HUMANITIES 254:  MODERN CITIES

Prof. John McCole
Winter 2006 / Tuesdays & Thursdays 2:00-3:20 / 175 Lillis
Office:  Department of History 303 McKenzie Hall / 346-5906 / mccole@uoregon.edu
Office hours: W 3-5 and by appointment

In this course we will explore the history of modern cities and the modern urban experience through a rich variety of materials and approaches. Our cities fall into three groups: the classic European capital cities of the nineteenth century—Paris, London, and Vienna; the American city often described as pointing to the future of urban life—Los Angeles; and the small city where we live—Eugene, Oregon. We will be interested in the social, political, economic, and cultural factors that have shaped the development of these cities. To help us understand this development, the course readings are organized around a series of readings in urban history and urban theory. But we will be equally interested in how the city has been seen and imagined in modern culture: in film, literature, and painting. On many Thursdays we will be watching and discussing portions of some great city films. Finally, since a major theme in the course involves learning to see cities, we will also do some reading on urban design and take a field walk though downtown Eugene to try out what we are learning.

How the course will work
I think of this course primarily as a colloquium—that is, as a forum for discussing common readings, viewings, and ideas. So I will lecture for portions of our class on Tuesdays, but primarily in order to set up active discussion of the readings and visual materials. Therefore: I do expect you to come to class prepared to discuss the readings. Attendance and active participation are very important elements of this course.

Course requirements
1. Attendance and participation.
2. Two short papers:
•a “reaction paper” (2 pp.) on part of one week’s course readings, due at the session when they are to be discussed; and
•a writeup of your observations on the walk through downtown Eugene (2 pp.), as well as an in-class presentation of your observations worked out in a small group.
3. A review (3-4 pp.) of Donald Olsen’s The City as a Work of Art, our main source for the history of Paris, London, and Vienna.
4. A take-home final exam (4-6 pp.), due at the scheduled time for the final exam.
There will be no sit-down examinations for this class.

Grading policy
Each of these elements will count for 25% of your grade (the grades for the two short papers will be averaged).
Late work will be penalized. This policy is in the interest of fairness to those who submit their work on time.

Academic honesty
All work that you submit must be your own, and it must have been produced for this course. Please be sure that you are familiar with the University’s policies regarding academic honesty.

Readings
The following are available at the University Bookstore. I have also placed them on two-hour reserve at Knight Library.
•Richard T. Le Gates and Frederic Stout, eds., The City Reader, third edition
•Donald Olsen, The City as a Work of Art: London, Paris, Vienna
•Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles

Class schedule

I. SEEING AND UNDERSTANDING CITIES

Week 1: Introduction: Images of the City (January 10, 12)
Tuesday: Introduction to the Course

Thursday: Learning to Look: The Cinematic City
•Spike Lee, “Do the Right Thing” (1989)
•Fritz Lang, “Metropolis” (1927)

Week 2: Getting Oriented to the Changing City (January 17, 19)
Tuesday: Visions and Conceptions: What Have Cities Been?
LeGates and Stout, The City Reader:
1. H.D.F. Kitto, "The Polis," 41-48
2. Lewis Mumford, "What is a City?," 92-96
3. Friedrich Engels, "The Great Towns," 58-66
4. Louis Wirth, "Urbanism as a Way of Life," 97-104
5. Le Corbusier, "A Contemporary City," 317-324
Optional: look at Georg Simmel, "The Metropolis and Mental Life" (1903)
online: http://condor.depaul.edu/~dweinste/intro/simmel_M&ML.htm

Thursday: The Horrifying, Fascinating Metropolis
•Film: Fritz Lang, "Metropolis," conclusion

Week 3: Understanding Small Cities and Urban Spaces (January 24, 26)
Tuesday: Learning to See Small Cities
LeGates and Stout, The City Reader:
•John Brinckerhoff Jackson, "The Almost Perfect Town," 164-171
•Kevin Lynch, "The City Image and Its Elements," 424-428
•William H. Whyte, "The Design of Spaces," 429-436
• Jane Jacobs, "The Uses of Sidewalks: Safety," 114-118
Jonathan Stafford, "Heart Murmurs: Resuscitating Downtown" in Eugene 1945-2000:
Decisions That Made a Community (on reserve at Knight Library, both hard copy and e-reserve)
• suggested website: “The Project for Public Spaces” http://www.pps.org

Thursday: How do people use urban spaces? Some lessons
•Film: William H. Whyte, "The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces" (1988)

Week 4: Looking at Eugene (January 31, February 2)
Tuesday, January 31: meet me on the sidewalk in front of City Hall, 777 Pearl Street (between 7th and 8th Avenue) for a walk to observe downtown Eugene.  A two-page writeup of your observations is due at class on Thursday, February 2.

Thursday: presentations and discussion of city walk, in class

II. EUROPEAN CAPITALS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: LONDON, PARIS, VIENNA

Week 5: Recreating the Public Space (February 7, 9)
Tuesday: The Great Transformations
Donald Olsen, "The City as Monument," in The City as a Work of Art, 9-85
• "The Remaking of London"
• "The New Paris"
• "The Vienna of Franz Joseph"
Camillo Sitte, "Author's Introduction," "The Relationship Between Buildings, Monuments, and Public Squares," and "The Enclosed Character of Public Spaces," in LeGates and Stout, The City Reader, 413-423

Thursday: In the Ruins of a Capital
• film: Carol Reed, "The Third Man" (1949)

Week 6: Inhabiting the Metropolis (February 14, 16)
Tuesday: Apartments and Neighborhoods
Olsen, "The City as Home," in The City as a Work of Art, 89-185
•"The Building and the Dwelling"
•"Inside the Dwelling"
•"Social Geography"
•"Villa Suburbia"
•"Working-Class Housing"

Thursday: Neighborood Life in Contemporary Paris
•film: Cédric Klapisch, "When the Cat's Away"/"Chacun cherche son chat" (1996)

Week 7: The Great European Capitals: Works of Art? (February 21, 23)
Tuesday: Views from Above and From the Streets
Olsen, "The City as Document," in The City as a Work of Art, 251-311
• "Architecture as Historical Evidence"
• "The Beautiful"
• "Architecture as Language"
• "The City as the Embodiment of History"
Two Poets:
• William Blake, "London" (to be distributed)
• Charles Baudelaire, "The Swan"/"Le Cygne" (to be distributed)

Thursday: The City as Danger
• film: Alfred Hitchcock, "The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog" (1927)

III. LOS ANGELES AS THE FUTURE OF THE CITY?

Week 8: Los Angeles I (February 28, March 2)
Tuesday: Images and Realities
Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles
•Chapter One, “Sunshine or Noir?”
•Chapter Two, “Power Lines”
website: Philip J. Ethington, "Los Angeles and the Problem of Urban
Historical Knowledge," online at:
http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/LAS/history/historylab/LAPUHK

Thursday: Urban Apocalypse
• film: Ridley Scott, "The Blade Runner" (1982)

Week 9: Los Angeles II (March 7, 9)
Tuesday: Growth and Conflict
Davis, City of Quartz
•Chapter Three, “Homegrown Revolution”
•Chapter Four, “Fortress L.A.”

Thursday: "Blade Runner," conclusion

Week 10: What Will Cities Be Like? (March 14, 16)
LeGates and Stout, The City Reader:
• Melvin W. Webber, "The Post-City Age," 470-474
• Robert Fishman, "Beyond Suburbia: The Rise of the Technoburb," 77-85
• Stephen Wheeler, "Planning Sustainable and Livable Cities," 486-496
• Saskia Sassen, "The Impact of the New Technologies and Globalization on Cities," 212-220