SOCY-296 Urban Sociology

Credits 3 / 3 Contact Hours
Pre-requisite: Placement into College Level Reading, completion of ELAP-120 with a 2.0 or higher, or successful completion of ACRD-090, ACRD-091 or ACRD-092; SOCY-191  
This course provides a survey of the development of the urban community with emphasis on its form demographic character and organizational life and the relationship of urban societies to the larger society.

Course Outcomes
Competencies (Content and transferable skills you must master this term to become competent in this subject and therefore pass the course)

Unit One:  Perceptions, History, Theory, and Development of Cities

• Explore Common Perceptions of Cities
• Consider factors integral in the development and persistence of cities.
• Discuss the political economy perspective on cities.
• Analyze contemporary urban issues using the political economy perspective.
• Evaluate the process of theory implementation in research on cities.
• Articulate classical and contemporary theories in urban sociology.
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of urban sociological theory.
• Describe the origins of cities.
• Discuss the features of early cities.
• Evaluate the nature of institutions in cities.
• Assess the impact of economic systems on cities.
• Examine the functioning of cities throughout U.S. history.
• Explore the periods of economic stages and their impact on U.S. cities.
• Explain urban development patterns using urban ecology and urban political economy theory.
• Articulate regional differences in the nature of U.S. cities.
• Examine post war patterns of urban growth.
• Explore the urban effects of national political and economic trends.
• Assess corporate decisions and their impact on U.S. cities.
• Examine contemporary urban development patterns.
• Explore common explanations of urban transformation.

Unit Two:  Cities:  Culture, Race, Class, and Gender

• Contrast western European cities with cities in North America.
• Examine factors affecting western European cities.
• Discuss emerging problems in European cities.
• Explain experiences within central and eastern European cities.
• Articulate globalization and global cities.
• Explore the development of African-American neighborhoods in cities.
• Discuss current racial patterns in metropolitan areas.
• Assess social class patterns in African-American neighborhoods.
• Process contemporary issues of race and residential patterns in cities.
• Describe the process of social class emergence in cities.
• Assess social class stratification in cities.
• Discuss the impact of social class on housing patterns in cities.
• Contrast male and female experiences in city living.
• Explore sociodemographic differences among urban women.
• Assess how cities (fail to) meet the needs of women.

Unit Three:  Economics, Politics, Urban Planning, and Urban Unrest

• Describe recent changes in world economic systems and their impact on cities.
• Examine policies relevant to urban economic development.
• Explore progressive economic development initiatives used in cities.
• Articulate politics of economic development programming.
• Process local government and municipal political power.
• Describe the process of financing local government.
• Discuss urban politics and urban reform.
• Assess regionalism and metropolitan government.
• Conceptualize the impact of federal policy on U.S. cities.
• Discuss the emergence of urban policy.
• Explore changes in urban policy.
• Distinguish the strategies used to reinvent urban policy.
• Articulate sociological views of social order in cities.
• Consider types of urban unrest.
• Evaluate the role of social movements in cities.
• Examine the causes of urban disruption.
• Discuss approaches to reducing urban disruption.
• Examine the history of urban planning.
• Distinguish ideas and realities of urban planning.
• Explore the relationship between urban planning and politics.
• Describe the nature of social justice in the city.