Description
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Since the late 19th century, sociology has contributed quite significantly to the historic formation and evolving agenda of urban studies. This course introduces classical sociological studies of the urban, from German sociologists like Georg Simmel to the so-called Chicago school of sociology, and their elaboration and challenge by later generations of sociologists. In many ways, traditional sociological concepts of neighborhood, stratification, deviance, and urbanism inform contemporary research on unanticipated urban phenomena, like gentrification and megacities. Elsewhere, sociologists have shaped multidisciplinary inquiries into public space, political economy, and place. |
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| The course focuses on scholarship and debates in the United States, where urban sociology has found its most influential formulations. The first half of the semester covers key works and essential theories from the 20th century. The second half of the semester examines important new directions and contemporary debates in urban sociology. We survey these disciplinary developments with added focus on the global forces and urban change visible in Poughkeepsie and the larger New York metropolitan area. And to acknowledge this historical moment of Black Lives Matter protests across the United States, we pay special attention to the role of racism within American cities and the history of urban sociology itself. | |||
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Learning objectives
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