Migratory Urbanism: The Spaces of Transnational Subjects in US Cities and Beyond

Catalog description

Migration is an inherently spatial phenomenon; the study of migration is the study of places, people, processes, and the state. This course addresses the history of 20th and 21st century international migration through the lens of the built environment, place, material culture, space and society. The aim of this course is to bring migration theories and histories into the realm of places and planning to equip spatial practitioners (planners, architects, and preservationists) with tools for thinking through how contemporary movement interfaces with the production of space. An interdisciplinary approach to the study of migration will incorporate urban and architectural histories, political economy, urban theory, migration theory, ethnographies of individuals, families, and communities, material culture, and film to explore how cities, towns, and hinterlands are influenced by the continuous flow of people, ideas, dollars, and desire. We will engage concepts such as assimilation, transnationalism, diaspora, spatial violence, spatial practices, ritual infrastructure, spatial hybridity, and urban design from below. We will investigate international remittance development, multi-scalar migrant neighborhoods, prisons, housing, and more.