Time Schedule:
Margaret Pugh O'Mara
HSTAA 208
Seattle Campus
Surveys the history of cities in North America and around the globe from 1800 to the present. Considers economic and technological change; politics and government; city planning and landscaping design; migration and immigration, race, gender, and class; suburbanization; popular culture; and natural environments and natural disasters.
Class description
This lecture course surveys the history of cities in North America and around the globe from 1800 to the present day. In this course you will gain an enhanced understanding of: • the public and private forces shaping urban development over time • the lived experience of different individuals and groups, and their interactions in public and private spaces • how the city has figured in the popular imagination as well as how it has been imagined and re-imagined by political leaders, artists, and planners • the environmental consequences of urban growth and the role of nature in the city
Student learning goals
Readings and assignments will help you learn: • critical analysis of historical source materials, both primary and secondary • how to conduct original research and analysis using primary documents • the fundamentals of historical writing
General method of instruction
Twice-weekly lectures (80 min), once-weekly discussion section (50 min)
Recommended preparation
None
Class assignments and grading
You will be graded on class participation (includes completion of ungraded in-class assignments) (15%), an in-class midterm (25%), a final (25%), three 1-page “close reading” papers (10% total), and a 7-page research paper (25%).
Participation - 15% Midterm - 25% Final - 25% Paper - 25% Short writing assignments - 10%
