everything.study
21H.217

American Urban History

3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-H · Undergraduate

See description under subject 11.013[J] .

Spring 2025

This is a seminar on the history of institutions and institutional change in American cities from roughly 1850 to the present. Among the institutions the course examines are political machines, police departments, courts, schools, prisons, public authorities, and universities. In keeping with the seminar structure, the course focuses on readings and discussions.

Readings

  • Background readings from the Oxford Encyclopedia of American Urban History or other reference book, to provide context on the topics for the week. Note that while these articles tend to be relatively uncontroversial in their coverage of the topics, no source is absolutely “neutral” or free from interpretive slant, and you may at times find that the authors have allowed their own historical or political agendas to slip into the discussion; if so, note it, reflect on it, and bring your thoughts to our discussion.
    Listed reading
  • Academic articles or book chapters written by historians recounting, describing, analyzing, interpreting, revealing, or otherwise “making sense” of some aspect of the past, related to the week’s topic.
    Listed reading

Prerequisites & course information

Same subject as 11.013[J] Prereq: None Acad Year 2027-2028: Not offered Acad Year 2028-2029: U (Spring) 3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-H

Sources