This course is an introduction to urban sociology. We will explore several topics related to urbanization and urbanism in this course, with a general focus on cities, and a spotlight on local neighborhoods and issues. Topics include the history of urbanization and its impacts on cities today; ethnography and other methods for studying urban social phenomena; theories about how cities are socially and spatially organized and how these forms of organization are related; and how urban living affects social interaction. This is a writing-intensive course, and students will be required to write two-course papers and conduct their own ethnographic observations as part of their coursework. This course will teach how economic forces and social structures such as race, class and government policies influence how cities are socially and spatially organized, and how that has changed over time. Students will also learn about how urban living shapes social interaction, past and present.

Recommended Texts

1. Brenner, N. & Keil, R (ed.). (2006). The global cities reader. London & New York: Routledge.
2. Simon, P. (2004). Urban theory and the urban experience encountering the city. London: Routledge.