Teaching Beyond the Curriculum

Abstract

Maps are seen as a means of a hegemonic view, as well as a socio-political and topographical depiction of a place and its surroundings. Therefore, since each mapped narrative also is a way of thinking, it leads the reader to explore more situations as if on a treasure hunt. According to Harley and Woodward (1987), maps are intellectual weapons through which power can be gained, managed, legitimized, and codified. So, how does making this weapon a tool for education on architecture and the city contribute to us? What can the “between the lines” of a city, if read like a text, tell us through maps? This study aims to analyse different and multiple narratives about the city of Istanbul developed in the last four years in the studios, workshops and classes conducted by the researcher, at the Faculty of Architecture and Design of Özyeğin University, as a retrospective. By exposing the multi-layered and multidimensional faces of Istanbul, researcher aims to discuss the “between the lines” of a city. Interlinear readings obtained through narratives on the city can also be understood as revealing the visible and invisible layers of the city. Such a tool could demand and reveal various socio-spatial negotiations on the city, on the transforming places and uses, on the interaction between old and new residents. Therefore, this retrospective study primarily presents the ways in which the city-place-space relationship is presented from a multidimensional perspective through Istanbul. These multidimensional perspectives, lead the study to discuss the potential of these urban narratives in a more sensitive and meaningful architectural practice in design studios. 1. Harley, J.B., Woodward, D., The History of Cartography: Cartography in prehistoric, ancient, and medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, University of Chicago Press, (1987).