Urban Studies in Europe

Note: Program starts Fall 2013.

Cities are symbolic national and cultural stages, each with their own identity. Today, all cities face dramatic change due to pressures of urban modernism, such as transient population growth, globalization, gentrification, public transportation needs, and ecological demands.  

This program will work with shifting perspectives on the urban context from the local to the regional and the continental. You will explore the different sociopolitical history of Western and Eastern Europe through to today’s more unified structure. You will learn to read each city through its architecture, art, history, literature, politics, social movements, and urban layout. 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Use Copenhagen as your classroom on field studies that explore its dramatic urban change over the past few decades, from the development of a welfare state to sustainable urban planning
• Travel to Hamburg, and Budapest and Vienna, on two course-integrated study tours where you will be able to compare how these cities are currently developing their infrastructure
• Build a dynamic dialogue with a variety of guest lectures from local historians, sociologists, and urban planners

PROGRAM STUDENT PROFILE

This program is for you if you study history, urban design, urban studies, politics, or sociology.

CORE COURSE OVERVIEW

>> European Urban Life and Development
Discover how the city has become the focal point for cultural expression, social change, and political tension. Symbolizing freedom and upward mobility, the city promises a better life while at the same time generating challenges and fears. The course will integrate architectural, geographical, historical, and social dimensions to explore the European city as a venue of human interaction and experience.

• Credits: 3
• Week-Long Study Tour:Budapest-Vienna
• Core Course Week: A three-day study tour in Hamburg alongside a two-day seminar in Copenhagen

BUILD YOUR OWN CURRICULUM

DIS has over 160 elective courses for you to build your curriculum from after choosing your required core course. You have to opportunity to focus on your major or diversify by selecting any combination of core courses based on your needs. Click here for electives related to Urban Studies in Europe.