For most avant-garde architects the private home is the main vehicle through which one finds opportunity to test radical building innovations. In fact, long before landing coveted large-scale commercial projects, many idealistic and cash-strapped designers introduced their budding ideas about architecture in houses. Moreover, the pressing political and social justice issues of the modern era were often explored and debated through the “housing question.” This makes modern residential architecture a great medium for understanding how architects tackle disciplinary responses to their architectural predecessors; the important yet often obscured role played by women; urban “renewal” and public housing; and changing ideas about “house” and “home.” This class reviews such topics through an investigation of the major contributions to residential design between 1880 and 1980. Topics discussed include the traditional canon, from Frank Lloyd Wright’s arts and crafts prairie houses, to Le Corbusier’s steamship-inspired concrete villas, to Robert Venturi’s “complex and contradictory” reinterpretation of modernism. We will also consider, however, how Eurocentric modernism resonated across the globe, the role of women in shaping the design scene, warfare's impact on ideas of country and home, and how these issues impact our understanding of housing today. Course content is offered online through readings, discussions, films, podcasts, and guest speakers. Students are asked to complete at least one self-led exploration to a house/housing site in their area. Group assignments and discussions are organized to help students become proficient in virtual modes of communication, such as Zoom, email, and the communication opportunities provided by Canvas.