Professional Documents
Culture Documents
n traducerea lui George Popescu, Editura Pontica 2000 - Colecia Biblioteca Italian, Editura Polirom
2006
(...) ntr-o tez de compilaie, studentul demonstreaz c i-a fcut n mod critic o viziune (...) i c
este capabil s o expun n mod limpede, cutnd s lege ntre ele diversele puncte de vedere, oferind
astfel o panoram inteligent (...) .
(...) a face o tez nseamn: (1) a identifica un subiect precis; (2) a culege documente despre acel
subiect; (3) a ordona aceste documente; (4) a reexamina la prima mn subiectul n lumina
documentelor adunate, (5) a da o form organic tuturor refleciilor precedente; (6) a face astfel nct
cine citete s neleag ce s-a voit spune i s fie capabil, la nevoie, s ajung la aceleai documente
spre a relua subiectul pe cont propriu.
(...) A face o tez nseamn, deci, a nva s pui ordine n propriile idei i s aranjezi datele: este o
experien de munc metodic; a construi, adic, un "obiect" care n principiu s foloseasc i altora. i
astfel nu intereseaz att de mult subiectul tezei ct experiena de lucru pe care ea o presupune.
(...) chiar dac e mai bine s facem o tez despre un subiect care ne place, subiectul este secundar n
raport cu metoda de lucru i cu experiena ce rezult din aceasta.
(...) lucrnd bine, nu exist nici un subiect care s fie stupid: lucrnd bine se trag concluzii utile i dintrun subiect aparent ndeprtat sau periferic.
() Prima tentaie a studentului este aceea de face o tez care s vorbeasc de multe lucruri. Dac
studentul se intereseaz de literatur, primul su impuls este acela de face o tez cu titlul Literatura
astzi. Trebuind s restrng tema, va voi s aleag Literatura italian de la cel de-al doilea rzboi pn
n anii aizeci.
Acestea sunt teze foarte periculoase. E vorba despre subiecte care le umfl venele i le ridic pulsul la
cercettori mult mai maturi. Pentru un student de douzeci de ani e vorba de o sfidare imposibil. Ori va
face o plat trecere n revist de nume i de opinii curente, ori va da operei sale o inut original i va fi
mereu acuzat de omisiuni de neiertat. Iat de ce va fi atunci mai nimerit ca studentul, mai degrab
dect Literatura italiana de la cel de-al doilea rzboi pn n anii aizeci, s aleag un titlu mai modest
(...).
(...) Dincolo de toate acestea, dac ne gndim bine, este un act de viclenie. Cu o tez panoramic asupra
literaturii dintr-o perioad de vreo patruzeci de ani, studentul se expune la toate contestaiile posibile.
Cum poate rezista, conductorul tiinific ori un simplu membru al comisiei, tentaiei de a aduce la
cunotin c el cunoate mai bine un autor minor pe care studentul nu l-a citat? Ajunge ca orice
membru al comisiei, frunzrind sumarul, s releve trei omisiuni c studentul a devenit inta unei rafale
de denunuri care vor face ca teza sa s apar o list de divagaii. Dac ns studentul a lucrat serios pe
o tem foarte precis, poate s-i controleze un material necunoscut celei mai mari pri a judectorilor.
Nu sugerez un truc de dou parale; va fi un truc, dar nu de dou parale, deoarece cere mult trud. Se
ntmpl ca, ntr-un mod foarte simplu, candidatul s se prezinte drept "expert" n faa unei sli mai
puin experte dect el i, dat fiind faptul c a fcut efortul de a deveni expert, este drept s se bucure de
avantajele acestei situaii.
(...) Trecnd la facultile tiinifice, ntr-o crticic de subiect afin celui al nostru, se d un sfat aplicabil
tuturor materiilor:
Subiectul Geologia, spre exemplu, este foarte vast. Vulcanologia, ca ramur a geologiei, este nc i ea foarte
complex. Vulcanii n Mexic ar putea fi dezvoltat ntr-o bun activitate de seminar, dar la fel de superficial. O
urmtoare limitare ar da natere unui studiu de o mai aleas inut: Povestea lui Popocatepetl (pe care unul dintre
conchistadorii lui Cortez l-a escaladat probabil n 1519 i care a avut o erupie violent numai n 1702). Un subiect
mai limitat, care privete un mic numr de ani, ar fi Naterea i moartea aparent a lui Paricutin (din 20 februarie
1943 pn la 4 martie 1952). Eu a recomanda ultima tem. Cu condiia ca, la acel punct, s spun tot ceea
Calitatea exprimrii/redactrii;
Dizertaia
Citii cu etenie prezentele recomandri, pe care ndrumtorii nu le vor repeta
n discuiile individuale!
V vom sta la dispoziie cu sfaturi i ndrumri pe propunerile voastre
concrete, care vor trebui s dovedeasc cunoaterea prezentelor
recomandri.
barocului n oraul Lugoj; Cetile rneti fortificate din judeul Braov; Parcuri
celebre ale Romniei; Centrul vechi bucuretean ),
un fenomen concret (Ex.: Arhitectura iganilor din Buzescu; Locuina
individual interbelic de pe Valea Prahovei; Arhitectura raionalist la Milano;
Fenomenul Pipera Iancu Nicolae; Fenomenul "Dubai" )
recenzie comentat a unei cri importante
un eseu teoretico-critic pe seama unui curent: Minimalismul de la Mies
van der Rohe la Peter Zumthor; Postmodernismul variant a
postmodernitii)
un eseu teoretico-critic pe seama unui concept sau tendin: Kitsch-ul n
arhitectur; n loc de ornamente, n arhitectura contemporan)
The Dissertation
An Architecture Students Handbook
Iain Borden and Katerina Redi Ray
AMSTERDAM BOSTON HEIDELBERG LONDON NEW YORK OXFORD
PARIS SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SINGAPORE SYDNEY TOKYO
Dissertation proposals can take many forms, and often different universities
have very specific instructions as to what a proposal should
include. In general, however, your proposal should contain the following:
- Title and subject matter. Here you should give the title and sub-title of the dissertation.
Try to be as specific as possible about what you are actually going to look at: for
example, John Entenza and the Arts & Architecture magazine, 19451955 is more
useful than Modern architecture in the United States.
You may be tempted at this stage to immediately give the dissertation a seductive title,
and a more descriptive sub-title, such as Inference and Impossibility: the Influence of
Roman architecture in Budapest. This kind of title may be acceptable for the final
submission, but may not be a good idea for a working title after all, you have yet to
complete the research, and your ideas may well change during this process.
- Statement of research problem. This is the most important part of
the proposal and should include:
1. Identification of the objects of study. What buildings, which
architects, which cities and/or whose films do you intend to
study?
2. The significance of what you are investigating. What is interesting
about it, and what ideas do you intend to pursue?
3. The kind of approach adopted. How are you exploring and
assessing the subject, and with what methodology?
4 Academic context. Who else has written about this subject
already, and what kinds of things have they said? How does your
proposed study differ from theirs?
Note: You do not normally need to produce a sample or extract of your
dissertation text at this stage, but in fact the statement of research
problem can often go on to form the basis for the introduction to your
final text.
- Contents list. You should list here the titles of each of the main chapters of your
dissertation. Bear in mind that although students and tutors alike often refer to these as
chapters, it is in fact better to think of them as sections remember that your whole
dissertation may well be roughly equal in length to one chapter in a book, so each
chapter of your dissertation therefore corresponds to one subsection of a book chapter.
- Sources. You need to state here where you are getting your information from. List the
main libraries, archives, key texts, people, buildings etc. that are of use to your project.
- Timetable. Give some indication of time. How far have you progressed with the work?
When will the rest be done? If there are key events which need to take place such as
an interview, an art event, or a research field trip make sure to identify these also.
The proposal is not, therefore, an actual part of your dissertation, but forms the main
specification for what it is going to be and how you propose to do it. It should probably be no
longer than 1 000 words or 23 pages of documentation, and can easily be shorter.
Once you have written your proposal, make two copies, keep one for yourself on file and give
one to your supervisor. This can be a useful discussion document, and help make your tutorial as
productive as possible, so ask your supervisor to respond with ideas and suggestions as to
how your ideas and work plan might be improved.
As you might guess from all this, architectural research can adopt all manner of different forms
and approaches, and to some extent you do not have to know exactly what research is.
However, there are a number of characteristics common to most if not all good architectural
dissertations, which you would do well to bear in mind.
An architectural dissertation should rely on research that is:
- Original, in that it is undertaken by yourself, yet which also acknowledges other
peoples ideas and work as appropriate.
Originality can thus mean examining material never before studied or providing new
interpretations of well-known material. The process by which you do this should entail:
- The study of some specific architectural objects, e.g. persons, ideas, buildings or
drawings, and/or the application of some interpretive or analytical framework,
particularly one which explores a particular theme or asks a specific question about
architecture
- The writing or other exploration of these ideas in a way that conveys your investigation
to yourself and to others.
The result is then a dissertation which:
- Provides new information and/or interpretations about architecture, and which, thus,
allows you to learn more about architecture yourself, and which also
- Makes a contribution to architectural knowledge in general.