AHCE W4149: The Roman Art of Engineering

Course Overview

This is a flagship, cross-disciplinary frontiers course that provides an interdisciplinary study of ancient Roman engineering and architecture. It addresses the questions of how and why infrastructure was built and critically why these questions are relevant today. Through a holistic examination of Roman buildings, monuments and infrastructure that draws upon the fields of engineering, architecture, archaeology, and history, we will articulate principles used for the construction of roads, bridges, and aqueducts, including iconic buildings and lesser-known examples. 

Themes that will be addressed throughout the course include:

• building materials and their affordances
• organization of labor and power hierarchies
• standardization of construction procedures
• epistemological premises of technological innovation and its societal consequences
• the role of failure and error
• aestheticization and politicization of engineering “feats”
• engineering and empire 
• dissemination and transformation of engineering knowledge beyond Roman antiquity 
• cross-cultural comparisons with other pre-modern societies across the globe. 

The course is organized into dual lectures. In each “couplet,” the first unit (lecture A) introduces civil engineering principles. It analyzes the Roman cases both to illustrate principles and to discuss the specific way they were understood and put to use within the frame of pre-modern technological practices. This unit exposes you to the basic tenets of civil engineering as well as the key technical aspects of Roman monuments. 

The second unit (lecture B) examines the same engineering principles by focusing on the specific historical and societal contexts within which they were developed and applied. You will reflect on the impact that external circumstances have on technical, often seemingly “objective” choices,  and learn how these choices were conceptualized and made meaningful for non-specialized audiences.

Assignments will build on skills and talents of A&S and CE students, respectively, to develop a shared base of knowledge.

Course Instructor

Julius Chang

Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Construction Engineering and Management

A practicing academic and licensed professional engineer, , Dr Chang is currently a senior lecturer in civil engineering at Columbia University, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in construction engineering and management. He is also the NY/NJ Project Controls Lead for HDR, where he oversees a staff of project controls professionals providing services in the areas of cost estimating, scheduling, document control, risk management and data analytics. Recognized for his commitment to teaching and higher education, he is the recipient of the 2017 Columbia Engineering Alumni Association (CEAA) Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award.