İSTANBUL ŞEHİR UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE of SOCIAL SCIENCES
2013-2014 Fall Semester
SOC 344: Urban Studies: Contemporary Approaches
SYLLABUS
Course Title
Urban Studies: Contemporary Approaches
Code
Semester
SOC 344
Spring
2014
Prerequisites
-
Language of Instruction
ENGLISH
Course Type
Elective
Course Coordinator
Murat Güvenç
Instructor /e-mail
muratguvenc@sehir.edu.tr
Assistants
-
Goals
Hour (T+P)
3
Credit
3
ECTS
6
Urbanization, brought, throughout 20th century, significant changes in the
ways in which daily lives are conceived and represented. The dismantling of
the welfare state, its distinctive regime of accumulation were associated with
changes and discontinuities in urban phenomena and scholarship. The social
problems and technological possibilities cities embody and express are among
the most important issues facing the planet. For the first time in history more
than half of humanity will be living not just in cities but in mega-cities. What
possibilities and problems does this new geography bring and how might we
go about analyzing and addressing them? This is how City Worlds the
textbook adopted for this course, describes the contemporary relevancy of
Urban Studies.
This elective course devised as a continuation of an earlier introductory
course on urban sociology presents a critical overview on conventional and
contemporary approaches, emerging theoretical frameworks and
methodologies. It aims to provide students with useful hints to decipher the
emerging literature of contemporary urban studies. It is organized in two
sections.
The first, is devised as a brief conceptual introduction to cities, urban
dynamics, the history of urban studies. Socio-spatial formations and on
assemblage theory in which socio-spatial formations will be taken up as
emergent wholes. The demise of the welfare states and their distinctive
regimes of accumulation, the rise of neo-liberalism the emergence of world
cities and unbounded city regions with fragmented urban ecologies city
regions with unprecedented rhythms and interactions will be taken up in the
second section.
1
Learning Outcomes
1. Distinctive moments and turning points in the history of urban Studies
2. Urban and regional assemblages: An introduction to non
representational urban studies and Actor Network Theory
3. Acquistion of interpretive expertise on performative literature in urban
studies.
4. Re-reading and de-scripting urban processes and urban socio-spatial
formations in Turkey
Course Content
Lectures, discussions, assignments, Video presentations
Assessment Components
No component may
have more than 40%
weight.
Attendance
%5
Homework / Assignments
% 40
Class Presentation
% 15
Final Exams
% 40
TOTAL
100
Assessment Criteria
WEEKLY TOPICS AND PREPARATIONS
Weeks
Topics
Initial studies
1.(………...…)
Introduction: Description of the Course Content
and Technicalities
2.(………...…)
Urban Studies: an Historical Genealogy (1) 19201970(1)
3.(………...…)
Contemporary Relevancy of the Chicago School
4.(………...…)
Urban Studies: an Historical Genealogy (2) 19702000
5.(………...…)
The rise of the Structuralist-Structionist Schools
6.(………...…)
Culturalist-Linguistic Turn and Post-Modern Urban
Studies
7.(………...…)
The L. A School of Urban Studies
8.(………...…)
Midterm Examination
9.(………...…)
The Rise of Network Society and Relational
Ontology
10.(………...…) Global Cities
11.(………...…) Global City Regions
12.(………...…) Lefebvre’s Contribution: an overview.
13.(………...…)
Material Relationism and New Theory of Society
14.(………...…) New perspectives on Urban Studies: Assemblage
Theory
15.(………...…) Final Exams
2
REFERENCES
Main Textbook



E. Soja, Post Metropolis
Doreen Massey, John Allen, Steven Pile, City Worlds
Manuel de Landa, A New Philosophy of Society
Secondary
Textbooks



A. Abbott, The Department and the Discipline
Manuel de Landa, A thousand Years of Non Linear History
B. Latour, Reassembling the Social
ECTS / WORKING HOUR TABLE
Activities
Number of
Weeks
Duration
(Hour)
Working Hours
Duration of the Course (Including Exams: 14 x Total
Weekly Course Hour)
15
3
45
Extracurricular Working Hour (Preparatory Work,
Review)
14
4
56
Assignments, Presentations, Internet Studies, etc.
2
8
20
Mid-term Exams
1
15
15
Final Exam
1
15
15
50
151
Working Hours in Total
Working Hours in Total / 30
151/30
ECTS Credit of the Course
5
3