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Global
Urban Studies/Urban Systems Core Requirements (9 credits)
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48:977:611
History of the Global Metropolis (3)
This graduate seminar introduces students to the formal and cultural evolution of the global metropolis in historical and contemporary perspectives, with a focus on transnational developments in the industrial and post-industrial eras. As a core urban systems course, emphasis is on the intersection of social, economic, political, geographic, and environmental conditions that gave rise to distinct metropolitan areas and that have influenced urban populations for more than three centuries. The course includes a chronological overview of metropolitan settlement, growth, decline, and revitalization along with case studies that provide the opportunity to examine the past and present of specific urban areas in the developed and developing worlds. The course pays particular attention to the global migration of urban/suburban morphologies and architectural typologies during the past half century--especially as they relate to changing transportation infrastructures. Course format includes lectures and discussions of readings, as well as student research presentations. The interdisciplinary nature of urban systems is stressed throughout.
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48:977:615
The Good City: Environmental Design and the Quality of Metropolitan Life (3)
As we move into the 21st century, the good city is as elusive as
ever. Yet now, planners, architects, urban designers, and many citizens
recognize that what was once deemed good, and was widely built, has generated
serious problems. For example, neither low-density, single-use, residential
suburbs dependent on the automobile nor high-density residential towers in
urban open space have proved to be the ideals envisioned. Why is that? Why were
they considered good? What are the alternatives? And what are other aspects of
the good city that are being proposed and implemented today? In addressing
these questions, it is essential to examine the goals and values that shape
both our visions of the good city and our critiques of the visions of others.
The purpose of this course is to introduce urban systems doctoral students to
the various ways in which architects, urban designers, and planners have sought
and continue to seek to improve the quality of everyday life in urban and
suburban environments through the design of the built environment, both at the
scale of neighborhoods and communities and at the scale of buildings. The
emphasis is on the manipulation of built form, transportation, and public space
as responses to perceived problems. Key topic areas are housing and
neighborhoods, public space, transportation, schools, and hospitals. Students
come to understand the problems recognized, the design solutions proposed
and/or implemented, and the critiques and consequences that ensued.
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26:977:617
Globalization, International Migration, and Contemporary Cities (3)
This course focuses on how global processes affect both the form and function of cities in the United States and worldwide. It examines the cultural, social, economic, and spatial features of cities in historical and comparative contexts. From an interdisciplinary perspective, it will analyze theories of international migration and globalization, as well as how urban governance and built systems can create and limit opportunities for various individuals and collectives in cities. The course will investigate what characteristics of global processes affect cities, how they operate in historical context, how urban actors respond, and what benefits and problems they may produce in contemporary cities. Using theories developed in interdisciplinary fields such as sociology, anthropology, political science, geography, urban studies, health, and environment, the students will learn to apply concepts and methods from more than one social science discipline to analyze urban issues and problems. Readings will draw from specific case studies of cities from countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
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26:977:624:02
Urban Governance in Global Perspective (3)
This course examines theory and practice of governance--the
interactions of state and nonstate actors in decision-making, problem
identification, program development, and implementation. It considers
theoretical approaches for studying the balance of power in cities, as well for
analyzing who takes part in decision-making and how; how, why, and when do
policies and programs change; which voices and actors experience
marginalization and exclusion and why. Course readings consider how and whether
governance theories and practices travel across space, for example from Global
North to South and vice versa, or across various regions. The course pays
particular attention to the roles of NGOs both locally and through national and
international networks in policy change and implementation. Students
apply theoretical and empirical literature to urban issues of their choosing in
sites of their choosing.
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49:977:630
Determinants and Consequences of Urban Health (3)
This interdisciplinary course examines the determinants and consequences of health status in urban populations. Health is an outcome of micro- and macro-level factors, including those that operate at the level of the individual, family, neighborhood, community, state, and nation. Analysis includes the effect on health status of government policies, economics, and demography and community characteristics. Ethics of access, funding, and inequality explored. The examination of the effect of poor mental and physical health on the development of human capital, poverty, community organization, and local government is particularly relevant to understanding urban health. Child health and family health problems examined in the context of urban environment's contribution to issues such as infant mortality, asthma, lead poisoning, nutritional deficiencies, and violence. Current health issues such as HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, and substance abuse explored with a focus on the evaluation of current research in urban environments. The course considers innovative policies and practices that can lead to improvements in health status and human capital formation.
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Global Urban Studies/Urban Systems Research Methods Core (6
credits)
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49:977:631 (URBU 6103)
Quantitative Methods I (3)
This is an advanced course in quantitative social science research
methods. Together, the students and instructor will critically examine a
large number of peer-reviewed journal articles with the goal of enhancing each
student's understanding of the logic and application of quantitative research
methods.
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26:977:620
Qualitative Methods I (3)
This course introduces you--a doctoral student--to the history,
philosophy, and methods of qualitative research. By examining critically the
evolution of qualitative methodology, forms of qualitative research, ways to
conduct and report qualitative inquiry, as well as examples and critiques of
qualitative studies, you will understand how to choice a qualitative method for
your research inquiry.
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Global Urban Studies/Urban Systems Research Methods Electives (6
credits)
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26:977:621
Qualitative Methods II (3)
In this doctoral-level course, through the readings, assignments,
and discussions, you will have three foci: (1) study different qualitative
inquiry approaches; (2) create a rationale for a qualitative inquiry that will
be your dissertation study (or a hypothetical one), by developing a qualitative
research design, including data production, data analysis and representation,
and validation; and (3) use information and communication technologies (ICT)
for producing, analyzing, and presenting qualitative data. You will produce
data from a focus group interview and interpret your data using content or
another discourse analytic technique.
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26:977:624:01
Ethnographic Methods (3)
This course is a graduate-level introduction to studying and
writing about the world ethnographically. Because it relies on the method of "participant observation," ethnography may appear to be an easy task. We spend
our whole lives embedded in and thinking about our social worlds; how hard can
it be to participate and observe? But, while the work of ethnography relies on
our basic abilities as social beings, it has broader aims that require
theoretical and methodological understanding, as well as practice: to
understand how human communities work, and to translate and make those
communities comprehensible both to ourselves and to others who stand outside
those communities.
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26:977:624:04
Applied Quantitative Methods (3)
This course will discuss survey research methodology and secondary
data analysis. Basic computational methods for analysis will be taught
alongside a strongly tailored emphasis on individual projects with concrete
analyses from empirical, quantitative data sources. We will incorporate a
larger discussion of survey and sampling methodology as well. Depending on our
needs, we may incorporate how to clean and manage data and workflow. Students
will use the statistical package STATA, available on lab PCs and through remote
access.
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26:220:507
Econometrics (3)
Econometrics, literally "economic measurement," is a branch of
economics that attempts to quantify theoretical relationships. This course
presents topics in econometrics including a classical linear regression model
and some advance topics. This course will have both a theoretical and an
applied econometrics components. There will be a focus on using econometrics
software in estimating econometrics models learned during the semester and
interpreting the results. Students will also learn to read journal articles
applying various econometric models and presenting the findings.
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34:970:591
Introduction to Geographic Information Science for Urban Planners (3)
Introduces basic concepts of geographic information science and
its computer applications.
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Global Urban Studies/Urban Systems Electives (18 credits)
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26:977:611
History of Urban Education (3)
Provides an examination of the history of urban education in the United States. Through an exploration of the development of urban school systems in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, through the rise and decline of urban schools by the 1960s, to the development of urban educational policies designed to improve urban schools from the 1990s into the 21st century, the course provides a historical foundation for understanding urban educational policy. Among the topics discussed are the urbanization of city education; the rise of bureaucracy and scientific management; the Progressive Era and urban education; suburbanization and its effects on urban schools; desegregation and urban schooling; deindustrialization and its effects on urban schools; issues of equity versus excellence; urban educational reform from the 1990s to the present; issues of race, class, gender, and ethnicity in historical perspective.
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26:977:613
Urban Educational Policy and School Improvement (3)
Provides an overview of major issues and controversies in urban educational policy. Through a historical, sociological, and political analysis of educational problems, the course explores a variety of policy initiatives and reforms, including curriculum and learning standards, school choice, tuition vouchers, charter schools, privatization, and whole school reform. Through an analysis of case studies of urban Abbott districts in New Jersey, including the three state takeover districts--Jersey City, Paterson, and Newark--this course provides prospective administrators with an understanding of the complexities of urban school reform and improvement.
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URBU 6203
Urban Politics and Program Evaluation (3)
This course is designed to provide students with a framework for
understanding program evaluation and facilitating integration of program
evaluation. Content will address both the science of evaluation and topics will
include goals, methodologies, and standards, and address misconceptions regarding
the evaluation process. The emphasis is on practical, ongoing evaluation
strategies that involve all program stakeholders, not just evaluation
experts.
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26:220:553
Urban Economics (3)
Role of cities in the growth of regions; theories of urban growth;
models of urban land use; poverty, housing, crime, and transportation; local
government tax and expenditure policy.
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26:220:685
Economics of Immigration and Gender (3)
This course will consist of two parts. In the first part we will
focus on the economics of immigration and in the second economics of gender. In
the first part we will begin with a brief history of immigration in the United States,
including a contrast of the immigration in the early 20th century from the
new immigrants. The course will go into detail on the labor market impact of
immigration (both theory and empirics), including the effect of high-skilled
immigration, impact on natives' employment and wages. We will also cover
immigrant assimilation, ethnic capital, and the generation effect. This course
will also focus on immigrant networks and their effect on trade creation and
immigrant's employment and wages. We will also compare and contrast immigration
into the United States with Europe. If time permits we will focus on one or two
contemporary issues such as illegal immigration, effect of immigration on
housing, and immigrants and the recent health care reform. In the second part of
this course we will cover some topics on economics of gender including the economics
of marriage and family, female labor participation in the major developed
countries, and gender wage gap (including occupational segregation and
discrimination). Both theory and empirics will be covered. These topics will
also be discussed for immigrants as well as natives. We will end the semester
with a discussion on the catching-up of women in the United States and compare it to the
other major European countries.
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26:735:525
Environmental Conflict (3)
Competition over territory and natural resources often leads to
social conflict. This course focuses on the ways power dynamics shape
landscapes, cause conflict, and exacerbate problems of ecological scarcity and
degradation. Historical and ethnographic case studies illuminate the ways
environmental conflicts have been framed by policymakers, social scientists,
and people on the ground. These include, for example, the forceful displacement
of Native Americans for the creation of national parks in the United States,
the seizure of African savannah by British colonialists for large-game hunting
preserves, the delimitation of rain forest by states and NGOs for biodiversity
protection and ecotourism, and the enforcement of international bans against
killing endangered species in regions where poverty is acute. Texts explore
influential theories of environmental conflict, such as the "tragedy of
the commons," scarcity-induced violence, political ecology, postcolonial
mindsets, and overpopulation, as well as scholarly critiques of these perspectives.
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26:790:501
Policymaking in the American Political System (3)
This course is designed to expose students to various
characteristics of policymaking in the American political system. Relying
broadly, but not limited to, political science research, we will examine some
of the political institutions and key actors that develop American public
policy. We will consider several venues for policymaking--including agenda
setting, legislation, and interest group activity--and examine how political
institutions shape and constrain policymaking at the local, state, and national
level.
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26:790:538
Global Environmental Issues (3)
This is a graduate course focused on the global environmental
"problematique" and the ways in which it is being played out in a
variety of political and policy arenas. Apart from introducing the student to
the concepts and literature in global environmental politics, the course is
intended to provide students with insights into:- the political structure and context of transnational
environmental issues;
- the ways in which individuals are implicated in these issues;
- the intergovernmental mechanisms established for addressing
environmental problems;
- the treatment of environmental problems that occur in many
different places but are not necessarily linked; and
- transnational environmental activity, including that through
social movements, nongovernmental organizations, and corporate actors.
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26:988:570
Feminist Research and Methods (3)
This is an interdisciplinary course that examines approaches to
research and research methodologies used by feminist scholars to study
intersectional issues related to women, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity,
racism, class, and other sources of structural inequalities. This course
also serves as the research methods course for the political science
department, and will acquaint the graduate student with some of the basic
approaches used by political scientists in their research. The course is
designed to expand the graduate student's knowledge of feminist methods in the
social sciences and humanities, and to encourage discussion and critical
thinking about contemporary debates among feminist and gender studies scholars
on epistemology and the nature of research. The course will also provide the
graduate student with basic tools to apply qualitative social science feminist
research methods in their own research and/or to understand the ways that
feminist research and methods have brought new questions, ideas, and knowledge
to a particular area of the student's area of study.
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Programs, Faculty, and Courses 
