Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2022 - URB 605 G100

Great Urban Thinkers (4)

Class Number: 6766

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 7 – Dec 6, 2022: Tue, 5:30–9:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examination of the thought of key urban thinkers who have defined the field of urban studies, drawing from architecture, planning, sociology, history, anthropology, political science, public policy, and geography.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course focuses on ideas from selected urban thinkers, and their plans and concepts that have shaped, and are shaping, not only the field of urban scholarship, but also urban form and practice.

The course takes a comparative and multidisciplinary approach to urban writings, debates and controversies, movements and more, with the help of literature from geography, sociology, history, planning, among others. Literature derives from different places and times. The course will engage with diverse ideas to enhance critical thinking and raise historical and contemporary awareness of complex and ever-changing urban regions.

In this seminar, students will learn from one another by engaging with academic texts, urban plans, and supplementary material such as film. Students will share insights together as part of conversations and assignments. The course is organized around city ideals as imagined, created, and argued by great (and, depending on your views, not-so-great) urban thinkers.

Grading

  • Participation 20%
  • Seminar Facilitation 20%
  • "Diversifying Urban Thinking" Presentation 20%
  • Essay Topic Introduction 10%
  • “Rethinking Urban Landscapes” Final Essay 30%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Course readings will be made available on Canvas and through SFU library.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/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