11.949 | Fall 2003 | Graduate

Cities in Conflict: Theory and Practice

Calendar

The calendar below lists discussion topics covered in class based on required readings.

SES # TOPICS
1 General readings - more theoretical in nature – on the “promise” of the city and the importance of thinking about cities as hosts for difference, diversity, and equality.
2 Readings that explore legal and jurisdictional dynamics of cities, the nexus between cities and nations, and the relations between or ethnic, racial, religious, or class identities, cities, and/or nations.
3 Guest Lecture: “Reimagining Governance: Policy and Politics in Post-Apartheid in Johannesburg”
Professor Robert Beauregard, Milano School of Urban Policy and Management, New School for Social Research.
4 Studies of local, national, and international dynamics that create intolerance, polarization, oppression, or conflict in cities.
5 Claims and case studies of activities theorized as creating tolerance, harmony, or cosmopolitanism in cities.
6 Guest Lecture: “Civility in the City: Blacks, Jews, and Koreans in Urban America.”
Professor Jennifer Lee, University of California-Irvine.
7 Case study readings of cities that have moved (or tried to) from peace to conflict, or vice-versa.
8 Guest Lecture: “The End of Tolerance: Engaging Cultural Differences” 
Professor Richard Schweder, University of Chicago.
9 Readings that see cities as transcending national boundaries or that explore alternative territorial dynamics in which to situate the urban experience and/or establish cosmopolitanism.

Course Info

As Taught In
Fall 2003
Level