Fall/Winter Timetable

SII199Y1Y L0352

First-Year Seminar

MetroMarxism

Themes

This course analyses the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels alongside secondary texts in a variety of disciplines in order to outline a critical approach to urban studies. In particular, the course follows two main inquiries: What processes shape contemporary urbanization? What possibilities exist for resistance against forms of inequality and exploitation that are cemented in urban spaces? These questions are posed in a variety of contexts, both in the global North and the global South. Potential topics include struggles over the commercialization of space, neoliberal reforms in accumulation and governance, voluntary and involuntary mobilities (ie. tourism and migrations), gentrification, ecological crises, and militarization and surveillance. Comparative cases worldwide enable students to better understand the built environment and their place within it.

Texts

TBA

Format and Requirements

Essays, seminar presentations, tests.