Geography: Social Justice and the City

Advanced offerings in urban and critical social geography. Possible topics include social justice and the city, human rights, geographies of social control. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Prerequisites: Vary with course content; minimum Junior standing.

Pre-req: Minimum junior standing; GEOG 2790 or Instructor Permission; GEOG majors only during the week of registration PACE students by permission and override

The formation and evolution of cities has always depended on social inequality: redlining reflects racial injustice, gender shapes access to public spaces, the poor are displaced and unhoused, older people and those with disabilities are immobilized by physical barriers, uneven surveillance and policing spark violence, and the exploitation of labor has built monuments to the rich. In the face of how deeply woven together the social forces of injustice and city-building have been, what does it take to envision a ‘socially just city’? This class begins with establishing some conceptual frameworks based on diverse theories of justice drawn from Marxist, feminist, anti-racist, queer, and other critical perspectives, and then employs those in the examination of empirical, real-world settings (mostly in the US) to explore interlocking dimensions of oppression, spatial patterns and processes of marginalization, and urban expressions of power. Impacts of recent changes to federal and local/state policies and practices will be explored.

Students will be active participants in this seminar with responsibility for critical reading, rotating discussion leadership, and short weekly writing assignments. Some components of the course assignments are self-graded. All participants are invited to co-create a supportive community of learners to foster a cooperative environment of exploration and scholarly inquiry.

Assignments include mapping projects (GIS not required!), reflective essays, and a semester-long project that students will design individually with support and guidance.