Urban Sociology

In general, in this course we explore ideas about cities and humans who live there through a series of lenses including: city as symbol, city as location of assimilation and integration and the opposite, city as a site of segregation and extremes of power and capital. How do cities work and for whom? By combing theoretical readings with case studies, we will move from historical ethnographies of cities and communities, to current studies of cities in global context.

For this quarter, this course will focus on two main themes, on the one hand how do built spaces affect the people in them and in turn, how do people affect the cities built around them. A core component of this question is to consider the sustainability of cities. By sustainability, I mean what are the opportunities and challenges in a city not only in terms of environmental sustainability, but also socially and economically. As we consider this overarching question of built space on people and vice versa, we will also look at conflict, within the academy and within cities, and think about the effects of individuals as scholars and practitioners on the landscape of cities as well as organized and unorganized groups of people.