Chicago. Rise, crisis and current social problems of modern metropolis 4219-SH0044
1. Introduction and Overview
2. The Union Stockyards documentary: https://www.wttw.com/chicago-stories/union-stockyards/video
Sandburg, "Chicago"
Packingtown Museum website https://www.packingtownmuseum.org/
3. The Race to Reverse the River documentary: https://www.wttw.com/chicago-stories/race-to-reverse-the-river
Coval, “Reversing the Flow of the Chicago River”
4. RS 7
5. RS 8 The Hull House website https://www.hullhousemuseum.org/
6. The South Side, Ch 2
The Birth of the Gospel documentary: https://www.wttw.com/chicago-stories/birth-of-gospel/the-birth-of-gospel-music-in-chicago
7. The Boss and the Bulldozer documentary
Coval: “King Daley Unfurls His Burnham Plan”
8. mid-term (40 minutes) and Coval: Mayor Byrne Moves Into and Out of Cabrini Green”, “Erasing the Green”, “Atoning for the Neoliberal in All or Rahm Emanuel as the Chicken on Kapparot”
City Council: https://www.chicagomag.com/news/we-have-the-most-diverse-city-council-in-chicago-history/
9. RS 13
10. Bedorf 4
Coval, “The Division Street Riots”, “The Assassination of Rudy Lozano”
11. Curran. Murals tour: https://interactive.wttw.com/my-neighborhood/pilsen/murals. See website of National Museum of Mexican Art.
12. Coval, “The Great Migration”; “Gwendolyn Brooks Stands in the Mecca”; “Muddy Waters Goes Electric”
The South Side, Ch. 4
See websites of DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center and Obama Presidential Center.
13. Pacyga 8
14. Presentation and discussion of students' papers
15. end-term exam
Type of course
Mode
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
KNOWLEDGE:
K_W06 - selected issues, facts, processes, social phenomena (industrialization, international and internal migrations, suburbanization, post-industrial changes, gentrification, group conflicts) and features of social structures (relations between social classes and ethno-racial groups) in Chicago in comparison to other American cities and the regularities, norms and rules that govern them, their evolution and the causes and consequences of the changes occurring in them
K_W08 - historical processes (industrialization, international and internal migrations, suburbanization, post-industrial changes, gentrification, group conflicts) that have shaped Chicago and other American urban communities over the last 120 years, as well as the theoretical and methodological foundations of historical research
SKILLS:
K_U03 - to recognize, understand, describe, interpret, explain and analyze in-depth the causes, effects and course of processes and phenomena occurring in Chicago in comparison to other American cities
K_U04 - to adapt to one’s own research the knowledge of traditions and research schools in the field of studies on American cities (Chicago school of urban research, use of existing statistical data, statisticalatlas.com, official documents, websites of institutions)
K_U05 - to notice and analyze the manifestations of urban political culture in Chicago in comparison to other American cities using theoretical and methodological tools from the field of history and political sociology
K_U07 - to identify and describe social phenomena and manifestations of social culture in Chicago in comparison to other American cities using theoretical and methodological tools from the field of social sciences
K_U08 - to interpret primary sources from various eras regarding Chicago, taking into account their historical, political and socio-cultural context
K_U09 - to communicate in a seminar group and lead a debate about selected materials regarding Chicago and American cities using specialized terminology in English
K_U10 - to use English at least B2+ level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, including specialized terminology
K_U12 - to prepare and present presentations using advanced information and communication techniques in English on issues related to the study of Chicago and American urban communities, as well as prepare written studies in English
K_U15 - to lead the seminar group by proposing questions and leading discussion on the selected topic
COMPETENCES:
K_K01 - critical assessment of acquired knowledge regarding Chicago in comparison to other American cities
K_K02 - application of the acquired knowledge regarding Chicago and other American cities to form one's own opinion
K_K03 - recognizing the importance of knowledge in solving cognitive and practical problems and seeking the opinion of experts in case of difficulties in solving them independently
Assessment criteria
1. There will be two writing assignments over the course of the semester. For the first one, students will be required to read some material about one of Chicago’s neighborhoods, and prepare a short report (500 words) about the neighborhood’s social history. The neighborhood for a study can be selected among the ones we discuss in the class: UIC Village/Little Italy, Pilsen, Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Polish Downtown in Wicker Park or Polish Village in Avondale or others upon a discussion with a professor. Start your research with http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/
For the second one, students will be required to report on their own research including review of basic statistics from statisticalatlas.com, readings and on the observation of a selected Chicago neighborhood via google streetview. This essay should be about 2000 words long.
2. Mid-term and end-term exam
There will be two exams - in the middle of and at the end of the semester. They will be based on discussion, readings of texts, video documentaries, and lectures. Sometimes students study from lecture notes more than from any other part of the course. The test will include all parts, so it is essential that you keep up with the readings as well as attend class, watch the documentaries, and participate in discussion. There will be no makeup exams except for documented medical emergencies.
3. Poem presentation (recitation and discussion)
4. Participation and in-class discussion
Mid-term exam = 70 points
End-term exam = 100 points
Poem Presentation = 35 points
Class participation = 60 points
Writing Assignments = 135 points
● WA1 (45 points)
● WA2 (90 points)
Total possible points = 400 points
Bibliography
Robert G. Spinney. 2021. City of Big Shoulders: A History of Chicago. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. (RS in the syllabus)
Kevin Coval. 2017. A People’s History of Chicago. Chicago: Haymarket Books. (Coval in the syllabus)
Natalie Y. Moore. 2016. The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Dominic Pacyga. 2019. American Warsaw
The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Polish Chicago. Chicago: Un. of Chicago Press
Winnifred Curran. 2017. 2017). ‘Mexicans love red’ and other gentrification myths: Displacements and contestations in the gentrification of Pilsen, Chicago, USA. Urban Studies, 55(8), 1711-1728
Franziska Bedorf . 2019. Sweet Home Chicago? Mexican Migration and the Question of Belonging and Return. NYC: Columbia Un. Press
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: