Urban Studies Program

This course provides students a deeper understanding of the city using an interdisciplinary lens(es). Perspectives on urban life and urbanism from economics, political science, and urban planning are examined, as well as theories of urban form and the 'right to the city' movement. The course prepares students for upper-division work in Urban Studies. Prerequisite: URBS/SOCI 1310

A study of the stratification of American society in terms of the unequal distribution of wealth, status and power. Theories on the origin and development of social classes as well as the functional necessity of social inequality will be examined along with empirical works dealing with inequality. (Also listed as SOCI 2328). (Offered occasionally).

Field-work experience in a setting approved by the student, professor, and the organization selected Supervision and guidance will be provided by the host organization and the professor. The course must be taken on a graded basis. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor

Field-work experience in a setting approved by the student, professor, and the organization selected. Supervision and guidance will be provided by the host organization and the professor. This course must be taken on a Pass/Fail basis. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor

Independent study in selected areas. 1 to 6 hours. Prerequisites: 6 advanced hours in Urban Studies or consent of instructor.

Field-work experience in a setting approved by the student, professor, and the organization selected Supervision and guidance will be provided by the host organization and the professor. The course must be taken on a graded basis. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor

Field-work experience in a setting approved by the student, professor, and the organization selected. Supervision and guidance will be provided by the host organization and the professor. This course must be taken on a Pass/Fail basis. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor

Independent study in selected areas. 1 to 6 hours. Prerequisites: 6 advanced hours in Urban Studies or consent of instructor.

Cross-cultural examination of urban life in the pre-industrial and industrial cities of Asia, Europe and the Americas from a historical perspective with special emphasis on the U.S. urban experience. Lecture and discussion format. (Also listed as HIST 3382.)

Analytical study of the reasons for cities to exist, the location of economic activity, the economic base of urban areas and the functioning of urban land markets. Economic analysis of selected urban policy issues such as local economic development, zoning and growth controls, housing, transportation, poverty, crime, and the provision of local public services. Attention is paid to the urban experience outside as well as within the U.S. (Also listed as ECON 3334.) Prerequisites: ECON 1311, and three hours of upper-division credit in either Economics or Urban Studies.

This course covers most significant issues of contemporary policies and public policy in China. It explores the forces changing the lives of nearly a fifth of humanity, the 1.1 billion people of China. This course is designed to be experimental in both subject and teaching methodology. In order to explore the political, economic, and social processes of liberalization that have created this new era of the increased circulation of people, ideas, commodities and technologies across national boundaries, seminar participants must use materials and methods from many scholarly disciplines and traditions: urban studies, political science, sociology, history, anthropology, economics, and media/cultural studies. In order to study these increasingly mobile populations that often fall outside the boundaries of conventional area studies approaches, students must develop innovative comparative case study and survey methodologies. (Also listed as PLSI 3366, CHIN 3366).

This course represents an overview of the most important economic relationship of the twenty-first century. The global financial crisis that started in 2008 revealed just how much the strategic relationship between China and the United States represents the heart of the world's economy. China has recently surpassed Japan to become the world's second largest economy and America's third largest commercial partner. The rise of China has brought about a reorganization of the global economy and the international balance of power. This new world order carries challenges and opportunities. China remains a communist country with a significant legacy of a command economy. It is also a market economy. Understanding this mixture - capitalism with Chinese characteristics or the Chinese variety Capitalism - is the major aim of this course. We also cover topics relevant to the economic relationship between China and the USA, including international trade and the balance of trade, the Chinese currency system, the growth of China and its growing influence in the international sphere. (Also listed as ECON 3367, CHIN 3367, and BUSN 3367.)

This course combines the academic study of Urban Studies with a service learning component; classroom work will be integrated with off-campus internships. Prerequisites: URBS 1310 and Urban Studies Major, or consent of instructor.

Field-work experience in a setting approved by the student, professor, and the organization selected Supervision and guidance will be provided by the host organization and the professor. The course must be taken on a graded basis. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor

Field-work experience in a setting approved by the student, professor, and the organization selected. Supervision and guidance will be provided by the host organization and the professor. This course must be taken on a Pass/Fail basis. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor

Independent study in selected areas. 1 to 6 hours. Prerequisites: 6 advanced hours in Urban Studies or consent of instructor.

An exploration of the urban space, including the politics, institutions, power centers, policies, and the people who live in urban environments. Emphasis is given to why cities matter, how cities are organized, how cities operate as an economic engine, and how cities shape identity and experiences while producing inequality. Contemporary urban issues are considered, such as demographic changes, community power, and public transportation. (Also listed as PLSI 3416.)

The economic problem of coping with a finite environment. Study of the interrelationships among economic growth, environmental quality, urban concentration and resource constraints. Economic analysis of pollution control and other environmental policy problems. (Also listed as ECON 3430.) Prerequisite: ECON 1311.

Analytical study of the reasons for cities to exist, the location of economic activity, the economic base of urban areas and the functioning of urban land markets. Economic analysis of selected urban policy issues such as local economic development, zoning and growth controls, housing, transportation, poverty, crime, and the provision of local public services. Attention is paid to the urban experience outside as well as within the U.S. (Also listed as ECON 3434.) Prerequisites: ECON 1311, and three hours of upper-division credit in either Economics or Urban Studies.

This course examines the history and contemporary processes of urbanization, primarily in the North American context. In particular, we are concerned with the geography of these processes, resulting in differentiation of space and the creation of distinct places. Emphasis will be placed on the most recent era of urbanization in a post-industrial, globalized economy. (Also listed as SOCI 3440.) Prerequisite: At least 3 hours completed in Sociology

An interdisciplinary study of the refugee experience from global and local perspectives. The course will examine how the human rights of refugees are understood from the points of view of international law, humanitarian institutions, and of refugees themselves. The ways in which refugees negotiate the trauma of the past and the demands of everyday life in cities in their hose countries will also be examined. Includes a directed field research experience. (Also listed as ANTH 3445 and SOCI 3445.) (Offered every other year.) Prerequisite: At least 3 hours completed in ANTH, SOCI, or URBS

This course offers theoretical and empirical tools for the study of urban processes in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. It examines the major problems of housing and infrastructure confronting cities in these regions, and emphasizes the role of globalization in urban transformation. (Offered every other year.) (Also listed as ANTH 3452.) Prerequisite: URBS 1310 or at least 3 hours completed in ANTH

This course is designed to give students a working understanding of some of the United States' most impactful Federal and State government policies. The course will explore a number of themes including the "submerged" aspects of the U.S. welfare state, the role of policy choices in shaping poverty and inequality, and the importance of federalism in how policies are structured. The course will be run in seminar format, and class sessions will primarily involve group discussions and activities. Assignments will consist of weekly memos, short papers, and a semester-long research project. (Also listed as SOCI 3456.) Prerequisite: take one lower-division Sociology course.

This course provides hands-on approach for learning how to undertake quantitative social research focused on the design and completion of a semester long research project. A variety of statistical tools are addressed, including descriptive statistics, tests of significance, and linear regression and correlation. The course goals emphasize writing and rewriting, learning how to formulate and test research hypotheses, and understanding how to present results in an accurate and effective manner. (Also listed as SOCI 3460 and ANTH 3460.)(Offered every Spring.) Prerequisite: ANTH or SOCI 3359

This course provides a hands-on approach for learning how to undertake spatial social research focused on the design and completion of a semester long research project. Spatial tools introduced emphasize geographic information systems. The course goals include map making and the integration of information technology and cartography. (Also listed as SOCI/ANTH 3465.) (Offered every year.) Prerequisite: SOCI 3359 or ANTH 3359

Field-work experience in a setting approved by the student, professor, and the organization selected Supervision and guidance will be provided by the host organization and the professor. The course must be taken on a graded basis. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor

Practicum is a course with both a classoom component and a field-work experience. The content of the course is determined by the field-work experience and may change from year to year. Supervision and guidance will be provided by the host organization and the professor. This course may be repeated as the topics change. Prerequisite: 6 hours in Urban Studies or Sociology.

Independent study in selected areas. 1 to 6 hours. Prerequisites: 6 advanced hours in Urban Studies or consent of instructor.

Independent study in selected areas. 1 to 6 hours. Prerequisites: 6 advanced hours in Urban Studies or consent of instructor.

Field-work experience in a setting approved by the student, professor, and the organization selected. Supervision and guidance will be provided by the host organization and the professor. This course must be taken on a Pass/Fail basis. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor

Independent study in selected areas. 1 to 6 hours. Prerequisites: 6 advanced hours in Urban Studies or consent of instructor.

Announcement of each course will be by prospectus. May be repeated when topics vary.

The Senior Seminar in Urban Studies is the capstone experience for the Urban Studies Major. It serves as a synthesis course for the wide variety of courses taken in this interdisciplinary program. In it, students undertake either a traditional research project, or community-based research project, for which they are responsible for primary data collection, analysis, and presentation. Projects are true synthesis of the various discipline perspectives of the city and urban issues.