Critical Social Inquiry 0269 - Geographies of Exclusion

This course investigates the idea of geographies of exclusion through a multi-disciplinary inquiry which locates space and spatial production at its center. The course cross-thinks issues of exclusion across cities in the Global South and the Global North. It asks the following questions: what are geographies of exclusion? Who gets excluded, why, by whom, and how? What are some of the legal, spatial, socio-economical, ethical, and political apparatuses that produce segregated spaces of poverty and lavishness, violence and fear, connectedness and confinement? What are the roles of "experts" such as architects, statisticians, planners, and policy-makers in producing such geographies? Gender, class, religion, and race are the main fault lines that we will use to study how certain populations in our cities are left "outside" (through gated communities, "mean" streets, security barriers, segregated parks, etc.), or kept "inside" (refugees in camps, locked-in domestic workers, prisoners, etc.).

Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research Students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time.