Urban Studies

David Lanegran (Geography), Dan Trudeau (Geography), Laura Smith (Geography), George Latimer (Geography)

The urban studies interdepartmental concentration is designed to take full advantage of Macalester’s location in the center of a flourishing metropolitan area. The region is increasingly diverse with large and growing populations of Southeast Asians, Latinos and East Africans. The program is designed for students majoring in a variety of disciplines who are interested in urbanization and wish to gain an interdisciplinary perspective on city life. The program combines a sound theoretical and experiential base complemented by a broad range of technical competencies. The 8-course urban studies concentration is divided into two parts: a curricular portion which will provide students with a theoretical and methodological base, and an applied portion which will give students first-hand contact with aspects of the city new to them. A third, additional skills portion will provide students with tools which will enable them to make an effective contribution to research or management. Many courses listed in the concentration have action research or service learning components. The program is based in the Geography Department.

Concentration

A concentration in urban studies will consist of eight courses distributed in the following manner.

Curriculum

A. Introduction to Urban Studies

B. Four discipline-based theoretical approaches to the city drawn from the following set of courses. Courses must be selected from at least TWO disciplines.

Educ 240 Race, Culture and Ethnicity in Education; Educ 280 Re-envisioning Education and Democracy; Geog 241 Urban Geography; Geog 261 Geography of World Urbanization; Geog 262 Metro Analysis; Hist 349 African Americans and the Transformation of the City; Poli 204 Urban Politics; Soc 116 Looking at the City.

C. Two applied courses drawn from the following set of courses.

Geog 364 Advanced Cartography & Urban GIS; Geog 394 Advanced Topics (various topics that will include but not be limited to issues of economic development, housing, neighborhood conservation, transportation, urban planning and design); Geog 488 Urban Geography Field Seminar; Geog 488 Transportation Geography Seminar; and Educ 460 Educational Studies Seminar or Educ 614 Advanced Independent Research. A four-credit internship may be substituted for one of these courses.

D. One Capstone Seminar Geog 488 Planning and Managing Cities in the 21st Century.

Technical Competency

Urban studies students should attempt to master several of the following communication and technical skills. With their advisors they will develop goal attainment schedules for each of the required skills. All students will not be equally proficient in all skills.

A. Oral Communication

Students will be expected to be articulate and should have some experience with creative oral communication.

B. Written Communication

All students will be expected to write concise, jargon-free technical reports.

C. Quantitative Reasoning

All students will be expected to be able to analyze and present numerical information. Students are advised to take Quantitative Methods for Public Policy and a quantitative methods course in the department in which the student majors.