Critical Social Inquiry 0163 - The Politics/Poetics of Space

In this course, we will examine the politics and poetics of space and the built environment. Space, broadly conceived, is not merely a physical manifestation of social processes that are embedded within it; rather, all social relations are fundamentally spatial. Accordingly this course looks at the social, political, and economic relations that produce space, focusing on urbanization and the spatial production of cities of the Global South and the Global North. We will specifically examine cities as produced by a set of contradictions: 1) cities as sites of wealth accumulation shaped by social and spatial inequalities and forms of contestation along constructed lines of difference- whether class, gender, racial, or religious, yet also 2) cities as hopeful sites imbued with ideals of democracy and citizenship, change and possibilities. Through this engagement with cities and their spaces, the class will also highlight how cities are shaped simultaneously by local processes of society, politics, and space, as well as transnational and global circulations of capital, finance, and diaspora.

Power, Community and Social Justice Independent Work Writing and Research In this course, students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time. This time includes reading, writing, and group assignments.