HNRS-110 | Narratives of Urban Space

Full Title: Narratives of Urban Space

Topic Description:

How do urbanites interact with urban space(s)? Urban space is not simply habitable space devoid of content or context dependent on its inhabitant’s comings and goings, but is instead a space that both affects and is affected by the individual. In other words, a city is never neutral. It is ever an actor and amplifier - of oppression, of power, of action. The course examines the specific and dynamic relationship between the city and its inhabitants. We will use a selection of narratives from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries in order to examine the dynamic ways authors represent the complex relationship between urban space and those who engage it. Our investigations will further trace this relationship between the city and its subjects across the narratives and spaces of class difference, ethnicity, gender, and other defining qualifications.

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: April 2014