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Cities in Comparative and Historical Perspective

Why Comparative and Historical Perspective? 

Approximately half of the world’s population now lives in cities, and the proportion grows greater every day.  Urban issues cannot be understood in the context of a single nation or a single moment in time.  This concentration draws on disciplinary approaches including anthropology, archaeology, art history, geography, and history to help students understand how cities have developed and how they relate to each other today. By placing urban issues in perspective, students improve their comprehension of the United States as well as the world, and of the present as well as the past.

Advising

Students in this concentration may select as their advisor either
Michael Kahan (email) (read more)
Or Doug McAdam (email ) (read more)

Special Programs and Opportunities

Students in this concentration are encouraged to study off campus, and preferably overseas, for at least one quarter. Many courses offered through the Overseas Studies Program can be counted toward the concentration. Similarly, internships offered at many of Stanford’s overseas locations can be used to fulfill the Urban Studies internship requirement. Students should also consider enrolling in one of the Stanford Overseas Seminars, intensive courses taught in September in locations which do not have overseas campuses.

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Required Course

CLASSART 112 Ancient Urbanism

Additional Courses

The following courses may be counted toward the cities in comparative and historical perspective concentration. Please consult with your advisor to select a program of courses that suits your intellectual and personal goals.

AUTUMN 12/13 COURSES:

ANTHRO 112: Public Archaeology: Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project (ANTHRO 212, ASNAMST 112)

EARTHSYS 112: Human Society and Environmental Change (EESS 112, HISTORY 103D)

FRENCH 140: Paris: Capital of the Modern World (FRENCH 340, HISTORY 230C)

HISTORY 166: Introduction to African American History: The Modern African American Freedom Struggle (AFRICAAM 166, AMSTUD 166)

HISTORY 287D: Tel Aviv: Site, Symbol, City (HISTORY 387D, JEWISHST 287D, JEWISHST 387D)

OSPBARCL 122: Writing on Barcelona: History and Culture of the City

OSPBER 30: Berlin vor Ort: A Field Trip Module

OSPBER 60: Cityscape as History: Architecture and Urban Design in Berlin

OSPFLOR 115Y: The Duomo and Palazzo della Signoria: Symbols of a Civilization

OSPMADRD 60: Integration into Spanish Society: Service Learning and Professional Opportunities

OSPSANTG 71: Santiago: Urban Planning, Public Policy, and the Built Environment

URBANST 115: Urban Sustainability: Long-Term Archaeological Perspectives (CLASSGEN 123, CLASSGEN 223)

URBANST 160: Environmental Policy and the City in U.S. History (HISTORY 260E)

 

WINTER 12/13 COURSES:

ANTHRO 112: Public Archaeology: Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project (ANTHRO 212, ASNAMST 112)

ANTHRO 149: South Asia: History, People, Politics (ANTHRO 249)

ARTHIST 3: Introduction to the History of Architecture

ARTHIST 205: Cairo: Architecture and Urbanism from the Middle Ages to the 19th century

CLASSHIS 101: The Greeks (HISTORY 101)

HISTORY 23S: Onion Domes and Dirt Streets: Cities in Early Modern and Imperial Russia

HISTORY 97S: Urbicide: Air Raids and the Destruction of Urban Space during World War II

OSPBER 30: Berlin vor Ort: A Field Trip Module

OSPCPTWN 16: South Africa Sites of Memory

OSPCPTWN 24A: Targeted Research Project in Community Health and Development

OSPCPTWN 43: Public and Community Health in Sub-Saharan Africa

OSPMADRD 27: The Political and Economic Geography of Cities: Madrid in Comparative Perspective

OSPMADRD 60: Integration into Spanish Society: Service Learning and Professional Opportunities

URBANST 166: East Palo Alto: Reading Urban Change

SPRING 12/13 COURSES:

ANTHRO 112 Public Archaeology: Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project (ANTHRO 212, ASNAMST 112)
ARTHIST 142 Architecture Since 1900 (ARTHIST 342)
CEE 32Q Place: Making Space Now (ARTHIST 232Q)
CLASSHIS 60

The Romans (HISTORY 102A)
COMPLIT 144A Istanbul the Muse: The City in Literature and Film
FILMSTUD 155 Comics and the City (FILMSTUD 355)
HISTORY 96S City Between Empires: Nationalism, Colonialism, and Identity in Hong Kong 1841-1997
HISTORY 106A Global Human Geography: Asia and Africa
HISTORY 150C The United States in the Twentieth Century (AMSTUD 150C)
HISTORY 206

History and Geography of Contemporary Global Issues
HISTORY 232B Heretics, Prostitues and Merchants: The Venetian Empire

HISTORY

 260 California's Minority-Majority Cities (CSRE 260)
ME 120 History and Philosophy of Design
MUSIC 11Q Art in the Metropolis
OSPBER 30 Berlin vor Ort: A Field Trip Module
OSPBER 65 Berline -- City of Sound
OSPCPTWN 17 Western Cape Sites of Memory
OSPCPTWN 22 Preparation for Community-Based Research in Community Health and Development
OSPCPTWN 24B Targeted Research Project in Community Health and Development
OSPCPTWN 43 Public and Community Health in Sub-Saharan Africa
OSPCPTWN 68 Cities in the 21st Century: Urbanization, Globalization and Security
OSPFLOR 58 Space as History: Urban Change and Social Vision in Florence 1059 to the Present
OSPFLOR 71 Becoming an Artist in Florence: Contemporary Art in Tuscany and New Tendencies in the Visual Future
OSPFLOR 75 Florence in the Renaissance
OSPMADRD 60 Integration into Spanish Society: Service Learning and Professional Opportunities
OSPPARIS 92 Building Paris: Its History, Architecture, and Urban Design
OSPSANTG 71 Santiago: Urban Planning, Public Policy, and the Built Environment
POLISCI 110C America and the World Economy (INTNLREL 110C, POLISCI 110X)
URBANST 150 History of San Francisco

 

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