Winter 2014/Pasadena
GM518
Colletti
GM518: INTRODUCTION TO URBAN STUDIES. Joe Colletti.
DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the class is to challenge each student’s perspective of the city and to encourage engagement in solutions for various social disparities and injustices. The instructor will expose the class to a wide variety of topics, theories, and methods that relate to the field of urban studies and to a wide variety of urban issues and related solutions. Students will be encouraged to interact with professionals who represent public and private organizations including local government and non-profit agencies. Such persons will be guest lecturers who, along with the instructor, will integrate social responsibility and Christianity from various points of view involving community partnerships, demographics, faith-based and social capital, local politics, poverty, public art and music, and social services.
SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: Students will be challenged to (1) engage guest lecturers; (2) participate in class discussions concerning approaches to solving social issues such as the lack of affordable housing, homelessness, informal economy, neighborhood disinvestment, discriminatory zoning practices, and public encounters with the mentally ill and substance abusers; (3) physically engage local public spaces that are being transformed from places of disinvestment to reinvestment such as LA’s skid row, central LA’s MacArthur Park, ethnic enclaves such as LA’s Chinatown and Korea Town, and Pasadena’s world-renowned Colorado Blvd. During the course students will be taught how to strengthen their ability to solve and end social injustices through the weekly introduction of spiritual practices found in the actions and writings of ancient, past, and contemporary Christian mystics and reformers and from those who have learned from them.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will (1) gain an introductory understanding of urbanology: the city, its people, and its systems; (2) acquaint themselves with urban leaders; (3) familiarize themselves with the three major sectors of urban life—private, government, and voluntary (non-profit and faith-community)—as they contribute to our understanding of the processes of urban continuity, growth, and decay; (4) examine differing viewpoints on community development and conflict; (5) orient and motivate themselves to solve a local social injustice.
COURSE FORMAT: The course will meet once a week for three hours of lectures and discussions.
REQUIRED READING:
Barton, Ruth Haley. Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. InterVarsity Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0830833337, Pub. Price $17.00 [192 pp.].
Gottdiener, M., and Leslie Budd. Key Concepts in Urban Studies. SAGE Publications, 2005. ISBN: 978-0761940982, Pub. Price: $35.00 [200 pp.].
Course Reader compiled by instructor.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
Attend class, complete required readings, and participate in discussions (20% of grade);
Complete eight (8) two to three page neighborhood description and reflection papers following instructions in class (papers will be graded pass/fail and count towards 40% of grade);
Complete a final paper (minimum 12 pages) that seeks to solve a social injustice in a community in which you live, work, worship, recreate, socialize, or serve. (40% of grade).
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in Missions (MIN8) and the requirement in Globalization (GLBL) for MA degrees.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.