Writing and Urban Life

Harvard FAS

In this seminar we will study representations of urban experience, and how the evolution of cities has been shaped by writing. Each week will pair literary and planning texts from the 1860s onward.We will discuss shared aspirations and tense relations among various urban dwellers, focusing on literature, urban planning, and everyday life. Topics include the impact of technology on cities aslived and imagined spaces; interfaces between literacy, orality,…