Sociology 306
Urban Sociology Spring 2010 Professor Caroline Hanley E-mail:
[email protected] Phone: 221-2594
Office: 231 Morton Office Hours: MW 3-4pm and by appointment
We meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1200 – 1250 pm in 1 Morton Hall Introduction This class will examine three broad themes related to space and our built environment. The first is how the forms and functions of space are created: the forces that gave rise to cities historically; patterns of land use and neighborhood composition within cities; and new spatial forms such as suburbs and exurbs. Second, we will consider how human behavior and interactions are shaped by cities. Cities are often home to alternative or deviant lifestyles and attitudes; yet cities in the United States have historically been the sites in which immigrants are socialized and integrated into the social fabric. Are cities places of assimilation, deviance, or both? Are social ties in cities different in number or character than social ties elsewhere? And does the city itself manifest these social patterns, or it is merely a container for independent forms of social interaction? Finally, we will ask how the vast economic and social changes of the past fifty years affect cities. Are concerns about the end of cities warranted? Or, rather, have these changes instituted a new era in urban America based on global trade and the production of culture? Throughout the course we will interrogate popular conceptions of the word urban, and consider competing definitions of “the city.” Required Readings A collection of required readings will be available on blackboard; the following required book is available at the campus bookstore: Sugrue, Thomas J. 1996. The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. A recommended book, John Hannigan’s Fantasy City (1998 London: Routledge), is on reserve in Swem library. Assignments and Grading This course is heavily dependent on your careful reading of the texts, and lively participation in classroom discussions. Regular attendance is required. Please bring the week’s required readings with you to class as we may periodically consult the texts. Your grade in this course will be based on the following components: Attendance and participation:
10%
Leading discussion:
10%
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Papers (2 @ 20% each):
40%
Final research paper:
30%
Presentation of final research paper:
10%
Attendance and participation: Excellent participation consists of comments grounded in the readings that demonstrate depth of understanding, or attempts to grapple with them, and provide ideas that help to build momentum in discussions. Students with excellent records of participation will have something to say essentially every week in class, and will also be active and engaged in small groups and paired discussions. Leading discussion: Wednesday classes will be student-led. Each discussion group will make a short (5-10 minute) presentation to the class on the assigned readings and then facilitate discussion based on three proposed discussion questions. Post your discussion questions to blackboard no later than 9pm Tuesday night so students can reflect on the questions in advance of Wednesday’s class. Your presentation should consider these topics: • What is the author’s main argument? • How does this argument relate to other readings we have covered? (i.e., Does it build on, support, challenge other things we have read?) • What do you see as the most valuable parts of the reading? • What are the biggest weaknesses? • Why does this book or article matter? Why should we care? Papers: Papers will be 7-8 pages in length; essay topics will be provided two weeks before the due date. Final research paper: You will conduct a case study of one U.S. city that develops and interrogates the course readings. You will have considerable latitude in choosing your topic. The final product should be roughly 15 pages, typed and double-spaced (12 pt. font), including bibliography. The paper will be due on the day of our scheduled final examination. • A précis for the final research paper, consisting of a 2 page summary of the question you are interested in examining, a discussion of which city you will focus on and why, selected readings from which you will draw, and specific questions or points of uncertainty you have for me regarding your paper will be due by the end of the 9th week of class. • During the final two weeks of the class students will present the preliminary findings of their case study to the class. In preparation for this presentation an executive summary (1 page single spaced) will be distributed to the class one day before the presentation. Course policies I encourage each of you to familiarize yourself with your rights and responsibilities as a student at the College of William and Mary by reading the student handbook: http://www.wm.edu/offices/deanofstudents/services/studentconduct/studenthandbook/index.php (8/23/09)
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As members of this academic community you are bound by the Student Honor Code. In particular, serious sanctions are outlined for three primary offenses: lying, cheating and stealing. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with appropriate methods of citation; I am a resource to aid you in this process. If you have reason to suspect student conduct contrary to the Honor Code among the members of this class, particularly in regards to cheating, I expect you to contact me. Your regular attendance is expected for the successful completion of this class. The College’s class attendance policy is outlined in the 2009-2010 Undergraduate Course Catalog (p.42). Building on this policy, my view is that you are adults who may, on occasion, choose to miss a class, but adults accept responsibility for the consequences of their actions. You are responsible for new material that I present in lectures as well as any missed course announcements and class discussions of the material. Please do not email me to ask if you missed anything important; rather, get in touch with one of your peers to look at their notes. I am available via email or during office hours for follow-up questions. Absences arising from time conflicts with extracurricular activities fall under this policy. Missing a couple of classes over the course of the semester will not significantly affect your grade, and you can maximize your attendance and participation credit by verbally showing me that you have read and thought about the material when you are present. Missing more than 2 classes will begin to affect your grade negatively. In regard to religious holidays, health problems and the like, contact me with any attendance conflicts as soon as possible. Students who find that they need to miss several classes due to personal difficulties or family emergencies should contact the Dean of Students’ Office as soon as possible, and let me know that you have done so. You are encouraged to email me with questions that you may have about the course. Normally I will respond to your email within 24 hours, and you may send me a follow-up email if you do not hear from me within that period of time. Please plan accordingly when emailing to request a meeting or while preparing for assignments. Finally, a word about conduct inside the classroom: As members of this class we should treat each other with respect by arriving on time, listening to each other without interrupting, and engaging actively with each other. I firmly believe that respectful disagreement is a cornerstone of higher education, so I actively encourage you to engage with your peers, the reading material and me even when you disagree. And by all means, please speak up when you have questions! Schedule of Readings WEEK 1: History of American urbanization (January 20-22nd) • “Chicago: City of the Century” (2003) • Abu-Lughod, Janet. 1991. Changing Cities chapter 4 WEEK 2: Human Ecology (January 25-29th) • Park, Robert E., Ernest W. Burgess and Roderick E. McKenzie. 1925. “The City: Suggestions for the Investigation of Human Behavior in the Urban Environment” [esp. Burgess’s chapter 2] • Wirth, Louis. 1938. “Urbanism as a Way of Life”
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WEEK 3: Connecting urban structure and urban lifestyles February 1-5th) • Jacobs, Jane. 1961. “The uses of sidewalks: contact.” Pp. 55-73 in The Death and Life of Great American Cities (New York: Vintage Books) • Fischer, Claude. 1984. The Urban Experience chapters 7-8 • Miller, Laura J. 1995. “Family Togetherness and the Suburban Ideal” WEEK 4: Constructing “the ghetto” (February 8-12th) • Massey, Douglas S. and Nancy A. Denton. 1993. American Apartheid chapter 2, “The Construction of the Ghetto” • Wacquant, Loic J.D. 1997. “Three Pernicious Premises in the Study of the American Ghetto” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 21, 2 • Gans, Herbert. 1962. The Urban Villagers preface, chapters 1-2
Paper # 1 due Monday of week 5 (February 15th) WEEK 5: Urban renewal and slum clearance (February 15-19th) • Gans, Herbert. 1962. The Urban Villagers chapters 13-14 • Molotch, Harvey. 1976. “The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place.” [pp. 309-332] WEEK 6: Suburbanization and national (anti-)urban policy (February 22-26th) • Jackson, Kenneth T. 1985. Crabgrass Frontier introduction, chapters 3, 8, 13 • Sugrue, Thomas J. 1996. The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit introduction, chapters 1-3 WEEK 7: The urban crisis (March 1-5th) • Jackson, Kenneth T. 1985. Crabgrass Frontier chapter 12 • Sugrue, Thomas J. 1996. The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit chapters 7-10
~~ Spring Break March 6th – 14th ~~ WEEK 8: Concentrated, persistent urban poverty (a.k.a. the ‘underclass’) (March 15-18th) • Sassen, Saskia. 1990. “Economic Restructuring and the American City.” Annual Review of Sociology 16: 465-490. • Wilson, William Julius. 1991. “Studying Inner-City Social Dislocations: The Challenge of Public Agenda Research.” American Sociological Review 56 (February): 1-14. • Small, Mario Luis and Katherine Newman. 2001. “Urban Poverty after The Truly Disadvantaged.” Annual Review of Sociology 27: 23-45. • Venkatesh, Sudhir Alladi. 1997. “The Social Organization of Street Gang Activity in an Urban Ghetto.” American Journal of Sociology 103, 1 (July): 82-111. NO class Friday March 19th WEEK 9: Culture as urban revitalization (March 22-26th) • Hannigan, John. 1998. Fantasy City Introduction, chapters 1-5 [Swem Reserve]
Paper # 2 due Monday of Week 10 (March 29th)
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WEEK 10: Gentrification (March 29th – April 1st) • Freeman, Lance. 2005. “Displacement or Succession? Residential Mobility in Gentrifying Neighborhoods.” Urban Affairs Review 40, 4 (March): 463-491. • Slater, Tom. 2006. “The Eviction of Critical Perspectives from Gentrification Research.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 30, 4 (December): 737-757. • Anderson, Elijah. 1999. The Code of the Streets introduction, chapter 1 • Martin, Leslie. 2008. “Boredom, Drugs and Schools: Protecting Children in Gentrifying Communities.” City and Community 7, 4: 331-346. WEEK 11: New urban forms, old urban problems? (April 5-9th) • Drier, Peter, John Mollenkopf and Todd Swanstrom. 2001. Place Matters chapters 1-3 • Blakely, Edward J. and Mary Gail Snyder. 2000. Fortress America: Gated Communities in the United States chapter 1 • Talen, Emily. 1999. “Sense of Community and Neighbourhood Form: An Assessment of the Social Doctrine of New Urbanism.” Urban Studies 36, 8: 13611379. WEEK 12: Theorizing the postindustrial city (April 12-16th) • Davis, Mike. 1992. City of Quartz prologue • Selections from City and Community v1 2002 WEEKS 13-14: City case studies (April 19-23rd; April 26-28th) • In-class presentations of city case studies (attendance required) • Readings for this week will consist of case study executive summaries NO class Friday April 30th
Please note that I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus throughout the semester. It is the student’s responsibility to keep copies of all work submitted for this class until the final grades have been awarded.
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