This course is a research seminar in which students will share their own work in order to stimulate their thinking about the relation between social theories of urban life and the city's architecture and spaces. Class discussion will be grounded in classic or foundational writings about the city addressing such topics as the public realm and public space, impersonality, crowds and density, surveillance and civility, imprinting time on space, spatial justice, and the segregation of difference. Students are required to develop their own theoretical approach to their research and must present a work in progress to stimulate class discussion. These presentations will make up the majority of the course.
Students are required to attend every class and complete any assigned readings before the class in which they will be discussed. The success of the course depends on the contribution of students in discussing and evaluating the ideas presented by their peers. Coming to class prepared is essential. There are two principal requirements on the basis of which students will be evaluated: