First Year Seminar: The Contemporary American City

1 Course Unit

This course explores the economic and social challenges facing large US cities since roughly 1965 as well as the cities' political and policy responses. Its major topics include the changing relations between racial and ethnic groups, the political impact of suburbanization, and the political effects of deindustrialization and economic transformation. The course readings are drawn from recent urban political history, economics, and sociology as well as political science. The course pays special attention to the changing distribution of political and economic power in US metropolitan areas, and considers regional coordination and other potential policy responses. Fall or Spring 1 Course Unit