Historical Urban Studies

2025/2026

Учебный год

ENG

Обучение ведется на английском языке

6

Кредиты

Кто читает:

Департамент истории

Статус:

Курс по выбору

Когда читается:

2-й курс, 1, 2 модуль

Преподаватель

Бекасова Александра Викторовна

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The aim of this course is to introduce interdisciplinary trends of urban studies and focus on the functioning of these processes through historical perspective. Special attention will be given to research studies focusing on urbanization in the context of social, ecological, and technological history as well as history of science. This is a graduate course that examines the major topics of urban history from a transnational perspective. Moving through the modern period to the late 20th century, this course will focus on the analytic trends, major questions and issues shaping urban history studies today. Themes will include urban migration, mobility and governance, the city as an artefact of technology and environment, cities as the loci of various practices and places for production of knowledge and identities. This class is reading and discussion intensive.

Learning Objectives

• To give an idea of the directions and approaches in contemporary research in Urban History.
• To develop intellectual skills to discuss and provide arguments for defending their point of view, formulate questions for general discussion and moderate it.
• To develop research skills, including the preparation of a collective research project proposal.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Able to perform research with modern research methods and techniques, using knowledge of the humanities and social sciences and close scientific fields of knowledge
• Is able to postulate topical scientific problems, the study of which can enrich historical science, and to solve promising research and application problems
• Is able to perform a professional or business activity, and make choices based on the principles of social responsibility
• Is able to search, analyze and present information, to work with humanities' databases

Course Contents

• What is the City? What is Urban History? How Сities Matter?
• Thinking Spatially: Urban Space as a Site of Planning and Governance
• Migration, Mobilities and Urban Change in Historical Perspective
• Urban Cultural Heritage, Collective Memories and Identities
• Urban Everyday Cultures: Food, Consumption, Social Rhythms
• Cultural Politics of Urban Mobility. Pedestrians in Transnational Perspective. The Gender of Walking
• Infrastructural Imaginaries and Regimes of Urban Expertise
• Urban Futures in the Making
• Situating and Approaching Urban Natures and Tackling the “Urban Agency” Issue
• Concluding seminar. Presentations of essays and discussion

Assessment Elements

• Moderation one of the seminars discussion (list of questions and discussion-leading)
• Attendance +Participation (thoughtful contributions in the class)
• Presentation of results at the concluding seminar and participation in the discussion.
• Essay

Interim Assessment

• 2025/2026 2nd module
  0.25 * Attendance +Participation (thoughtful contributions in the class) + 0.3 * Essay + 0.25 * Moderation one of the seminars discussion (list of questions and discussion-leading) + 0.2 * Presentation of results at the concluding seminar and participation in the discussion.

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• What is Urban History?, Ewen, S., 2018

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Crisis and order in English towns, 1500-1700 : essays in urban history, , 2013

Authors

• BEKASOVA ALEKSANDRA VIKTOROVNA
• Dzhafarova Alina Tagirovna