the public sphere as an inclusive discursive space in which the citizens of a society gathered, discussed, and debated over the issues of the day. When we talk about Architecture the architects are a major part of the civic society or the public sphere. They deal with problems of the public and then inculcate them in design. Introducing the Public Sphere parameter in architecture pedagogy can help students to relate their design exercises with the common civic problems. Created at CSU-Chico in 2006, the Town Hall and Great Debate (PSP’s signature events) have scored measurable success

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in meeting a large number of the goals that currently challenge higher education. It’s led to greater civic engagement, higher GPAs, significant gains in retention, greater student success and persistence, measurable gains in students’ sense of ‘well-being,’

Keywords: Public sphere, Pedagogy, Civic engagement, Architecture design.

AIM The aim of the study is to determine the effectiveness of Public Sphere Pedagogy in the field of Architecture.

OBJECTIVES 1. To understand Public Sphere Pedagogy and its relation to Architecture. 2. To identify ways in which Public Sphere Pedagogy can be taken up in design studio. 3. To examine the students for their sensitivity towards Civic Problems related to their design exercise. 4. To create a framework for undergoing brainstorming sessions in Civic environments for understanding problems. 5. To test whether Civic Engagement in the Public sphere helps in creating better problem solving approaches.

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HYPOTHESIS Public Sphere Pedagogy in Architecture would help solving design problems in a better way with sensitivity towards the issues.

LITERATURE REVIEWED 1. "The Town Hall Meeting: Imagining a Self through Public-Sphere Pedagogy". Liberal Education by Swiencicki, Jill; Chris Fosen; Sofie Burton; Justin Gonder; Thia Wolf . 2. "About Public Sphere Pedagogy - First-Year Experience". California State University Chico. 3. Critical pedagogy and the public sphere: Comparative perspectives in education in South Africa and the United States by Jackson, Shannon M. 4. PSP: Public Sphere Pedagogy by Rhem, James 5. Online Interview of Thia Wolfe on Public Sphere Pedagogy on Teaching in Higher Ed Portal. 6. Critical Pedagogy and Architectural Education by C. Greig Crysler. 7. Civic Learning, Democratic Citizenship and the Public Sphere edited by Gert Biesta, Maria De Bie, Danny Wildemeersch