Admission requirements
Required course(s):
- Gloval Challenges: Prosperity
Description
What makes a place urban? This is a fascinating question on its own, and one that we will discuss in the course. Yet, it becomes even more interesting when we also consider that urbanization is an identifiable challenge globally. The United Nations estimates that about 67 percent of the world’s population will be living in an urban place by 2050. What challenges will accommodating so much of the global population in non-food producing spaces present?
In the introduction to their groundbreaking text City and Environment, Christopher G. Boone and Ali Modarres (2006, 1-2) succinctly establish the foundation for this course in urban studies when they identify how they view their object of study: “… cities are as much about the everyday life of their residents as they are about monuments.” Cities encapsulate within their geographic extent most elements of everyday human life from the home, to the market, to the workplace and spaces for leisure. Yet, within urban spaces nothing is simple. Cities are vastly complex, and thus captivating, entities to study from both a scholarly and popular perspective.
This course will provide merely a sampling of the various ways in which we can approach the city as scholars and will make attempts to look at the diversity of within and between cities on a global scale. Topics we will consider include urban morphology and theory, migration, public space, the environment and sustainability, rapid urbanization, and urban politics. The study of cities is inherently interdisciplinary and as a result we will be exploring scholarship from geography, history, sociology, along with other disciplines. This course is intended to be a broad introduction to the study of urban spaces.
Course Objectives
Skills
Student will apply theoretical concepts from readings and class discussions to their observations of the landscape of real cities. [Photo Blog; City Comparison Project; Walking Tour]
Student will write for a public audience on key themes in urban studies. [Walking Tour]
Students will practice collaboration skills. [City Comparison Project]
Knowledge
Students will compare and contrast historical and modern urban processes. [Participation; City Data Essay; City Comparison Project]
Students will investigate the variety of urban challenges globally. [City Comparison Project]
Students will be able to identify foundational concepts in the academic study of cities such as morphology, schools of urban theory, and more utopian ideas in planning. [Participation; Photo Blog; Walking Tour]
Timetable
Timetables for courses offered at Leiden University College in 2024-2025 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
This course will proceed primarily as a seminar, meeting for two 2-hour sessions per week. Each class will center on discussion of the assigned reading, with introductory remarks or a short lecture by the instructor. The instructor may also provide reading questions in advance of a class. Students will regularly work in groups during class to investigate solutions to problems related to the day’s topic. Additionally students will write a short analysis of their “home” city, keep a “photo journal,” complete a comparative project as a group,and develop a walking tour essay. For more information on these see “Assessments,” below.
Assessment Method
Class participation 15%
City Data Essay 15%
Photo Journal 15%
City Comparison Project (group project) 15%
Walking Tour 40%
Reading list
The reading for the first week and similar relevant information will be emailed to the class at least one week before the start of the course.
Registration
Courses offered at Leiden University College (LUC) are usually only open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Leiden University students who participate in one of the university’s Honours tracks or programmes may register for one LUC course, if availability permits. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator, course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. Sarah E. Hinman, s.e.hinman@luc.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
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