“Unsorted” forms part of the 2022-2023 MA Architectural History Symposium and Exhibition and is a reflection on transdisciplinary methodologies and perspectives within the practice of architectural history. The concept of ‘unsorted' represents the core dilemma and essence of work in architectural history and research. As scholars, we face an ever-critical, ever-excavating process of inquiry where definitive conclusions remain elusive. By highlighting the idea of the ‘unsorted,’ this symposium calls into question the norms, criteria, and power structures that have traditionally defined what counts as part of the architectural canon. It asks us to consider: What has been left out? Whose histories have been overlooked or excluded when we sort architecture into subjects, hierarchies, time periods, and canonical categories?  

This event features MA AH students presenting their research. Their presentations are interspersed with talks and responses by distinguished speakers, Mark Swenarton, Jagjeet Lally, Abiba Coulibaly and Jos Boys. These speakers will meticulously examine the spatial, social, economic, historical, and environmental frameworks that have shaped the research conducted by this cohort.  

The symposium is structured around three distinct panels: “Peripheral Voices,” “Governing through Architecture,” and “Decentring Normative Users of Architecture.” The papers highlight the diversity of narratives that emerge when we resist the urge to neatly classify and sort architectural production. From the voices muted by traditional canons to counter-narratives hidden in plain sight, the authors highlight the messy, contested realities of architecture past and present. They model the critical disposition that keeps architectural history dynamic and unsorted.  

A temporary exhibition, co-curated by students from the 2022-23 MAAH and MASP programs, was also showcased on the first-floor landing on November 4th. This exhibition offered a glimpse into a selection of MAAH dissertations and Site-writing works from both cohorts.