FYS 1234 - City Dwellers

Credits: 4
This course will examine the city as a multifaceted phenomenon intrinsically intertwined with human experience. What does it mean to live in a city nowadays? In what ways was this Western urban model reduplicated in non-European regions during European colonialist expansion? What beliefs and values do urban dwellers embrace in this globalized capitalist era? These are some of the questions examined throughout the course. Current forms of organization, based on marginalization, such as slums, gentrification, among others, will also be considered. Special emphasis will be placed on studying the impact that city life, with its multitudes and vertiginous pace, had on individuals on a psychological level during the 19th century. Social and cultural practices/products such as flânerie, street art, urban tribes, and social demonstrations will also be taken into account.
McDaniel Plan: First Year Seminar; Social, Cultural, and Historical Understanding