Nel sistema di saperi e pratiche che definiscono la cultura architettonica, e i mezzi attraverso cui questa è discussa e trasmessa, il syllabus occupa una posizione ambigua. Il suo statuto è quello di un documento minore, che raramente compare nei tradizionali contesti in cui si svolge la discussione accademica e disciplinare. Il carattere prevalente del syllabus è quello di testo conciso che ha il fine di trasmettere quell’apparato di istruzioni per cui gli obistoettivi si trasformano in esiti, e quindi a definire il quadro entro il quale lo studente, l’insegnante e il corso stesso, possano essere valutati. Il syllabus si costituisce come un vero e proprio genere che ha il difficile compito di definire sia l’impalcatura intellettuale che la tecnologia dell’insegnamento. Il syllabus è stato indagato come strumento formativo-operativo, dispositivo che, nell’informare pensiero e prassi sia di chi lo redige che di chi lo esercita, costituisce e rivela relazioni fondanti tra potere e sapere, tra soggetti e oggetti della conoscenza, tra istituzioni, culture e pratiche.
Within the body of knowledge and practices that define architectural culture, and the means through which it is discussed and transmitted, the brief occupies an ambiguous position. Its status is that of a working document, rarely considered in the context where academic and disciplinary discussions traditionally take place. The brief is generally a concise text that establishes objectives, tools and outcomes of the learning process, defining the framework within which the work of students and educators can unfold and be evaluated. The brief emerges as a distinct genre, tasked with the challenging responsibility of defining both the intellectual framework and the technology of teaching. The brief has been investigated as a formative-operational tool, a device which, by shaping both the thought and the practice of those who compose it and those who enact it, establishes and reveals fundamental relations between power and knowledge, between the subjects and objects of learning, and between institutions, cultures, and practices.
Within the body of knowledge and practices that define architectural culture, and the means through which it is discussed and transmitted, the brief occupies an ambiguous position. Its status is that of a working document, rarely considered in the context where academic and disciplinary discussions traditionally take place. The brief is generally a concise text that establishes objectives, tools and outcomes of the learning process, defining the framework within which the work of students and educators can unfold and be evaluated. The brief emerges as a distinct genre, tasked with the challenging responsibility of defining both the intellectual framework and the technology of teaching. The brief has been investigated as a formative-operational tool, a device which, by shaping both the thought and the practice of those who compose it and those who enact it, establishes and reveals fundamental relations between power and knowledge, between the subjects and objects of learning, and between institutions, cultures, and practices.
