Dark Space: Architecture, Representation, Black Identity

This book will undoubtedly come to be regarded as a watershed moment in the historiography of architectural criticism. Fascinating examples and thoughtful analysis come together in this superb examination of African American cultural identity in architecture. In many ways, this book creates a starting point for many future discussions on subject matter which has been heretofore neglected by architectural historians. The writing style is academic and scholarly, but not inaccessible to a general audience. Each essay builds arguments upon the canon of western thought in such a way that is both challenging to established theory and symbiotically additive. The final two chapters, (problems of spacial representation in African American museums and expressions of black sexuality in architecture, respectively) are particularly thoughtful and insightful. My main criticism is scope- many of the topics in this book could have been expanded and elaborated upon. A few omissions of analytical examples are forgivable considering that Gooden has synthesized a foundation for an entirely new area of research. No doubt, the mantle will be assumed by the next generation of architectural scholars. This book is essential for any academic course on American architecture.

Great original work