Geography
420W: Race, Class and the New Economy:
Inequality, Poverty and Urban
Development in
(http://www.geog.psu.edu/courses/geog420/)
Time: T/Th
Location: 7A
Instructor: Chris Benner
318 Walker Building
865-6693
Office Hours: Thursdays,
Course Description:
This course examines race
and class dynamics in urban development, and how patterns of urban inequality
are being influenced by the ‘new economy’. Cities are fundamentally shaped by
inequality and conflict, as different social groups mobilize political and
economic resources in an effort to improve their socio-economic
circumstances. Rapid globalization and
the rise of an information economy, however, are resulting in rapidly changing
patterns of employment, economic opportunity and political power. Understanding these changes, how they differ
in different places, and how they are affecting patterns of inequality and
economic opportunity, is both critical for understanding patterns of
urbanization, and essential for promoting more equitable, livable, and
sustainable cities.
This course explores
these issues in an international, comparative and applied policy perspective,
through a detailed comparison of the industrial history and contemporary socio-economic
dynamics of
South African
Video-Conferences
The course is run in
collaboration with the Industrial, Organisational and Labour Studies Program
(IOLS) at the
Course
Requirements:
This
is a reading and writing intensive course.
Students will be expected to perform at a high-level. Class-room time will be primarily reserved
for discussions of assigned readings, with lectures kept to a minimum. Students will take responsibility for
preparing material to guide many of our classroom discussions.
Specific
requirements include the following:
1.
Everyone needs to sign-on to the class listserv: L-GlobalCities@lists.psu.edu. To sign-on, send an email to L-GlobalCities
subscribe-request@lists.psu.edu. This listserv will form the basis for communicating about
class readings and to provide a forum for on-going discussion of issues raised
in the classroom. Messages to the list should be sent to: L-GlobalCities@lists.psu.edu
2.
There are three broad writing assignments that are part of the course, which
are explained below. Prior to starting
any of these assignments, we will have a class discussion about writing, the
process of writing, and what constitutes good writing. Through this, we will develop collective
criteria that can be used to help guide us all to better writing.
3.
Writing project 1: Analysis
and presentation of course reading: Each student
will be responsible for analyzing the selected reading for a class session and leading
a class discussion. This will involve
the following tasks:
a. Prior to class, preparing
a 2-3 page statement to guide class discussion.
Formats may vary, and you should feel free to be creative. It may be useful to include the following:
i.
Ideas, concepts, arguments that you found particularly
stimulating, worth remembering, and building on;
ii.
Questions, concerns, disagreements, with ideas encountered;
iii.
Connection, linkages, contradictions, between one idea or
approach or another.
b. Your 2-3 page statement should
be distributed to the class listserv at least 24-hours prior to the class you
will be presenting the material.
c. During the class time, for
the first 20 minutes, the author of the statement will not be allowed to
speak. The rest of the class will read
the statement, discuss the material and highlight aspects of the written
statement that are particular good, or perhaps unclear. After this is an
opportunity for the author of the statement to clarify key points and lead the
rest of the discussion.
d. You then have one-week in
order to revise the written statement and submit a final version, which will be
graded and contribute to your final grade in the class.
4.
Writing project 2: Statement on contribution of international
and comparative perspective on inequality and urban development in the
a. How does studying
inequality and urban development in
b. Following each subsequent
video-conferences, you will revise the statement to improve it, and incorporate
new insights you gain as the semester progresses.
c. The final version of this
statement (which will be the only version actually graded) is due one-week
after the final video-conference.
5. Writing project 3: semester research project: Students will work in teams to produce a detailed
research paper for a client in
a.
b. Financial Services
Cluster: The
FSC was initiated by Workforce Connections (www.workforceconnectionsonline.org)
in an effort to promote economic development and workforce development
initiatives in the Financial Services industry in greater
c.
The primary goal of each of the semester research
projects is to produce a final product that will be useful for the client
organization in their policy development processes, and to present the results
of your research to the client organization and related organizations. As such, it is not an academic paper, but an
applied research project. Part of your
task in developing this research paper is to understand the perspective of the
client organization, and to produce a report that meets their needs. You will be working in teams on this project,
and will be working closely with the professor on these projects throughout the
semester.
During the course of the semester we will have the
opportunity for at least two, and perhaps more, organized field trips to
Grading:
Your grade in the course will be based on the
following:
|
General class-room and listserv participation |
20% |
|
Writing project 1: Analysis of reading material |
20% |
|
Writing project 2: Statement on
value of international comparison |
20% |
|
Writing project 3: Semester
research project |
40% |
Learning Environment and Academic
Integrity:
The University’s policy statement on academic integrity reads in
part:
“Academic
integrity mandates the pursuit of teaching, learning, research, and creative
activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. An academic community that
values integrity promotes the highest levels of personal honesty, respect for the
rights, property, and dignity of others, and fosters an environment in which
students and scholars can enjoy the fruits of their efforts. Academic integrity
includes a commitment neither to engage in acts of falsification,
misrepresentation, or deception, nor to tolerate such acts by other members of
the community.” http://www.psu.edu/oldmain/prov/academicintegrity.htm
Plagiarism, cheating, knowledge
of these without reporting them, or any other form of academic dishonesty will
result in a failing grade for the course and referral for further disciplinary
action. In all written work, you must reference and attribute sources. If you
have any questions as to what may or may not constitute plagiarism or other
forms of academic dishonesty, please see the instructor or the assistant. Any violations of academic integrity will be
dealt with following the University’s procedures, which are described in detail
at http://www.psu.edu/dept/oue/aappm/G-9.html
Course Texts:
Many of the readings will be drawn from the following
texts, which should be available from the bookstores, and will also be
available on reserve at the
Hays,
Samuel, ed. (1989) City at the
Point: Essays on the Social History of
Lubove,
Roy. (1996) Twentieth Century
Maylam,
Paul and Iain Edwards, eds. (1996) The
People’s City: African Life in Twentieth
Century Durban (Pietermaritzburg:
Freund,
Bill and Vishnu Padayachee, eds. (2002) (D)urban
Vortex:
Additional assigned reading material will be available via electronic reserve and the course web-site.
COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to change as needed):
SECTION I: INTRODUCTION AND SETTING THE CONTEXT
|
Tu |
1/13 |
Course introduction, personal introductions, discussion of writing
assignments and evaluations |
|
Th |
1/15 |
Setting the Context: Jezierski, Louise (1996) “ Morris, Mike et al. (2002)
“From Import Substitution Industrialisation to Globalised International
Competitiveness” pp. 107-133 in (D)urban
Vortex. |
|
Tu |
1/20 |
Race and Racism in the Roediger, David R. (1994)
“From the Social Construction of Race to the Abolition of Whiteness” in Towards
the Abolition of Whiteness ( Marable, Manning (1995) “History and Black Consciousness: The Political Culture of Black Omi, Michael and Howard Winant
(1994) Racial Formation in the |
|
Th |
1/22 |
Race and Racial Narratives in Greenstein, Ran (1993) “Racial
Formation: Towards a Comparative Study
of Collective Identities in Steve Biko, (1996) I Write
What I Like(Aelred Stubbs. Nelson Mandela, (1986) No
Easy Walk to Freedom ( |
SECTION II: EARLY PATTERNS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBANIZATION
|
Tu |
1/27 |
Origins of industry and the industrial revolution in Pittsburgh Lorant, Stefan (1999) “Gateway to the West” Chapter 2 of Pittsburgh: The Story of an
American City ( Muller, Edward. (2001)
“Industrial Suburbs and the Growth of Metropolitan Pittsburgh 1870-1920” Journal of Historical Geography 27:1,
58-73 (electronic) |
|
Th |
1/29 |
From Hays, Samuel (1989) City at the Point: Chapter 1:
Faires, Nora “Immigrant and
Industry: Peopling the ‘ Chapter
3: Glasco, Laurence “Double
Burden: The Black Experience in |
|
Tu |
2/3 |
From Hays, Samuel (1989) City at the Point: Chapter 4:
Oestreicher, Richard “Working-Class Formation, Development, and
Consciousness in Chapter 8: Ingham, John “ |
|
Th |
2/5 |
From Hays, Samuel (1989) City at the Point: Chapter 5:
Kleppner, Paul “Government, Parties and Voters in Chapter 7: Tarr, Joel “Infrastructure and City-Building in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries” |
|
Tu |
2/10 |
Swanson, Maynard (1983) “The
Asiatic Menace: Creating Segregation
in La Hausse, Paul (1990) “The Cows of Nongoloza: Youth, Crime and Amalaita Gangs in |
|
Th |
2/12 |
Maharaj, B. 1996. The historical
development of the apartheid local state in Maylam, Paul and Iain Edwards The People’s City: “Introduction: The Struggle for Space in Twentieth Century
|
SECTION III: 20th CENTURY DEVELOPMENT AND RESTRUCTURING
|
Tu |
2/17 |
Lubove,
|
|
||
|
Th |
2/19 |
End of the Steel Era in Lubove, Chapter 1: “Elegy for a Bygone World” Chapter 2: “Economic
Development Strategy in the Post-Steel Era” |
|
||
|
Tu |
2/24 |
University Center for Social and Urban Research (1999) The State of the Region: Economic, Demographic and Social Conditions and Trends in SWPA September 1999. (http://www.ucsur.pitt.edu/State%20of%20Region.htm) Keystone Research Center
(2002) The State of Working Pennsylvania 2002 (http://www.keystoneresearch.org/releases/swp_2002.html)
|
|
||
|
Th |
2/26 |
Maylam, Paul and Iain Edwards The People’s City: Hemson, David “In the Eye of the
Storm: Dock-workers in Nuttal, Tim “The Leaves in the Trees are
Proclaiming our Slavery: African
Trade-Union Organisation, 1937-1949 Sitas, Ari “The
Sweat was Black: Working for Dunlop” |
|
||
|
Tu |
3/3 |
Freund and Padayachee (2002) (D)urban Vortex Chapter 5: Padayachee, Vishnu “Financing |
|
||
|
Th |
3/5 |
Freund and Padayachee (2002) (D)urban Vortex Chapter 6: Maharaj, Brij “Segregation, Desegregation and De-racialisation” Chapter 7: Hemson, David “Breaking the Impasse, Beginning the
Change Chapter 10:
Nesvag, Stein Inge “The Development of |
|||
|
T/R |
|
3/10-12--No class—spring break |
|||
|
T/R |
|
3/16-18—No class—work on research projects |
|||
SECTION IV:
POST 1970s & CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS
|
Tu |
3/23 |
The New Economy: Splintering
Metropolis Graham, Stephen and Simon
Marvin (2001) Splintering Urbanism:
Networked Infrastructures, Technological Mobilities and the Urban
Condition ( |
|
Th |
3/25 |
Reconnecting the Splintered Metropolis: Community-Based Regionalism Pastor Manuel. 2000. Regions
that work : how cities and suburbs can grow together. |
|
Tu |
3/30 |
Freund and Padayachee (2002) (D)urban Vortex Chapter 1: Fruend, Bill “City Hall and the Direction of Development” Chapter 2: Hall, Peter and
Glen Robbins “Economic Development for a New Era”” |
|
Th |
4/1 |
Monitor
Company (200)) Durban at the Watershed (Economic Competitiveness Report) City of
Durban (eThekwini) (2002) Integrated Development Plan Summary |
|
Tu |
4/6 |
To be determined… |
|
Th |
4/8 |
Lubove, Chapter
4: “A Second Renaissance” Chapter 5:
“ Chapter 9: “Amenities and Economic Development” |
|
Tu |
4/13 |
Working Together Consortium Working Together to Connect Workers to the Jobs of the Future: Critical Steps for Regional Success (aka The Nordenberg Report) Workforce The Reinvestment Fund, Summary of
Workforce Investment System in |
|
Th |
4/15 |
Detrick, Sabina (1999) “The post-industrial revitalization of |
|
Tu |
4/20 |
Review web-sites: Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse (http://www.digitalgreenhouse.com/)
Innovation Works (http://www.innovationworks.org/) Pittsburgh Technology Council (http://www.tc-p.com/) |
|
Th |
4/22 |
Student Presentations of Final Project |
|
Tu |
4/27 |
Student
Presentations of Final Project |
|
Th |
4/29 |
Student Presentations of Final Project |