Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2017 - HUM 340 D100

Great Cities in Their Time (4)

Class Number: 4430

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: Wed, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An exploration of the cultural and intellectual accomplishments of a specific city that achieved prominence in a particular time period, and had substantial impact and influence on human civilization. Examines the political, social, religious, and cultural factors that help to explain a city's significance and investigates the achievements of its citizens. This course may be repeated for credit. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

In this course we will discuss works by writers and artists producing a critical discourse about the city of Vancouver and the ‘interior’ of British Columbia in relation to what critic Henri Lefebvre has called “the production of space.” We will make use of an interdisciplinary perspective from social history, geography, cultural studies, and theories of space to discuss literature, art, photography, and architecture as critical works responding to shifting social, political, and environmental conditions.

We will consider the effects of spatial politics on the lives of individuals and social groups; the construction of Vancouver as World City and its staging of mega events (Olympics); the interrelationship among the arts (photo-conceptualism, photography, performance arts, architecture); the city’s shifting identity as Waterfront city and its relation to ethnicity, immigration, and indigeneity; the tension between innovation and cultural memory.

The course includes two field trips to downtown Vancouver—one “promenade” along the significant sites of Vancouver’s social history and architecture, and one cultural event.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

1.     Examine the cultural production of Vancouver as Canada’s “gateway” city to the Pacific at the crossroad of the local, the national, and the global.

2.     Explore the way in which Vancouver writers and artists have addressed Vancouver’s social history.

3.     Develop an understanding of the relation between space and culture by making use of an interdisciplinary perspective.

4.     Write about Humanities texts analytically and formulate an argument by connecting ideas to textual evidence and critical sources.

Grading

  • Attendance and active class participation 10%
  • Response to field trips (2-3 pages) 10%
  • First Paper (6 pages) 20%
  • Group presentation (includes folder) 15%
  • Final Paper (7 pages) 25%
  • Midterm 20%

NOTES:

To receive credit for this course, students must complete all requirements.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Stan Douglas, Every Building on 100 West Hastings, Arsenal, 2002.

Jordan Abel, Injun. Talonbooks, 2016.

Sky Lee, Disappearing Moon Café. Douglas & McIntyre, 1993.

Steve Collis, To the Barricades. Talonbooks, 2012.

Madeleine Thien, Certainty. Emblem, 2007.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS