Course Description
This course will focus on providing a conceptual and analytical framework for examining urban life and how ordinary people interpret and respond to the actual experience of living in cities. Students will examine the underlying causes of urban problems and then proceed with a discussion about possible solutions. During the course of the semsester, students will study urban poverty, family dissolution, school drop out, street violence, urban crime, and homelessness, before turning their attention to various strategies for addressing these problems. (3 credits)
Prerequisites
- ENG 101: English Composition 1
- ENG 102: English Composition 2
- SOC 101: Sociology (Recommended)
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to demonstrate an understanding of:
- Analyze and apply different theoretical and analytical perspectives of urban life.
Apply and synthesize the different forces at work in an urban center; including political, economic, and cultural institutions.
Analyze and evaluate how different groups of people can live very different yet interrelated types of lives in the same urban setting.
Analyze, apply and evaluate the history and contemporary existence of at least one major city.
- Apply and evaluate how to research communities.
Course Activities and Grading
| Assignments | Weight |
|---|---|
Discussion Questions | 25% |
Weekly Position Papers | 25% |
Midterm Exam | 25% |
Research Paper (counts as Final Exam) | 25% |
Total | 100% |
Required Textbooks
- This course uses Open Educational Resources (OER). OER are openly licensed, educational resources that can be used for teaching, learning and research. OER may consist of a variety of resources such as textbooks, videos and software that are no cost for students.
Course Schedule
| Week | SLOs | Readings and Exercises | Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1,2,3 | Topic: Introduction to the City
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2 | 1,2,3 | Topic: Introduction to Sociological Theories of Urban Life
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3 | 1,2,3 | Topic: Neighborhoods, the Public Environment and Theories of Public Life
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4
| 1,2,3 | Topic: People and Lifestyles in the City
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Midterm Exam | |||
5 | 3,4,5 | Topic: City Problems: Poverty and Racism
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6 | 3,4,5 | Topic: City Problems: Crime
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7 | 3,4,5 | Topic: City Problems: Housing
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8
| 3,4,5 | Topic: Urban Families
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Research Paper Due (Counts as Final Exam) | |||
COSC Accessibility Statement
Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.
COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources
Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.