Introduction to urban studies

obligatory courses

Themes and readings for the given sessions:

1. The urban revolution(s) [readings: Jameson, Lefebvre (foreword by N. Smith, chapters 1-3)]

2. A planet of slums? [readings: Fourchard, Power]

3. Production of space under capitalism [readings: Harvey 2010 (ch. 1,2,3,4, and p. 166-209)

4. Financialisation and the houses of cards [readings: Sassen 2008, López & Rodríguez]

5. Spaces of citizenship [readings: Holston (ch. 1 & 7), Mayer, Harvey 2012 (ch. 1)

6. Rescaling the urban and the global [readings: Sassen 2010, Keil & Mahon (Intoduction), Smith]

7. Apocalipse Now? Possible urban futures [readings: Davis, Roy, Stone (prologue and ch. 3)

The aim of the course is to acquaint its participants with the basic themes, theories and concepts in the field of interdisciplinary urban studies.

The course comprises seven three-hour sessions, taking place every fortnight. Every session begins with a documentary film screening, which then serves as the empirical basis for a class discussion. Selected cases, including Detroit, Bogotá, Lagos or Tallinn, allow the participants to nurture their awareness of the diversity of urban experiences in various cultural, political and economic contexts; they also provide the empirical starting point for “testing” the efficacy of concepts in urban studies. The confrontation of theory-driven academic texts with the trajectories of selected cities will help the participants to learn how to select and apply appropriate theoretical tools for the analysis of given cases. The seminar is open to students from a wide range of backgrounds, including social sciences, economics, natural sciences and the humanities.

Required readings:

• Mike Davis, 2010. Who Will Build the Arc?, “New Left Review”, Vol. 61.

• Laurent Fourchard, 2011. Lagos, Koolhaas and Partisan Politics in Nigeria, “International Journal of Urban and Regional Research”, Vol. 35/1, p. 40–56.

• David Harvey, 2010. The Enigma of Capital. London.

• David Harvey, 2012. Rebel Cities. London.

• James Holston, 2008. Insurgent Citizenship. Princeton.

• Frederic Jameson, 2003. Future City, “New Left Review”, Vol. 21, p. 65-79.

• Roger Keil, Rianne Mahon, Leviathan Undone? Towards a Political Economy of Scale. Toronto.

• Henri Lefebvre, 2014. The Urban Revolution. Minneapolis.

• Isidro López, Emmanuel Rodríguez, 2011. The Spanish Model, “New Left Review”, Vol 69, p. 5-28.

• Margit Mayer, 2011. The 'Right to the City' in Urban Social Movements; in Mayer, Brenner, Marcuse (eds.) “Cities for People, Not for Profit”. London.

• Marcus Power, 2012. Angola 2025: The Future of the “World's Richest Poor Country” as Seen through a Chinese Rear-View Mirror, “Antipode”, Vol. 44/3, p. 993–1014.

• Ananya Roy, 2009. The 21st-Century Metropolis: New Geographies of Theory, “Regional Studies”, Vol. 43/6, pp. 819-830.

• Saskia Sassen, 2008. Mortgage Capital and its Particularities: a New Frontier for Global Finance, “Journal of International Affairs”, Vol. 62/1, p. 187-212.

• Saskia Sassen, 2010. When the City Itself Becomes a Technology of War, “Theory, Culture & Society”, Vol. 27/6, p. 33-50.

• Neil Smith, 2002. New Globalism, New Urbanism: Gentrification as Global Urban Strategy, “Antipode”, Vol. 34/3, p. 427–450.

• Brian Stone, 2012. The City and the Coming Climate: Climate Change in the Places We Live. Cambridge.

Student

(1)knows and understands the paradigm of interdisciplinary nature of research in the field of urban studies (K_W01)

(2)explains functioning of spatial settings in cities and towns (K_W02)

(3)has linguistic skills in the English language in conformity with requirements for level B2+ of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, CEFR (K_U07)

(4)cooperates and works in a group taking over various roles in it (K_K04)

Attendance and active participation in the sessions (20%), one presentation of a prescribed text (30%) and either an oral exam or a term paper (50%).