Amita Sinha |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
Amita Sinha,
Associate Professor
Education
| 1981 |
B.Arch. (Five year professional degree program)
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India
|
| 1984 |
M.Arch.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA
|
| 1989 |
Ph.D. in Architecture
University of California Berkeley
|
Academic Experience
As I look back to when I began teaching at UIUC, I feel that not only did that year (1989) mark the beginning of my academic career in Landscape Architecture but it also brought me to the threshold of what I believe will be a life long exploration of the nexus between culture and landscape. As an Architecture student in India I was drawn to buildings not as aesthetic objects in themselves but in the ways in which they are experienced by people. As a graduate student in the U.S. I acquired the training and confidence in researching those modes of experience, both individual and collective.
In the course on Social and Cultural Issues in Environmental Design that I teach every Fall, I expose the students to a wide set of readings on identity and sense of place, community and privacy, nature and culture, as a set of social and psychological constructs produced by mutual interaction between the self and the physical environment.. I introduce them to the pleasures of ethnography and learning about subcultures as they evolve and are sustained by places.
For the past several years I have been teaching a general education course on Cultural Landscapes of South Asia in which I take a longitudinal perspective in explaining how epochal moments in history introduce new ways of seeing and attaching meanings to nature and landscape that in turn bring about cultural transformations in a region. This course gives the students, with backgrounds varying from engineering to business administration to design, an introduction to reading and understanding cultures through the medium of landscapes.
| 1996-p |
Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois |
| 1990-p |
Affiliate Associate Professor, Program in South Asian and Middle-Eastern Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign |
| 1990-96 |
Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois |
| 1989-91 |
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois |
Courses Taught |
| 1996-p |
Social and Cultural Issues in Environmental Design, LA 470. Introduction to the theoretical frameworks and qualitative research methodology in researching cultural landscapes. |
| 1998-p |
Urban Landscape Design, LA 336/438. Vertical Design workshops with junior, senior and graduate students on cultural heritage design. Projects include heritage parks and riverfront in Lucknow, India, Taj Mahal Cultural Heritage District, and Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park and Cultural Sanctuary. |
| 2001-p |
Cultural Landscapes of South Asia, LA/AS 218. An introduction to the cultural landscapes of South Asia, organized around building and landscape types—sacred sites, urban form, forts and capital cities, religious buildings, gardens, housing, and public spaces. |
Professional Experience
1981-83 |
Assistant Architect in Stein, Doshi and Bhalla, Architects and Engineers, New Delhi, India.
|
Awards and Honors
| 2001 |
National Merit Award, American Society of Landscape Architects for the Cultural Heritage Project on Taj Mahal, India, with Vince Bellafiore and Terence Harkness. |
| 2003 |
Outstanding and Inspiring Leadership Award, Indian Consulate, Chicago.
|
Publications
Books Authored |
| 2006 |
Sinha, Amita. - Landscapes in India: Forms and Meanings, University Press of Colorado. |
Edited Volumes |
| 1995 |
Sinha, Amita - (ed.) Landscape Perception - Readings in Environmental Psychology, London: Academic Press. |
Chapters in Books |
| 1991 |
Sinha, Amita - "Women's Local Space - Home and Neighborhood," Sally Sutherland (ed.) - Bridging Worlds - Studies on Women in South Asia. Center for South Asia Studies, Occasional Papers, No. 17, University of California, Berkeley. |
| 1991 |
Sinha, Amita - "Participant Observation: A Study of State-aided Self-help Housing in Lucknow, India," in Graham Tipple & Kenneth Willis (eds.) Housing the Poor in the Developing World -- Methods of Analysis, Case Studies, and Policy. New York: Routledge. |
| 2006 |
Raghunathan, Aparna and Amita Sinha, “Cultural Heritage Planning of Sacred Sites—A Case Study of Rockfort Temple at Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu” in Nalini Rao (ed.) Sangama—A Confluence of Art and Culture During the Vijayanagar Period. Delhi: Original, 2006, pp. 133-144. |
Articles in Journals |
| 1989 |
Sinha, Amita - "Indian Children's Use of the Outdoors," in PlayRights, Vol. XI, No. 3, September, pp. 7-11. |
| 1990 |
Sinha, Amita - "A Critique of State-aided Self-help Housing in Northern India," in Open House International, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 37-44. |
| 1990 |
Sinha, Amita - "Social and Spatial Order in Villages in India," in Landscape Research, Vol. 15, No. 3, Winter, pp. 12-20. |
| 1991 |
Sinha, Amita - "The Conversation of Sacred Sites: Sarnath, A Case Study," in Landscape Research, Vol. 16, No. 3, Winter, pp. 23-30. |
| 1993 |
Lapierre, Ying Qu and Sinha, Amita, "Chinese Students' Perceptions of Home and Community in the United States - A Case Study of University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign," in Habitat International, Vol. 17, No. 2, p.p 123-134. |
| 1994 |
Sinha, Amita, "The Centre as Void - Courtyard Dwellings in India," in Open House International, Newcastle, U.K., Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 28-35. |
| 1994 |
Sinha Amita, "Pilgrimage -- Journey to the Sacred Landscape of Braj," in Rana P.B. Singh (ed.) The Spirit and Power and Place, Varanasi, India: The National Geographal Society of India, Pub. 41, Vol. 40, pp. 239-248. |
| 1994 |
Sinha, Amita - "Design Proposal for a Sacred Site -- Sarnath, India," in Landscape Design. November, pp. 34-36. |
| 1995 |
Sinha, Amita "Nature in Hindu Art, Architecture and Landscape," in Landscape Research, Spring, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 3-10. |
| 1995 |
Sinha, Amita, "Landscape of Religion," Guest Editorial for a Special Issue of Landscape Research, Spring, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 1-2. |
| 1995 |
Rasool, Saeeda and Sinha, Amita, "Transformations in the Cultural Landscape of Lahore, Pakistan," in Geographical Review of India, Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 212-222. |
| 1996 |
Sinha, Amita, "Decadence, Mourning and Revolution -- Facets of Nineteenth Century Landscape of Lucknow, India," in Landscape Research, U.K. , Spring, No. 2, pp. 123-136. |
| 1996 |
Han, Ke-Tsung and Sinha, Amita," An Empirical Study of Feng-Shui in Landscape," in Environments, Canada, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 36-49. |
| 1997 |
Sinha, Amita and Kant, Rajat, "Urban Evolution and Transformation in Lucknow, India -- A Comparative Study of its Streets," in Open House International, U.K. Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 34-42. |
| 1998 |
Chen, Chui-Lin and Sinha, Amita, "Taiwanese Students' Perceptions of Home in the United States: A Case Study at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign," in Open House International, U.K., Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 41-51. |
| 1998 |
Sinha, Amita, and Mari Ito, “The Meaning of Places” in Open House International, U.K., Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 32-41. |
| 1998 |
Sinha, Amita, "Design of Settlements in Vaastu-Shastras," in Journal of Cultural Geography , USA , Vol. 17, No. 2. pp. 27-42. |
| 1998 |
Sinha, Amita, "Landscape of Ramayana," Geographical Review of India, March, Vol. 60, No. 1, pp. 18-25. |
| 1999 |
Sinha, Amita, "Bungalows of Lucknow Cantonment, India," in Open House International, U.K., Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 56-63. |
| 1999 |
Sinha, Amita, “Landscapes and the Ramayana Legend” in Geographical Review of India, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 97-111. |
| 2000 |
Sinha, Amita, “Designing with Archetypes” In Architecture+ Design , India, Sept-Oct., pp. 33-37. |
| 2000 |
Sinha, Amita, “Natural Archetypes” in Geographical Review of India, vol. 62, no. 1, March, pp. 26-38. |
| 2001 |
Sinha, Amita and R.P. Sinha, “The Cosmic Tree in Buddhist Landscapes” in Geographical Review of India, vol. 63, no. 1, March, pp. 1-15. |
| 2001 |
Sinha, Amita, “Designing Pilgrimage Sites” in LA: Journal of Landscape Architecture, India, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 14-17. |
| 2001 |
Sinha, Amita, “Architecture and Identity in Colonial Discourse” in Journal of the Indian Institute of Architects, November, vol. 66, issue 10, pp. 21-26. |
| 2002 |
Sinha, Amita, “Reconstructing the Taj Mahal Heritage Landscape: Deconstructing the Tourist Gaze” in LA: Journal of Landscape Architecture, India, vol. 2, no. 1, Spring, pp.14-18. |
| 2003 |
Sinha, Amita, “Indian Architectural History: A Post-Colonial Perspective” in The Journal of the Indian Institute of Architects, Vol. 68, No. 7, December, pp. 46-51. |
| 2003 |
Bellafiore, Vincent, Terence Harkness, Amita Sinha, and James Wescoat, Jr., “The Taj Mahal: Romance and Reality” in Landscape Architecture Magazine, USA, vol. 93, no. 9, September, pp. 50-60, 104. |
| 2003 |
Sinha, Amita, “Taj Mahal Cultural Heritage District: Study in Open Space Types” in Architecture+Design, India, Vol. XX, No. 6, November-December, pp. 54-58. |
| 2003 |
Sinha, Amita, “Sacred Landscapes in India: Forms and Meanings” in Geographical Review of India,. Vol. 65, no. 3, September, pp. 241-250. |
2004 |
Sinha, Amita, “Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park: A Design Approach” in International Studies of Heritage Studies, U.K, vol. 10, no. 2, May, pp. 117-128. |
Other Activities
Design Projects |
| 1997 |
"Dilkusha Gardens-- Heritage Park." Report submitted to Lucknow Cantonment Board, India. |
| 2000 |
“Taj Mahal Cultural Heritage District”, report co-authored with Vince Bellafiore, Terence Harkness, Kenneth McCown, and Brian Orland, submitted to Uttar Pradesh Tourism, India. |
| 2002 |
“Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, Gujarat, India”, report co-authored with Gary Kesler, submitted to Heritage Trust, Baroda, India. |
| 2003 |
“Champaner-Pavagadh Cultural Sanctuary, Gujarat, India” report co-authored with Gary Kesler, D. Fairchild Ruggles, and James Wescoat, submitted to Heritage Trust, Baroda, India. |
| 2005 |
“Panch Yatras in the Cultural Heritage Landscape of Champaner-Pavagadh, Gujarat, India”, report co-authored with D. Fairchild Ruggles and James Wescoat, submitted to Heritage Trust, Baroda, India. |
2006 |
“Conservation of Gomti Riverfront—Case Studies of La Martiniere and Residency”, reports submitted to La Martiniere School and Lucknow Development Board. |
Other |
| 2000 |
Organized a symposium on “ Mughal Gardens in India” at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with presentations by international experts and UIUC team on the Taj Mahal and its surroundings. |
| 2007 |
Organized a symposium (with James L.Wescoat, Jr.) on “Three Shalamar Baghs” at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. |
|
|
