This course will examine cities in comparative perspective, over time and across space. Our examination of urban life pays special attention to the spatial organization of inequality, the geography of power in the urban landscape, and to material things reflective of urban social relations, as these are the kinds of data that archaeologist typically focus on. The course will be divided into two sections generally divided by the mid-term. In the first part of the course we will examine how and when cities develop, how they function, and what urban life was like. We will begin by defining urbanism and placing it within its global historical and political-economic context. We will then review a number of historical examples of some of the earliest cities with a brief discussion of the role of urban centers in regional political-economies. Next we examine archaeological methods and approaches to the study of urbanism including geographic models and models of spatial inequality grounded in archaeologies of capitalism. The second part of the course will focus on several case studies of urban archaeology in the northern United States (New York City and Lowell MA) and the southern United States (VA and MD).

Finally, students will be given an ethnoarchaeological project that will focus on Connecticut as a laboratory in which we look at living urban societies and communities in order to gain a better understanding of past and present cities.

Required Texts

Recommended Texts

The required and the recommended texts are available at the Other Book Store and the CCSU Campus Bookstore. Copies of required supplemental readings will be placed on reserve in the library under my name and this course number. There may also be a limited number of the required readings available in the anthropology department office FD 110. Students must read these articles IN THE ROOM ONLY!! If you want to copy them you must leave your student I.D. card with the department secretary. I suggest that you look at bestbookbuys.com to see if any of the books are available. They seem to have the best prices around. The one drawback is that delivery time is anywhere from five (5) days to two weeks!

Required Readings

You are required to read the assigned materials for each week PRIOR to class. To insure that this is done there may be UNANNOUNCED QUIZZES. Quizzes will be short essay questions based on videos, assigned readings and class discussions and WILL COUNT toward your grade.

Attendance

Regular and prompt attendance is required and will constitute ten (10%) percent of your grade. This will be monitored by the signing of an attendance sheet every class session. More than three (3) unexcused absences will result in a significant reduction in your grade and TEN (10) OR MORE WILL MEAN FAILURE!!!

Class Participation

Active participation in class discussions is required and constitutes 10% of your grade.

Definitions Assignment

Early in the class you will be required to look up the terms/concepts of urban, city, the state & civilization using a dictionary, a sociology and/or anthropology textbook, and the Encyclopedia of Social Science in the library. You must type these out and submit them to me on a page with a proper heading (name, date, course & assignment name) and citing the references that you used. This assignment is worth ten (10%) percent of your grade. However, YOU CANNOT PASS THE COURSE WITHOUT THIS ASSIGNMENT!!!

In Class Examinations

There will be a mid-term examination worth twenty-five 25% of your grade and a final examination worth twenty-five 25% of your grade. These exams will consists of short answers and essay questions drawn from lectures, readings, videos and class discussions. There will be NO MAKE-UPS unless the professor is informed in advance of an unavoidable reason for missing the exam.

Research Paper

Students will do neighborhood field studies, and present their results in a research paper. These papers will concentrate to some degree on public places, street life and behavior that is accessible to public view, examining a neighborhood in terms of its boundaries, available resources, and socioeconomic and ethnic composition. You are to pay close attention to the material world and what role it plays in maintaining and resisting social inequality. You will consider the construction of social space and how different groups (classes, ethnic groups etc.) conceptualize their identification with this space. Some questions to consider are: Is the urban experience the same for all residents? At all times? In all places? How does your neighborhood differ from others? How do its residents feel about living there? How do they see and use the material world? What makes an ideal neighborhood? This paper will be worth twenty percent 20% of your grade. Papers should be 10 to 15 pages of text (double spaced, typed -- including title page & page numbers) plus maps, references, illustrations etc. Research papers must included readings from the class that are relevant for your paper topic. The papers are due on the day of the final examination, Monday May 14th.

Extra-Credit

Finally, there may be other opportunities to get extra-credit for attending lectures, conferences and the like. In this case you are required to write a 2-3 page paper describing the particular activity, naming names and affiliations, and how it was relevant for our course.

COURSE OUTLINE: TOPICS AND READINGS

READINGS