Please consult the Registrar's site for current course information. Approved elective Urban Studies courses are cross-listed with the "URB" prefix.
In keeping with the interdisciplinary scope of the program, and individual student interests, courses not listed under URB may fulfill minor requirements. For specific course questions and approvals, please contact the URB program staff.
FALL 2025 Approved Electives
ARC 205 / URB 205 / LAS 225 / ENV 205
Mario Gandelsonas / Interdisciplinary Design Studio
The course focuses on the social forces that shape design thinking. Its objective is to introduce architectural and urban design issues to build design and critical thinking skills from a multidisciplinary perspective. The studio is team-taught from faculty across disciplines to expose students to the multiple forces within which design operates.
THR 212 / AMS 212 / GSS 222 / URB 212
Brian E. Herrera / Performance & Policy
This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to how performance-making intersects with local, state, federal, and international policy concerns (and vice versa). Through lecture, workshops, and guest visitors, we will examine connections between policy and performance within four central topical arenas: public speech; public assembly; intellectual property; and supply chain logistics. As we study the impact of policy on a broad array of live, embodied, and mediatized performances, we will also rehearse an understanding of statecraft, public advocacy/protest, and policy-making as consequential modes of public enactment and performance.
ANT 219 / ENV 219 / URB 219
Ryo Morimoto / Catastrophes across Cultures: The Anthropology of Disaster
What is the relationship between 'catastrophe' and human beings, and how has 'catastrophe' influenced the way we live in the world now? This course investigates various types of catastrophes/disasters around the world by mobilizing a variety of theoretical frameworks and case studies in the social sciences. The course uses an anthropological perspective as its principal lens to comparatively observe often forgotten historical calamities throughout the world. The course is designed to explore the intersection between catastrophe and culture and how catastrophic events can be a window through which to critically analyze society and vice versa.
CLA 219 / HIS 219 / URB 218
Caroline Cheung / The Roman Empire, 31 B.C. to A.D. 337
The Roman Empire was expansive, stretching from the straits of Gibraltar to the Persian Gulf. Its capital was the largest, most densely populated city in the Mediterranean, if not the world, and not surpassed in population until the 19th century. This course offers an overview of the Roman imperial period from the assassination of Julius Caesar to the death of the emperor Constantine, who legalized Christianity - a period of about 400 years. We will learn about various aspects of this multicultural empire, from political intrigues and conquests to city-living, dining, technology and engineering, sex, entertainment, economy, and religions.
SPA 227 / EPS 227 / URB 237
Natalia Castro Picón / Contemporary Issues in Spain
An exploration of the major features of contemporary Spain from 1939 to the present with particular attention to developing an understanding the concepts of cultural identity and difference within the changing global context. The course will address the recent processes that have left a mark on the history of Spain: the fall of Francoism, the particular and controversial transition to democracy, the financial crisis of 2008, the Indignados social movement, the nationalist trends in Basque Country and Catalonia, and the latest feminist wave, among others. Discussions and frequent writing assignments.
AAS 268 / HIS 268 / URB 268
Joshua B. Guild / Introduction to African American History Since Emancipation
This lecture offers an introduction to the major themes, critical questions, and pivotal moments in post-emancipation African American history. It traces the social, political, cultural, intellectual, and legal contours of the Black experience in the United States from Reconstruction to the rise of Jim Crow, through the World Wars, Depression, and the Great Migrations, to the long civil rights era and the contemporary period of racial politics. Using a wide variety of texts, images, and creative works, the course situates African American history within broader national and international contexts.
URB 300 / ARC 300 / HUM 300 / AMS 300
Aaron P. Shkuda / Urban Studies Research Seminar
This seminar introduces urban studies research methods through a study of New York in conversation with other cities. Focused on communities and landmarks represented in historical accounts, literary works, art and film, we will travel through cityscapes as cultural and mythological spaces - from the past to the present day. We will examine how standards of evidence shape what is knowable about cities and urban life, what "counts" as knowledge in urban studies, and how these different disciplinary perspectives construct and limit knowledge about cities as a result.
ANT 311 / LAS 335 / URB 312
Hanna Garth / Food, Culture & Society
This course explores the central role of food in everyday life in US and global contexts. Using a comparative global perspective, we will address key questions about histories of food production and consumption, the ways in which food production and distribution differentially affect the lives of those working in the food industry and those consuming food. We will think through how global shifts in food production and distribution impact human lives on national, local, and familial levels.
HIS 315 / AFS 316 / URB 315 / AAS 315
Jacob S. Dlamini / Africa in the Modern Age
This course is an examination of the major political and economic trends in twentieth-century African history. It offers an interpretation of modern African history and the sources of its present predicament. In particular, we study the foundations of the colonial state, the legacy of the late colonial state (the period before independence), the rise and problems of resistance and nationalism, the immediate challenges of the independent states (such as bureaucracy and democracy), the more recent crises (such as debt and civil wars) on the continent, and the latest attempts to address these challenges from within the continent.
FRE 318 / URB 318 / COM 386 / ARC 319
Julien R. Stout / Montréal: Metropolis, Colony, Mountain, Harbor
How did Montreal become the world's second-largest French-speaking city? How has its unique multicultural identity inspired generations of explorers, artists, architects, dancers, dramaturgs, and filmmakers? Spanning from its origins as Tiohtià:ke ("Where the waters meet") to New France and today's Créole-and Yiddish-speaking scenes, this course explores the city's cultural, environmental, architectural, and political history. We will examine colonialism, immigration, displacement, Québec-Canada relations, Francophonie, identity, religion, language, ecology, gender, queerness, and race in the 'Paris of North America'.
SPI 328 / URB 328
Patrick T. Sharkey / Crime and Violence in U.S. Cities
To understand American inequality, politics, history, and cities, it is necessary to understand American violence. This course will cover ideas about how to explain violence, moving from theories that focus on individuals to focus on neighborhoods, policing, guns & culture. We'll think about how to explain trends in violence and about ways cities can respond to violence. And we will put these ideas into practice by working closely with a local organization driven by the goals of reducing violence and building stronger neighborhoods in nearby Trenton.
ENV 347 / SPI 347 / URB 347
Navroz K. Dubash / Reframing Climate Change: National and Local Transformations
Climate change has historically been studied as a global collective action problem. However, it can also be understood as the aggregate result of actions by countries, cities, businesses and individuals, that increase or decrease emissions and resilience to climate impacts. This course explores what this shift in perspective implies for national and local politics and policy around climate change. Learning outcomes include: Alternative framings of the climate crisis and implications for climate politics; perspectives of developing countries on climate change; and debates around climate governance, adaptation, industrial policy, and finance.
EGR 361 / ENT 361 / URB 361 / AAS 348
Majora J. Carter / The Reclamation Studio: Humanistic Design applied to Systemic Bias
Assumptions and practices by the nonprofit industrial complex, government agencies and affordable housing developers treat poor communities, especially poor communities of color as problems to be managed by those from outside these communities. The Reclamation Studio explores the humanistic design practices applied by social entrepreneurs from low-status communities near Princeton (our "clients") that counteract that history of systemic bias with innovative development projects designed to retain the talent from within their communities. Students will have the opportunity to learn from, and contribute to their efforts.
SOC 373 / AMS 428 / URB 373
Patricia Fernández-Kelly / Systemic Racism: Myths and Realities
This course focuses on the structural and institutional foundations of racial discrimination in the United States. It emphasizes the contributions of sociologists. The course gives a historical overview followed by an investigation of key legislative actions and economic factors inhibiting racial equality. Subsequent topics include migration and immigration; urban development; and residential segregation. The end of the course reviews resistance movements and policies aimed at addressing systemic racism, including restorative justice and reparations.
URB 385 / SOC 385 / HUM 385 / ARC 385
Aaron P. Shkuda / Mapping Gentrification
This seminar introduces the study of gentrification, with a focus on mapping projects using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) software. Readings, films, and site visits will situate the topic, as the course examines how racial landscapes of gentrification, culture and politics have been influenced by and helped drive urban change. Tutorials in ArcGIS will allow students to convert observations of urban life into fresh data and work with existing datasets. Learn to read maps critically, undertake multifaceted spatial analysis, and master new cartographic practices associated with emerging scholarship in the Digital and Urban Humanities.
CEE 401 / ENV 401 / URB 402
Anu Ramaswami / Zero Carbon, Resilient, Equitable Cities: Infrastructure Innovations and Systems Analysis
Goal: introduce undergraduate engineering students to: (a) infrastructure and food system innovations that can advance the triple outcomes of decarbonization, climate resilience and social equity (b) city scale decarbonization pathways and linkage to larger scale national zero carbon pathways (c) fundamentals of inequality and equity (d) hazard risk resilience framework (e) data analysis and systems models for tracking urban zero carbon emissions including material flow analysis sand life-cycle assessment, measuring inequality to inform equity and introductory analysis of resilience pathways.
CEE 471 / GEO 471 / URB 471
Peter R. Jaffé / Introduction to Water Pollution Technology
An introduction to the science of water quality management and pollution control in natural systems; fundamentals of biological and chemical transformations in natural waters; identification of sources of pollution; water and wastewater treatment methods; fundamentals of water quality modeling.
Spring 2025 URB-listed Courses
URB 201 / SPI 201 / SOC 203 / ARC 207
Introduction to Urban Studies / M. Christine Boyer
This course will examine different crises confronting cities in the 21st century. Topics will range from informal settlements, to immigration, terrorism, shrinking population, sprawl, rising seas, affordable housing, gentrification, smart cities. The range of cities will include Los Angles, New Orleans, Paris, Logos, Caracas, Havana, New York, Hong Kong, Dubai among others. [Distribution area SA, core Urban Studies course]
ARC 205 / URB 205 / LAS 225 / ENV 205
Interdisciplinary Design Studio / Mario Gandelsonas and Aaron Shkuda
The course focuses on the social forces that shape design thinking. Its objective is to introduce architectural and urban design issues to build design and critical thinking skills from a multidisciplinary perspective. The studio is team-taught from faculty across disciplines to expose students to the multiple forces within which design operates. [Distribution area LA; core Urban Studies course]
CEE 262B / ARC 262B / EGR 262B / URB 262B
Structures and the Urban Environment / Maria Garlock
Known as "Bridges", this course focuses on structural engineering as a new art form begun during the Industrial Revolution and flourishing today in long-span bridges, thin shell concrete vaults, and tall buildings. Through laboratory experiments students study the scientific basis for structural performance and thereby connect external forms to the internal forces in the major works of structural engineers. Illustrations are taken from various cities and countries thus demonstrating the influence of culture on our built environment. [Distribution area SEL]
https://registrar.princeton.edu/course-offerings/course-details?term=12…(Link is external)
MUS 264 / URB 264
Urban Blues and the Golden Age of Rock / Rob Wegman
A survey of American popular music in the 1920s to 1960s. We will start with the early history of three major streams of music: Country & Western, Rhythm & Blues, and Popular music. The critical year in that history was 1954, when the streams fused into a volatile mixture that detonated with the birth of Rock 'n' Roll. From the beginning this was a story about race, politics, money, generational divides. The songs themselves will guide us on our path. And this course aims to guide our ears to a deeper understanding and appreciation of them. [Distribution area LA]
https://registrar.princeton.edu/course-offerings/course-details?term=12…(Link is external);
URB 340 / AFS 344
Everyday Urbanism and Food Systems in Contemporary Africa / Blessings Masuku
Africa is urbanizing faster than any region of the world. This course analyzes socio-spatial dynamics that create urban life in Africa and generate inequalities arising from urbanization. Students will investigate the links between urbanization, infrastructure systems and informality, and how these shape and connect to food systems and impact the food security of urban residents. Upon completing the course, students will be able to recognize and challenge reductionist narratives concerning contemporary urbanism and explore possibilities for intervention, re-design and change. [Distribution area CD or SA]
URB 345 / ARC 345 / ART 357
Urban Nature and Society, 1450-1800 / Jennifer Strtak
This interdisciplinary course explores the dynamic relationship between urban development and the natural environment between 1450 and 1800. Contrary to the common perception of nature as existing solely beyond urban boundaries, this course reveals how cities have always intertwined with natural elements that required protection, restoration, and even creation. Through engaging discussions and written assignments, students will gain a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between urban growth and environmental stewardship, and how these historical insights can inform contemporary urban and environmental practices. [Distribution area HA]
ARC 346 / RES 346 / EAS 336 / ART 317
Modern Architectures in Context: Cities in Asia / Da Hyung Jeong
This course examines how politico-ideological and environmental discourses have shaped cities and their architectures in colonial and postcolonial Asia. Paying close attention to select cities including Almaty, Dhaka, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Islamabad, New Delhi, Pyongyang, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tashkent and Tokyo, it aims to provide a preliminary answer to the increasingly urgent questions: what are the specificities of `Asian' modernity, and how was this modernity embraced and contested in urban contexts throughout Asia? For each city under study, a notable work of architecture will be singled out and subjected to close reading. [Distribution Area HA]
EGR 361 / ENT 361 / URB 361 / AAS 348
The Reclamation Studio: Humanistic Design applied to Systemic Bias / Majora Carter
Assumptions and practices by the nonprofit industrial complex, government agencies and affordable housing developers treat poor communities, especially poor communities of color as problems to be managed by those from outside these communities. The Reclamation Studio explores the humanistic design practices applied by social entrepreneurs from low-status communities near Princeton (our "clients") that counteract that history of systemic bias with innovative development projects designed to retain the talent from within their communities. Students will have the opportunity to learn from, and contribute to their efforts. [Distribution area SA]
https://registrar.princeton.edu/course-offerings/course-details?term=12…(Link is external)
SOC 373 / AMS 428 / URB 373
Systemic Racism: Myths and Realities / Patricia Fernández-Kelly
This seminar focuses on the structural and institutional foundations of racial discrimination in the United States. It emphasizes the contributions of sociologists, some of whom will participate as invited guests. The course gives a historical overview followed by an investigation of key legislative actions and economic factors inhibiting racial equality. Subsequent topics include migration and immigration; urban development; and residential segregation. The end of the course reviews resistance movements and policies aimed at addressing systemic racism, including restorative justice and reparations. [Distribution area SA]
https://registrar.princeton.edu/course-offerings/course-details?term=12…(Link is external)
URB 384 / AMS 386 / HIS 340 / ARC 387
Affordable Housing in the United States / Aaron Shkuda
This course introduces students to the ways that policy, design, and citizen activism shaped affordable housing in the United States from the early 20th century to the present. We explore privately-developed tenements and row houses, government-built housing, publicly-subsidized suburban homes and cooperatives, as well as housing developed through incentives and subsidies. Students will analyze the balance between public and private, free market and subsidy, and preservation and renewal. Close attention will be paid to the role of race in structuring the relationship between policymakers, property owners, renters, and homeowners. [Distribution area HA]
SPI 392 / ANT 363 / AAS 369 / URB 363
Gangsters and Troublesome Populations / Hazal Hurman and Laurence Ralph
Since the 1920s, the term "gang" has been used to describe all kinds of collectives, from groups of well-dressed mobsters to petty criminals and juvenile delinquents. In nearly a century of research the only consistency in their characterization is as internal Other from the vantage of the law. This class will investigate how the category of "the gang" serves to provoke imaginaries of racial unrest and discourses of "dangerous," threatening subjects in urban enclaves. More broadly we will examine the methods and means by which liberal democratic governments maintain their sovereign integrity through the containment of threatening populations. [Distribution area SA]
https://registrar.princeton.edu/course-offerings/course-details?term=12…(Link is external)
HIS 436 / RES 436 / URB 436
Socialist Cities in the 20th Century / Michael Brinley
Socialist governments saw the urbanizing project as an arena and a showcase for the transcendence of the shortcomings of past urban life. This course will explore the great variety of socialist cities with an emphasis on thematic and comparative approaches. An introductory survey of the late nineteenth-century context and the "urban question" will be followed by a roughly chronological movement through some localities of socialist urbanisms across the twentieth century. It will conclude with reflections on post-socialist transitions. No prior knowledge is required. [Distribution area HA]
https://registrar.princeton.edu/course-offerings/course-details?term=12…(Link is external)
AAS 456 / HIS 456 / URB 456 / HUM 456
What Is New Orleans / Joshua Guild
This course explores the history of what has been described as an "impossible but inevitable city" over three centuries. Settled on perpetually shifting swampland at the foot of one of the world's great waterways, this port city served as an outpost of three empires and a gateway linking the N. American heartland with the Gulf Coast, Caribbean, and Atlantic World. From European and African settlement through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we will consider how race, culture, and the environment have defined the history of the city and its people. [Distribution area HA]
ENV 476 / URB 476
(Out)living Fossil Fuels: Histories and Futures of Energy Transitions / Bethany Wiggin
For centuries, energy infrastructure has been located in coastal communities where traditional livelihoods on the water persist. This seminar explores how these communities and other communities experiencing energy injustices offer extreme cases of 'living oil,': indebted to the fossil fuels which also imperil them. Case studies explore coal, oil, and gas histories and cultures, including emergent alliances of energy justice advocates. We pay close attention to insights of residents, and activities and assignments offer opportunities to develop embodied learning practices and to explore research methods to amplify community voices. [Distribution area CD or HA]
ARC 546 / URB 546
Technology and the City: The Architectural Implications of Networked Urban Landscape / Andrew Laing
The seminar explores the implications of technologically networked cities for architectural programming and the design of spaces and places. Key issues examined: information technology reshaping the nature of architectural programming and our ideas of spaces, places and communities; programs for spaces, buildings, and the city being transformed by increasing mobility, fluidity and `blurring' of activities in space; and, the history of ideas that shape how we understand technology and urbanism, programming and architecture, including cyborg cities, sentient and smart cities, big data, hybrid places, AI urbanism.
https://registrar.princeton.edu/course-offerings/course-details?term=12…
Spring 2024 Courses
The Politics of Land: Dispossession, Value, and Space / URB 304 ENV 320 AMS 375 HUM 376
Vanessa Koh
This class explores what land means for different groups of people-- as an asset, a risk management device, and an icon of cultural meaning. It asks what happens not just at "land's end" (in which land is stolen) but "people's end"-- in a global political economy where land is often worth more than its inhabitants? This course treats land as an orienting concept to trace processes of dispossession, commodification and financialization amid transformations in conceptions of space, material resources, and communities.
Race, Caste, and Space: Architectural History as Property History / URB 305 SAS 351 AAS 364 ARC 325
Sonali Dhanpal
This course is a cross-comparative spatial history of caste in South Asia and race in the United States. Exploring architecture's deep entanglement in property and capital, students will learn how modern property co-emerged with contextual assemblages of race, caste, class, ethnicity, gender, and citizenship. Taking a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to examine intertwined histories of settler colonial and colonial spatial practices in these different geographies, students will engage humanities research methods through critical reading and writing while simultaneously learning to analyze and draw from visual and material culture.
Commemoration, Crisis, and Revolution in the City / AMS 306 ARC 313 AAS 391 URB 311
Brian Whetstone
This course will explore the intersections between commemoration, heritage, social and political movements, and urban (re)velopment. Through field trips to local institutions, museums, historic sites, and community groups planning for the upcoming Semiquincentennial, we will examine how Americans have mobilized the memory and meaning of Revolution to press for greater political rights, challenge commemorative projects, and launch revolutionary practices of memorialization. Students will develop a digital exhibition exploring past and present struggles to define the Revolution that have fueled the region's commemorative and urban landscapes.
Chinatown, The Japanese Garden, The Period Room: Case Studies for Diasporic Architecture / ARC 314 ASA 313 HUM 374 URB 313
Zhiyan Yang
This course delves into East Asian-styled architecture in the US through the lens of diaspora. By surveying Chinatowns, Japanese gardens, and period rooms via immersive field trips and the visual and textual documents, we examine how the experiences of immigration, racialization, and cultural exchange are reflected in the formal language, spatial interaction, cultural symbolism, and social dynamics of the built environment. Additionally, we interpret the process of representation, appropriation, modification, and ultimately, reinvention of architecture and space, all within the context of negotiation between the home and host land.
Building African Cities, Past and Present / URB 392 ARC 392 HIS 381 AFS 392
Gregory Valdespino
This course examines how Africans have made cities from the Medieval era to the present day. Students will learn about the forces that have structured the buildings found on African cityscapes, the jobs done by urban workers, and the relationship African urbanites had with their environments. Students will examine how people experienced and transformed urban landscapes across Africa and develop the skills needed to critically analyze urban built environments. By doing so, students will develop the tools to interpret how cities are made and remade as well as the ability to explain how cities have structured Africa's past, present and future.
The Sixties: Documentary, Youth, and the City / HIS 202 URB 203 AMS 202 AAS 203
Purcell Carson, Alison Isenberg
This seminar in history and documentary film explores personal narrative and how individual experience contributes to profound social change. We study 1960s youth through oral history, archival research, ethnography and journalism. Trenton NJ is the case study. Themes include: civil rights and Black power; immigration and migration; student uprisings and policing; education; gender and sexuality; churches and city institutions; sports; work, class and neighborhood; politics, law and government. Using documentary narrative, the course asks how a new generation of storytellers will shape public conversations and policy.
Affordable Housing in the United States / URB 384 AMS 386 HIS 340 ARC 387
Aaron Shkuda
This course introduces students to the ways that policy, design, and citizen activism shaped affordable housing in the United States from the early 20th century to the present. We explore privately-developed tenements and row houses, government-built housing, publicly-subsidized suburban homes and cooperatives, as well as housing developed through incentives and subsidies. Students will analyze the balance between public and private, free market and subsidy, and preservation and renewal. Close attention will be paid to the role of race in structuring the relationship between policymakers, property owners, renters, and homeowners.
Topics in the Formal Analysis of the Urban Structure: Environmental Challenges of Urban Sprawl / ARC 492 URB 492 ENV 492
Mario Gandelsonas
As part of the search for solutions to climate, water and energy challenges in a rapidly urbanizing world, it is crucial to understand and reassess the environmental challenges and potential of the exurban wasteland. This interdisciplinary course aims to add theoretical, pragmatic and cultural dimensions to scientific, technological, and policy aspects of current environmental challenges, in an effort to bridge the environmental sciences, urbanism and the humanities focusing on the transformation of the Meadowlands, the large ecosystem of wetlands, into a State Park.
Introduction to Urban Studies / URB 201 SPI 201 SOC 203 ARC 207
M. Christine Boyer
This course will examine different crises confronting cities in the 21st century. Topics will range from informal settlements, to immigration, terrorism, shrinking population, sprawl, rising seas, affordable housing, gentrification, smart cities. The range of cities will include Los Angles, New Orleans, Paris, Lagos, Caracas, Havana, New York, Hong Kong, Dubai among others.
Contemporary Issues in Spain / SPA 227 EPS 227 URB 237
Germán Labrador Méndez
An exploration of the major features of contemporary Spain from 1939 to the present with particular attention to developing an understanding the concepts of cultural identity and difference within the changing global context. The course will address the recent processes that have left a mark on the history of Spain: the fall of Francoism, the particular and controversial transition to democracy, the financial crisis of 2008, the Indignados social movement, the nationalist trends in Basque Country and Catalonia, and the latest feminist wave, among others. Discussions and frequent writing assignments.
Urban Blues and the Golden Age of Rock / MUS 264 URB 264
Rob Wegman
A survey of American popular music in the 1920s to 1960s. We will start with the early history of three major streams of music: Country & Western, Rhythm & Blues, and Popular music. The critical year in that history was 1954, when the streams fused into a volatile mixture that detonated with the birth of Rock 'n' Roll. From the beginning this was a story about race, politics, money, generational divides. The songs themselves will guide us on our path. And this course aims to guide our ears to a deeper understanding and appreciation of them.
Arts in the Invisible City: Race, Policy, Performance / HUM 352 ENG 252 URB 352 THR 360
D. Vance Smith
In this community-engaged class, students will be invited to learn about the dynamic history and role of the arts in Trenton through conversations with local artists and activists. Students will develop close listening skills with oral historian/artist Nyssa Chow. Readings include texts about urban invisibility, race, decoloniality, and public arts policy. Students will participate in the development of a virtual memorial and restorative project by Trenton artist Bentrice Jusu.
The Reclamation Studio: Humanistic Design applied to Systemic Bias / EGR 361 ENT 361 URB 361 AAS 348
Majora Carter
Assumptions and practices by the nonprofit industrial complex, government agencies and affordable housing developers treat poor communities, especially poor communities of color as problems to be managed by those from outside these communities. The Reclamation Studio explores the humanistic design practices applied by social entrepreneurs from low-status communities near Princeton (our "clients") that counteract that history of systemic bias with innovative development projects designed to retain the talent from within their communities. Students will have the opportunity to learn from, and contribute to their efforts.
Gangsters and Troublesome Populations / ANT 363 AAS 369 URB 363
Laurence Ralph
Since the 1920s, the term "gang" has been used to describe all kinds of collectives, from groups of well-dressed mobsters to petty criminals and juvenile delinquents. In nearly a century of research the only consistency in their characterization is as internal Other from the vantage of the law. This class will investigate how the category of "the gang" serves to provoke imaginaries of racial unrest and discourses of "dangerous," threatening subjects in urban enclaves. More broadly we will examine the methods and means by which liberal democratic governments maintain their sovereign integrity through the containment of threatening populations.
Systemic Racism: Myths and Realities / SOC 373 AMS 428 URB 373
Patricia Fernández-Kelly
This course focuses on the structural and institutional foundations of racial discrimination in the United States. It emphasizes the contributions of sociologists. The course gives a historical overview followed by an investigation of key legislative actions and economic factors inhibiting racial equality. Subsequent topics include migration and immigration; urban development; and residential segregation. The end of the course reviews resistance movements and policies aimed at addressing systemic racism, including restorative justice and reparations.
The Zoning of Things / ARC 386 URB 386 AAS 383
Mitch McEwen
This course introduces students to zoning as an urbanistic tool related to representation, classification, and design. Readings investigate zoning as a form of both ideation and technology through texts that include Keller Easterling, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Michel Foucault, Aristotle, and Samuel Delany, as well as the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York, films, video games, archival materials, and many forms of bureaucratic tables. Students will complete two texts that either analyze an existing zoning or propose a new zoning to operate on the built environment, socioeconomics, ecology, or other aspects of a specific site.
Global Urbanization / SPI 379 SOC 390 URB 379
Benjamin Bradlow
For the first time, most people now live in cities. One in seven humans lives in an urban slum. We analyze the political, economic, and social dynamics that both create and arise from urbanization, informality, and attempts to govern our contemporary urban world. We ask how formal and informal institutions change inequalities of shelter, work, race, and other social identities, across urban space. We investigate the links between the processes of urbanization and climate change, and how they shape the politics of cities. We draw from cases across the globe and the US, along with a range of social science methods and theoretical perspectives.
Sicily: An Architectural History / ART 466 ARC 466 URB 466
Basile Baudez and Sofia Hernandez
Despite its position at the center of the Mediterranean, Sicily has long been misunderstood. This seminar intends to provide a survey of the island's rich architectural history from Antiquity to present. Ravaged by volcanic eruptions, seismic activities, and droughts, Sicily has been forced to rebuild itself in the wake of devastation. Through close examination of building projects, visits to Firestone's Special Collections, and guest lecturers, the seminar seeks to provide a fresh look at a vibrant and diverse architectural center. To study the architecture of Sicily is to study architecture in and of the Mediterranean.
Technology and the City: The Architectural Implications of Networked Urban Landscape / ARC 546 URB 546
Andrew Laing
The seminar explores the implications of technologically networked cities for architectural programming and the design of spaces and places. Key issues examined: information technology reshaping the nature of architectural programming and our ideas of spaces, places and communities; programs for spaces, buildings, and the city being transformed by increasing mobility, fluidity and `blurring' of activities in space; and, the history of ideas that shape how we understand technology and urbanism, programming and architecture, including cyborg cities, sentient and smart cities, big data, hybrid places, crypto cities, and metaverse urbanism.
Fall 2014 Courses
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*Please note: courses not included on the approved electives lists need approval from the Director of Urban Studies to be counted toward the certificate.*