HIST 305-01, U.S. Cities and Suburbs, Fall 2010

Abstract

Both urban and environmental historians have increasingly argued that the assumed dichotomy between people and nature is a misleading one and that people are an integral part of the broader non-human world. The environmental studies field has thus expanded to investigate communities in which people live, work, and play; while urban and suburban historians have focused more attention on environmental dynamics. This class will examine the broad range of urban and suburban environments which different groups of Americans have called home and the ways in which these locales have endured and changed from 1800 to the present. Our readings and class activities will balance the study of cultural ideas, social practices, and institutional structures. Students will set these developments within the context of broad forces of historical change such as industrialization, immigration, and globalization. We will examine how history has shaped human-built environment concepts and practices in current society and in our own lives. For example, we will take field trips to downtown Memphis and to its surrounding suburbs to see how national trends played out in our region. Students will build proficiencies in analyzing primary sources, evaluating historical interpretations, assessing changes in the urban and suburban historiography, recognizing multiple cultural perspectives, and expressing themselves effectively in oral and written work.