Urban Studies
Urban Studies adopts an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the development, consequences, and sustainability of contemporary human settlements as both social and physical environments. Students in New College's Urban Studies Area of Concentration (AOC) cultivate their research and leadership skills in coursework that ranges from a focus on the challenges facing Florida’s cities to comparative perspectives on urban development as a phenomenon of global scope and significance. Students should plan their program to cover the three dimensions of urban sustainability: ecological responsibility, economic viability, and social equity. The focus on connecting research to practice means that students will be expected to connect analysis of urban conditions to an understanding of political processes, social conflicts, and the possibilities for collaborative solutions.
The requirements for an Area of Concentration in Urban Studies are organized into four parts:
1. What is Urban Studies? (Core)
2. What are the tools? (Tools for Urban Analysis)
3. What disciplinary knowledge do I need? (Disciplinary Foundations)
4. How is Urban Studies put into practice? (Internship or Practicum)
The requirements are designed to insure that every student acquires a foundation in certain common courses, while retaining enough flexibility that each student can plan a course of study in consultation with their advisors that is tailored to their particular interests. Since specific courses may not always be available, and faculty often introduce new courses appropriate to students’ interests within Urban Studies, students should expect to work with their advisor and discuss options with the Urban Studies faculty as they put together their plan to complete the area of concentration.
Core Faculty in Urban Studies
Carrie Beneš, Professor of History (On Leave)
David Brain, Professor of Sociology/Director of Urban Studies (On Leave)
Jack Reilly, Associate Professor of Political Science (On Leave)
Maria D. Vesperi, Professor of Anthropology
Requirements for the AOC in Urban Studies
A minimum of fifteen (15) academic units.
Code | Title |
---|---|
Core Requirements (3 courses) | |
Introductory Course | |
Introduction to Urban Studies | |
One Urban-Related Course in Social Sciences | |
Urban Anthropology: Past, Present, and Future | |
or SOCI 2310 | Urban Sociology |
One Course in Urban History | |
Medieval Cities* | |
In addition to the core courses, every student must schedule a career exploration session with a counselor at the Center for Engagement and Opportunity. | |
Tools for Urban Analysis (3 courses) | |
One Spatial Analysis Course | |
Introduction to GIS (GIS certificate encouraged.) | |
Introduction to Mapping for the Social Sciences (or equivalent) | |
One Quantitative or Qualitative Analysis Course | |
Quantitative | |
Dealing with Data I* | |
Statistics for Economics and the Social Sciences* | |
Quantitative Political Analysis I* | |
Qualitative | |
Sociological Research Methods | |
Historical Methods | |
Ethnography: Theory and Practice | |
Research Methods in Political Science | |
Urban Sociology | |
One Visual Communication Course (or an additional course in quantitative or qualitative analysis) | |
Drawing Fundamentals* | |
Data Visualization and Communication | |
Going Viral: Making Video Art for the Internet* | |
Drawing Through Photography* | |
Disciplinary Foundations | |
(Five courses from the following list, including at least one advanced seminar with an urban focus). At least five courses from the list of courses eligible for credit (depending on the student’s specific interests and focus). A key part of planning an individual student’s program will be consideration of the foundational work necessary to prepare for an eventual career in the field. These courses can be drawn from the following areas: | |
Space and Place: Urban Geography | |
For example: | |
Sustainable Cities | |
Space, Place, and Community | |
Social Movements | |
Space, Nature and Society: Introduction to Human Geography* | |
Geography of Globalization | |
Public Opinion, Polarization, and the Politics of Identity in the United States | |
Understanding Power and Inequality: Race, Class, Gender | |
For example: | |
Social Inequality: Race, Class, Gender and Power | |
Urban Politics and Public Policy | |
For example: | |
Sustainable Development* | |
Climate Change: Science, Policy, Media, and Politics | |
Research Design Workshop in Political Science | |
Citizenship, Political Authority and the Public Sphere in the U.S. | |
Advanced Seminar: Social Networks and the Context of Political Behavior | |
Political Geography | |
Urban History | |
For example: | |
Medieval Cities* | |
Early Modern Europe: The World in Maps* | |
Ancient Rome: History and Legacy* | |
The Gothic Cathedral* | |
Death, Hell, and Capitalism: Medieval Italy in the Age of Dante and Petrarch | |
Culture and Place | |
For example: | |
Cultures of the Contemporary USA* | |
Heritage: History and the Past Today* | |
Tourism: Culture, Power, Place | |
Landscapes: Past and Present* | |
Approaches to Visual Anthropology | |
Race and Ethnicity in Global Perspective* | |
Public Art and Its Public(s) in the United States* (Art History) | |
The City in World Literature: Globalized Gentrification | |
Urban Economics | |
For example: | |
Introductory Microeconomics* | |
Introductory Macroeconomics* | |
Environmental Economics | |
Public Finance: Government Expenditures | |
Urban Ecology | |
For example: | |
Foundations of Biology I* | |
Biology of Urbanization | |
or ENVS 4600 | Biology of Urbanization |
Introduction to Microbiology | |
Introduction to Microbiology Laboratory | |
Urban Planning | |
For example: | |
Sustainable Cities | |
Internship or Urban Lab (Practicum) | |
The Urban Lab is a practicum in which students participate in a group project in collaboration with local community partners | |
Thesis Studio | |
Students will be required to participate in a capstone thesis workshop |
Requirements for the Joint AOC in Urban Studies
A minimum of eight (8) academic units.
In order to combine Urban Studies with another AOC, students will be required to complete 8 courses in Urban
Studies (including a practicum or internship), in addition to related foundational work in the other area of
concentration.
Code | Title |
---|---|
Required Courses | |
1. Core Courses (3) | |
2. Spatial Analysis (e.g., GIS, Introduction to Mapping) | |
3. Urban Analysis (e.g., Statistics, research methods, quantitative or qualitative analytical skills) | |
4. Urban Lab or Internship | |
5. Relevant disciplinary coursework. In addition, it is expected that students will take courses in another concentration that contributes to the development of research and analytical skills relevant to Urban Studies. | |
In addition, it is expected that they will take courses as part of the other AOC that contribute to the development of critical perspectives and communication skills relevant to Urban Studies. A member of the Urban Studies faculty will serve on the baccalaureate committee and the thesis or senior project will reflect the joint nature of the concentration. (For example: Biology/Urban Studies. Data Science/Urban Studies. Economics/Urban Studies.) |
Representative Senior Theses in Urban Studies
- Agenda Setting in Cities: Relative Actor Efficacy Across City Government Form
- Ceasefire: How Efforts to Curb the Supply and Presence of Guns in Urban Areas Can Reduce Gun Violence
- Footprints in the Atmosphere: Quantitative Analysis of Carbon Emissions to Identify the Potential of Community Climate Action
- From Overtown to Rosemary: Exploring Race and Space through Oral Histories of Sarasota’s First African American District
- The Homeless in Sarasota Housing: Policy and Practice
- Historic Preservation in Sarasota
- Land Capitalization in Dynamic Tiebout Model with Agglomeration Economies
- Multi-Criteria Suitability Analysis of Green Infrastructure Targeted at Groundwater Recharge and Flood Mitigation in Sarasota, FL
- New Genre Public Art and Participatory Planning for Urban Futures
- Reconnecting People and Place: A Case Study of the Finger Lakes’ Local Food Movement
- Thermal Comfort Through Vernacular Architecture
- Tremé Marks the Spot: A GIS Framework for Locating a Historic New Orleans Neighborhood