Apply Visit Campus Request Info Give
ForesterNet Search Menu

Urban Studies

Academics / College Catalog / Departments and Programs / Urban Studies

Faculty

Cristina Groeger

Assistant Professor of History
Chair of Urban Studies

Rudi Batzell

Assistant Professor of History

Ajar Chekirova

Assistant Professor of Politics

Rebecca Graff

Associate Professor of Anthropology

Brian McCammack

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies

Minor in Urban Studies

The minor in Urban Studies is designed to complement a variety of majors throughout the curriculum. No major is available.

Spending a semester In the Loop? Most In the Loop students will fulfill ¾ of the Urban Studies minor requirements (two internship credits, LOOP 202, and a methods course) as part of their major. That means you only need two additional courses to complete the minor: the core course URBS 120/HIST 235: American Cities, and one of the electives listed below.

Requirements for the Minor:

  • Core course for all students: Urban Studies 120 /  History 235: US Cities
  • One methodology course: Minors are expected to take one methodology course that is related to the types of research they are likely to do in Urban Studies. The following methodology courses are already approved. Other methodology courses may be taken to meet this requirement in consultation with the chair of Urban Studies.  NOTE: many of the courses below have prerequisites or are restricted to majors.
    • ARTH 485: Seminar: Means and Methods of Art Historians
    • COMM 256: Communication Research Methods
    • ECON/BUSN/FIN 130 Applied Statistics
    • HIST 300: The Historian’s Workshop
    • MATH 150: Introduction to Probability and Statistics
    • POLS 200: Methods of Political Research
    • PSYC 221: Research Methods and Statistics I
    • PSYC 222: Research Methods and Statistics II
    • SOAN 310: Quantitative Methods
    • SOAN 320: Qualitative Methods
  • One internship, equivalent to one credit (150 hours), covering urban work. (Internships must have approval of the Urban Studies chair in order to receive credit.)

  • Three electives from at least two different disciplines with a significant focus on urban issues. The electives may be from the following list, or as approved by the Urban Studies chair. A second internship (equivalent to one credit) may replace one of the three electives:

    • AFAM 110: Intro to African American Studies
    • AFAM 200: Black Politics and Protest
    • AFAM 228: History of Hip Hop
    • AFAM 275/HIST 275: Black Her-story
    • AFAM 300: Police, Prisons, Power
    • AFAM 305: Women and Gender in Hip Hop
    • AFAM 317/HIST 317: History of Black Television
    • AFAM 361/HIST 306: Civil Rights Movement
    • ART 261: Art of Social Change
    • ARTH 217: 19th Century Art
    • ARTH 218: 20th Century Art
    • ARTH 360: Contemporary Art
    • COMM 283: Race, Class, Gender, and the Media
    • COMM 285: Modern Media History
    • COMM 287: Media Systems and Institutions
    • COMM 383: New Media & Society
    • COMM 385: The Public Sphere
    • COMM 389: Political Economy of Media
    • ECON 320: Labor in the American Economy
    • ECON 325: Economy of Land
    • ECON 489: Globalization and Its Impact
    • EDUC 310: Equity and Social Justice in Education
    • EDUC 320: Comparative and International Educ
    • ENGL 219: Malcolm & Martin
    • ES 323/AFAM 323: African American Environmental Culture
    • ES 335: Environmental Justice
    • HIST 201: Inequity, Rights, Reaction: Modern US
    • HIST 203: African American History 1865-2016
    • HIST 233: Latinx Chicago
    • HIST 239: History of Education in American Society
    • HIST 258: History of Sports
    • HIST 260: Modern China
    • HIST 262: Modern Japan
    • HIST 284: Epidemic Disease in Western History
    • HIST 312: Immigration in U.S. History
    • HIST 319: Protest and Police in U.S. History
    • HIST 369: Capitalism: A Global History
    • LNAM 241: Gender and Territory in Latin America
    • LOOP 202: Professional Development in the 21st Century
    • POLS 219: Politics of Latin America
    • POLS 226: Public Policy Studies
    • POLS 265: Immigration Law and Policy
    • POLS 316: Global Cities
    • RELG 238: Religion & Place Chicago
    • SOAN 205: Archaeological Field School
    • SOAN 230: Anthropology of Sports
    • SOAN 244: Anthropology of Education
    • SOAN 270: Mapping Chicago
    • SOAN 290: Social Problems and Social Policy
    • SOAN 363: Globalization, Modernity, Culture
    • SPAN 325: U.S. Latinx Literature and Culture
    • SPAN 380: Cine, Literatura y Sociedad América Latina
    • THTR 250: Exploring Chicago Stages

Learning Outcomes

  1. Student will be able to recognize interrelated forces that shape working within an urban setting.
  2. Student will be able to identify and articulate specific issues that shape the experience of diverse populations in urban areas
  3. Student will be able to identify relationships between public policy and urban life.
  4. Student will be able to evaluate strategies designed to deliver services or regulate activities in an urban area in terms of their potential outcomes for more than one set of stakeholders.

Urban Studies Courses

URBS 110: Introduction to Urban Studies

Urban Studies allows students to examine the development and impact of urbanization in the great metropolitan regions (comprising larger inner cities and suburban communities) in which a majority of the world's population now lives. This interdisciplinary course focuses on the economic, political, environmental and cultural dimensions of the urban experience, with guest lectures by a variety of college experts. A core professor will coordinate these visits, encouraging students to see how all elements interrelate to both limit and expand what is possible in metropolitan regions. Field trips to both urban and suburban locations will allow students to understand the range of issues confronting these population centers. Students will be challenged to think about how compromise and negotiation are crucial parts of urban planning and to ask how decisions that affect the urban and suburban community ultimately are made. (Under the old GEC, this course meets the Social Science requirement.)

URBS 120: US Cities

This course is an introduction to the political, economic, and social forces that have shaped US cities in the last 200 years, with a focus on the city of Chicago. We explore the growth of urban economies, migration and immigration into cities, racial/ethnic segregation and displacement, and struggles over power and resources. Students are introduced to multiple disciplinary approaches to understanding US cities, and visit relevant sites in Chicago. This course is the core course for the Urban Studies minor program. (Under the Forester Fundamental Curriculum, this course meets the Humanities and Domestic Pluralism requirements. Under the old GEC, this course meets the Humanities requirement.)
cross listed: HIST 235, AMER 263, ES 263

College Catalog