Urban Studies
The Barnard–Columbia Urban Studies program enables students to explore and understand the urban experience in all of its richness and complexity. It recognizes the city as an amalgam of diverse peoples and their social, political, economic, and cultural interactions within a distinctive built environment. Students study the evolution and variety of urban forms and governance structures, which create opportunities for, as well as constrain, the exercise of human agency, individual and collective. They explore the place of the city in different historical and comparative contexts, as well as in the human imagination.
Majors build an intellectual foundation that combines interdisciplinary coursework and a concentration of study within a single field. Through the two-semester junior colloquium, students study urban history and contemporary issues, and at the same time hone their interdisciplinary, analytical and research skills. This shared experience prepares them for their independent research project in their senior year. We encourage our majors to use New York City as a laboratory, and many courses draw on the vast resources of the city and include an off-campus experience.
The Barnard–Columbia Urban Studies program offers courses in urban sociology, science and technology in urban environments, urban case studies in spacial analysis, community building and economic development, urban development, civic engagement, and social entrepreneurship.
For questions about specific courses, contact the department.
For questions about specific courses, contact the department.
Courses
Course Number
URBS1515V001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
Mo 13:10-14:25We 13:10-14:25Section/Call Number
001/00333Enrollment
40 of 40Instructor
. FACULTYCourse Number
URBS1515V002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
Tu 11:40-12:55Th 11:40-12:55Section/Call Number
002/00334Enrollment
40 of 40Instructor
Aaron PassellPrerequisites: Must attend first class for instructor permission. Students create maps using ArcGIS software, analyze the physical and social processes presented in the digital model, and use the data to solve specific spatial analysis problems. Note: this course fulfills the C requirement in Urban Studies.
Course Number
URBS2200V001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
Tu 10:10-11:25Th 10:10-11:25Section/Call Number
001/00335Enrollment
25 of 24Instructor
Christian SienerWhat is ethnography and what makes ethnography “urban”? This course explores how social scientists use ethnography to analyze questions and dilemmas often associated with urban settings. We will combine close readings of ethnographies with field-based inquiry, including our own studies of urban public space. Through both our readings and our field exercises, we will focus on the methods at the heart of ethnography: observation and participant-observation.
As we read other scholars’ work, we will ask how the author uses ethnographic tools to explore issues that are suitable for intensive fieldwork. We will assess which kinds of research problems and theoretical perspectives are a good fit with ethnography and the roles that ethnography can play in transdisciplinary research projects. You will apply what you have learned about research to design your own pilot fieldwork. The ethnographies that we read together will examine intersections of housing, race, and class in urban communities. You are welcome to extend this focus to your own fieldwork, but it’s not required to do so. This is a writing-intensive course, and we will devote a considerable portion of class time to workshop your individual projects.
Course Number
URBS3308V001Points
3 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
Tu 14:10-16:00Section/Call Number
001/00336Enrollment
20 of 20Instructor
Amelia HerbertMany people don’t think of themselves as having attended segregated schools. And yet, most of us went to schools attended primarily by people who looked very much like us. In fact, schools have become more segregated over the past 30 years, even as the country becomes increasingly multiracial. In this class, we will use public schools as an example to examine the role race plays in shaping urban spaces and institutions. We will begin by unpacking the concept of racialization, or the process by which a person, place, phenomenon, or characteristic becomes associated with a certain race. Then, we will explore the following questions: What are the connections between city schools and their local contexts? What does it mean to be a “neighborhood school”? How do changes in neighborhoods change schools? We will use ethnographies, narrative non-fiction, and educational research to explore these questions from a variety of perspectives. You will apply what you have learned to your own experiences and to current debates over urban policies and public schools. This course will extend your understanding of key anthropological and sociological perspectives on urban inequality in the United States, as well as introduce you to critical theory.
Course Number
URBS3310V001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
We 14:10-16:00Section/Call Number
001/00410Enrollment
33 of 40Instructor
Amelia HerbertCourse Number
URBS3450W001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
Mo 14:40-15:55We 14:40-15:55Section/Call Number
001/00337Enrollment
33 of 30Instructor
Jennifer DavisPrerequisites: Non-majors admitted by permission of instructor. Students must attend first class. Enrollment limited to 16 students per section. Introduction to the historical process and social consequences of urban growth, from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present.
Course Number
URBS3545V001Points
4 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
Tu 16:10-18:00Section/Call Number
001/00338Enrollment
14 of 16Instructor
Nick SmithPrerequisites: Non-majors admitted by permission of instructor. Students must attend first class. Enrollment limited to 16 students per section. Introduction to the historical process and social consequences of urban growth, from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present.
Course Number
URBS3545V002Format
In-PersonPoints
4 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
Tu 16:10-18:00Section/Call Number
002/00339Enrollment
16 of 16Instructor
Angela SimmsPrerequisites: Senior standing. Year-long course; participation is for two consecutive terms. No new students admitted for spring. Emphasizes the study of the built environment of cities and suburbs, and the related debates. Readings, class presentations, and written work culminate in major individual projects, under the supervision of faculty trained in architecture, urban design, or urban planning.
Course Number
URBS3992V001Points
4 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
We 09:00-10:50Section/Call Number
001/00341Enrollment
13 of 12Instructor
Aaron PassellPrerequisites: Senior standing. Year-long course; participation is for two consecutive terms. No new students admitted for spring. Emphasizes the study of the built environment of cities and suburbs, and the related debates. Readings, class presentations, and written work culminate in major individual projects, under the supervision of faculty trained in architecture, urban design, or urban planning.
Course Number
URBS3992V002Points
4 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
We 09:00-10:50Section/Call Number
002/00342Enrollment
12 of 12Instructor
Jennifer DavisPrerequisites: Senior standing. Year-long course; participation is for two consecutive terms. No new students admitted for spring. Emphasizes the study of the built environment of cities and suburbs, and the related debates. Readings, class presentations, and written work culminate in major individual projects, under the supervision of faculty trained in architecture, urban design, or urban planning.
Course Number
URBS3992V003Points
4 ptsFall 2024
Times/Location
We 09:00-10:50Section/Call Number
003/00343Enrollment
12 of 12Instructor
Christian SienerPrerequisites: Senior standing. Year-long course; participation is for two consecutive terms. No new students admitted for spring. Emphasizes the study of the built environment of cities and suburbs, and the related debates. Readings, class presentations, and written work culminate in major individual projects, under the supervision of faculty trained in architecture, urban design, or urban planning.