CITIES AND URBAN SOCIAL LIFE

Catalog description

This course covers the history and development of urban areas over time (urbanization), paying attention to sociological theories of power and stratification. In addition, the class examines how sociological theories of culture and social interaction help to explain why people behave the way they do in different urban environments (urbanism). Finally, the course examines how different social, racial and cultural groups live their lives in the city, including urban poverty, immigration into and out of urban areas, race relations, the city as a center of the arts and various communities within the city (urban enclaves). Although the course emphasizes urban processes and lifestyles in the United States, we also spend some time on cities in Europe and countries like Mexico and discuss how they compare.