COURSE DESCRIPTION
LP310:
Cities and Social Justice - New York,
For
many Americans, cities have become synonymous with violence, poverty and decay,
homelessness and racial tension, as well as excessive consumerism. But they are
also places of intense cultural activities. In either case, cities are where
most jobs are concentrated and where most of us will eventually live.
Understanding how cities work and the problems they face is therefore critical
for all of us. Using a comparative and international perspective, this course
explores questions of social justice in cities as they revolve around such issues
as cities' management of natural resources (f.ex. water); the built environment
and its relationship to social identities and social engineering; global
networks of cities in terms of labor markets, capital, and commodities. How do
these issues shape the lives of different people in these cities? What
challenges and what opportunities do cities provide? What new possibilities
arise from the close association of diverse people in the limited space of the
city? What structures have emerged that keep the city connected, what that
limit the free association of people in the cities? What can be done to make
cities more sustainable, from an environmental perspective, an economic
perspective, and a social perspective? Both cities have become global cities, extending
their economic influence far beyond their national boundaries; both have become
major hubs for migration and are increasingly racially diverse. How does a
west-coast city differ from an east-coast city? The course will provide an
overview over these questions and introduce students to the fundamental
questions of urban studies.
Students
are to conduct team-based research projects. Teams will have to first identify
an issue in their assigned city critical to the question of social justice. The
research problems will be identified during week four and five. The rest of the
semester, teams will develop solutions to the problem identified in one of the
three cities. The teams will make the research results available to the public
as websites. Fieldtrips to New York or Montreal or Ottawa will be part of the
course.
Given
the emphasis on team work, this course requires a high degree of
self-discipline, self-motivation, rigorous research skills, and tolerance to
frustration. I expect the course to be labor intensive. Not only will you have
to keep up with a demanding reading list but you will have to also work as a
team on finding and working through a large selection of readings for your own
project. Please consider carefully whether it is in your best interest to take
this course.