The course explores how cities act as laboratories for social and political change. Over the course of the semester, students explore urban transformations and critical turning points in the modern era. The course introduces critical theories and concepts developed through situated urban research. Participants examine infrastructures and the distribution of public goods at the intersection of race, gender, and class. Urban perspectives such as the Eastern European (Post-)Socialist city, the Islamic City, and the Middle Eastern City are analyzed to develop a shared vocabulary and a de-centered, multi-sited urban studies toolkit. Changing trends in urbanization across the so-called Second and Third Worlds, along with emerging thematic concerns, are also addressed.
The course is jointly offered by the European Humanities University in Vilnius and the American University of Beirut. Students engage with experimental formats such as research-based narrative, collage, and video documentation, approached from the perspectives of each city.
This course counts towards the Civic Engagement certificate and Human Rights certificate.