Hi there. My name is Krystyna Sznurkowski, and this semester we will be studying architectural history, beginning in the Renaissance and carrying through to modern ages to the 21st century today. Some of you may know me from History I, where we studied ancient architecture from prehistoric times up through the Middle Ages, so I'm really excited to begin this semester. I know most of you are architecture majors, but we always have a couple of art history majors, engineers, all sorts of people with varied interests. 

I work in Sarasota. I work for a landscape architecture firm, and I teach up here at USF, working with you guys as students, and that's been a really valuable experience for me for both sides of my career. I have a great understanding of the relevance of history, the continual relevance of the study of history in the practice of architecture. It's a key component, I think, of being a successful architect. 

One of the great things about this semester, the content of History II, is the opportunity that we have to get to know the architects that we're studying. Architecture as a profession was really solidified and formalized in a way, and we can sort of track that through the centuries that we'll study. And again, you guys can sort of reflect on the personalities that we're getting to know. 

In the beginning of the semester, we'll look at Bramante, and Bramante always strives for beauty. That's his primary goal, is to create beautiful places. Moving forward in time we'll see architects like Viollet-le-Duc. One of his goals is to merge the logic of Gothic architecture from the Middle Ages with the rationality of the engineering profession that emerges in the industrial age. So we'll see all of these parts and pieces, these people, and their influences coming together to make the profession that we practice today. 

So this is really one of the things that I love about this semester and about teaching history and engaging with you guys in this conversation. And we'll see through the semester the sort of continuous theme of looking to the past and understanding the past build on the present, which is an important lesson, I think, for you guys to take as architectural students. As you move into your careers, this is something we always have to be aware of, our context. We always have to be aware of the past in order to build something relevant to the present, so I think that's one of the most important lessons that you'll take away from this semester.