| Unit name | Big City Lights: Comparative Urban History (Level H Lecture Response Unit) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST30074 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Hanna |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit examines the emergence of the modern city from a historical perspective, with a focus on three very different places: London, New York and Tokyo. We will begin by considering the foundation and development of these cities during the early modern period. We will examine their enormous growth during the nineteenth century and the development of new and surprising urban landscapes which transformed the experience of inhabiting a city: skyscrapers, apartment blocks, railway stations, subways, and department stores. We will also examine how cities sought to deal with the problems relating to population growth and wealth: dealing with the enormous amount of sewage, pollution, and waste these cities produced. We then go on to examine these cities during the twentieth century, their transformation in the years after World War II and again since the 1980s, and the changes which heritage, gentrification and deindustrialization have produced.
The unit will include thematic mini-lectures and student-led presentations exploring case studies. The unit introduces students to themes in global, urban, and social history, while allowing students to specialise in the histories of particular cities.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to demonstrate:
1) broad knowledge and understanding of the history of modern cities since the eighteenth century
2) awareness of the impact of urban issues on historical processes
3) an ability to use a variety of methods and approaches in order to apprehend the history of cities
4) an ability to understand, assess, and use a range of theoretical approaches to the city an ability to identify and evaluate a range of academic viewpoints and approaches
1 x 2 hour interactive lecture per week
1 x 3000 word summative essay (50%)
1 x two hour exam (50%)
Both will assess ILOs 1-5
Peter Hall, Cities in Civilization (1998)
Doreen Massey, World City (2007)
Saskia Sassen, Global City (1992)
James Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Various Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (1998)
Sophie Watson and Gary Bridge (ed.) The New Blackwell Companion to the City (2011)
Sharon Zukin, Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places (2007)
