U.S. Cities

The best way to get in touch with me is via email. Please allow a 24-hour turnaround on emails during the week, and 48 hours for emails sent on weekends. I will respond if you message me through Canvas, but it may take longer.

Fall 2019 Syllabus

Description

This course introduces salient contemporary US urban topics as seen and analyzed from a geographic perspective. Topics include migration, urban sprawl, city services, gentrification and urban redevelopment, school districts, parks, housing, financing, and others. The course examines key issues, problems, and debates facing diverse US urban communities, and will address the possibilities for citizen engagement in their resolution.

Objectives

The city is a diverse and paradoxical beast—what do we make of it? Is it a playground for transient hipsters, or an engine of economic growth? A sparkling tourism destination, or a dirty place to be avoided? A symbol of prosperity, or a marker of decay?

Cities are, in fact, all of these things and more: they are simultaneously sites of possibility and oppression, creativity and exclusion. During our exploration of US cities this semester, we will foreground how these contradictory spaces both inform and are informed by the people who call them home. We are going to pay close attention to how identities like race, class, and gender—as well as the various economic and political milieus within which those concepts are situated – have affected urban form and social order. Our study of the city will defamiliarize the taken-for-granted aspects of everyday urban life, and in doing so, open up some space for conversations about how the “stuff” of the city became the way it is – and, importantly, what that portends for the future.

The semester will unfold in more or less two parts. First, we will detail a general framework for understanding how US cities work (historically, politically, economically, etc.). Second, we will turn toward contemporary issues in US cities, grounding broad topics and concepts in particular urban case studies.

At the end of this course, you should be able to do the following things better than when you started:

• Understand the processes that shape US cities, both historically and currently;
• Research, analyze, and write about contemporary urban issues from a geographical perspective;
• Identify and explicate contemporary urban issues as part of broader American phenomena;
• Apply urban geographic concepts to your everyday experiences as a citizen, both nationally and globally.

Per the UK Core requirement for “Community, Culture, and Citizenship in the USA,” this class will also improve your:

• Understanding of the complexities of citizenship and the process for making informed choices as engaged citizens in a diverse, multilingual world (UK Core);
• Understanding of the effects of social difference (including ethnicity, gender, language, nationality, race, religion, sexuality, and socioeconomic class) in individuals’ experience of a city, and how these differences influence issues of social justice (UK Core);
• Recognition and evaluation of the ethical dilemmas, conflicts, and trade-offs involved in personal and collective decision-making (UK Core).

Required Materials

[Come to class every day with a pen/pencil and paper.] We will often have short in-class writing activities or assignments that require you to have those things!

There is no required textbook for this class; in other words, you are not required to purchase anything for this class (beyond the aforementioned pen/pencil and paper). There are, however, a number of required readings, all of which are made available through Canvas.

Course Evaluation

This course is graded out of 200 total points on a grading scale as follows: A = 100-90; B = 89.99-80; C = 79.99-70; D = 69.99-60; E = 59.99-00

Your final grade will be derived from your performance on the following assignments:

1. Attendance and Participation: 30%
2. Exams: 20%
3. Researched Essay: 30%
4. Response Papers: 10%
5. Photo Essay: 10%

Attendance and Participation: 60 points (30%)

We’ll meet 30 times throughout the semester. Attendance is mandatory, but if you need to miss class for any reason whatsoever, let me know in advance to determine whether there is a way for you to make up any assignments you may have missed. Students are expected to withdraw from the class if more than 20% of the classes scheduled for the semester are missed (excused) per the University policy.

I will be grading 15 short activities, each of which is worth 4 points. These might be small group assignments, personal reflections, free-writes, etc., and they might be completed in or outside of class. They will typically be submitted through Canvas or collected at the end of class. **If you have an excused absence on the day one of these is due, you can make it up for full credit – again, just be sure to contact me so that I remember.

Exams: 40 points (20%)

There will be two exams: the first on Thursday, October 3, and the second on Tuesday, November 16. They will both be completed entirely in class and consist of multiple choice as well as short answer questions. Exams are based on lecture and readings, so be sure to stay up-to-date on both of those fronts. Each exam is worth 20 points.**

Researched Essay: 60 points (30%)

This paper provides an opportunity for you to address the guiding questions in this course by writing about a specific issue in any particular city. You can pick any issue or topic in a city of your choice—I will be available to help, but the thrust of this assignment is in your hands.

It is intentionally called a “researched essay” rather than a “research paper.” This class treats the historical geography of cities as a narrative; indeed, the ways in which US cities have developed over the past 400 years is a story whose details we will explore throughout the semester. In turn, you might think of this paper as an exercise in storytelling: drawing on the themes we explore in the duration of the class, how would you tell the story of this issue, and how it is situated within the particular context of the city you’ve chosen?

Details on each part of this assignment are listed below (altogether, this essay satisfies the UK Core Requirement).

1. Proposal (10 points): By Thursday, 10/31 at 11:59pm, you will submit via Canvas a topic proposal. Criteria are as follows:
   1. Length: Between 300 and 500 words
   2. Explain your topic or issue: What is it? Why does it happen? Is it unique to the city you’ve chosen? If not, how is it different from what’s happening in other cities?
   3. Explain your location: Where are you focusing your topic? Why did you choose this? It must be in a particular city, but it has to be more specific than that (i.e., a building, a park, a street, a neighborhood, a district, or combination thereof).
   4. Summarize: Provide a brief summary of at least 3 potential sources, properly cited (these can be newspaper articles, archival research, interviews you plan to conduct, scholarly sources, etc.)
2. Meeting (5 points): By Tuesday, 11/26, you will have had a meeting with me to discuss your project proposal. I will circulate a sign-up sheet where you can select a 10-minute slot from my office hours. If none of these times work, please email me and we can set up an alternative time to meet. If you want more detailed feedback on your paper topic, you may submit a draft of your essay before we meet, and I’ll be happy to provide feedback on that.
3. Final Paper (45 points): Your final paper will be due via Canvas on 12/17 at 11:59pm. It should be around 1,500 words in length and incorporate a minimum of 5 sources (2 of which should be scholarly; i.e., peer-reviewed articles or books). Additional details of the assignment will be discussed in class and made available through Canvas.

A note on these papers: I am happy to review longer drafts and provide detailed feedback prior to the final due date of 12/17. However, you must email me those drafts no later than Tuesday, 12/3. You can expect feedback from me within 1 week.

Response Papers: 20 points (10%)

You will write 2 response papers over the course of the semester, each 2 pages in length (double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins). In these short papers, you will engage with the material we have watched, read, and listened to in class. Each paper is worth 10 points. Specific details will be given before the first paper is due.

Photo Essay: 20 points (10%)

This assignment requires you to document your personal experience of Lexington. What is your individual vision of the city? What memories, feelings, or thoughts does Lexington evoke for you? Where are these things located, and how would you write about them?

Lots of the processes and topics we discuss in this class are unfolding right before our eyes, here in Lexington. In this assignment, you are asked to spend some time walking around and document your personal experience of the city. You need to include two photographs of the places you visited – perhaps a restaurant, a street, a park, or a neighborhood. At least one photo must be off-campus.

This essay should largely include personal reflection and opinion, while tying to themes from class about how people experience cities and urban landscapes. The paper must be at least 500 words. Due in .doc or .pdf format via Canvas on Thursday, 9/26 at 11:59pm.

Extra Credit

There are usually opportunities for extra credit once or twice every semester (though I cannot guarantee this). It depends on what kinds of events are happening on campus or around town. If something relevant to the course is going on—a lecture, a festival, etc—I will announce it as an extra credit opportunity and provide some details closer to the event.

Late Assignments

Each day an assignment is late, I will subtract 10 points from your overall grade on it. Assignments will not be accepted more than 3 days late. I’m happy to make exceptions on this front, but communication is key. If you need more time or are struggling to make a deadline, just email me 24 hours in advance and we can figure something out. The likelihood that I offer an extension decreases the closer that you ask me to the assignment’s deadline. Furthermore, if extensions become the rule rather than the exception (i.e., you find yourself frequently requiring extensions), I will ask that we schedule a meeting in-person to talk things through.

Excused Absences

You must notify me of absences prior to class when possible. Senate Rules 5.2.4.2 defines the following as acceptable reasons for excused absences: (a) serious illness, (b) illness or death of family member, (c) University-related trips, (d) major religious holidays, and (e) other circumstances found to fit “reasonable cause for nonattendance” by the professor.

Per Senate Rule 5.2.4.2, students missing any graded work due to an excused absence are responsible: for informing the Instructor of Record about their excused absence within one week following the period of the excused absence (except where prior notification is required); and for making up the missed work. The professor must give the student an opportunity to make up the work and/or the exams missed due to an excused absence, and shall do so, if feasible, during the semester in which the absence occurred.

I do ask that you provide verification of absences when applicable. Senate Rule 5.2.4.2 states that faculty have the right to request “appropriate verification” when students claim an excused absence because of illness, or death in the family. Appropriate notification of absences due to University-related trips is required prior to the absence when feasible and in no case more than one week after the absence.

Electronics Policy

I have no problem with your use of laptops for note taking. However, phones aren’t permitted unless otherwise stated, and if laptops become distracting I reserve the right to change my mind going forward.

Academic Integrity

Per University policy, students shall not plagiarize, cheat, or falsify or misuse academic records. Students are expected to adhere to University policy on cheating and plagiarism in all courses. The minimum penalty for a first offense is a zero on the assignment on which the offense occurred. If the offense is considered severe or the student has other academic offenses on their record, more serious penalties, up to suspension from the University may be imposed.

Plagiarism and cheating are serious breaches of academic conduct. Each student is advised to become familiar with the various forms of academic dishonesty as explained in the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Complete information can be found at the following website: [http://www.uky.edu/Ombud]. A plea of ignorance is not acceptable as a defense against the charge of academic dishonesty. It is important that you review this information as all ideas borrowed from others need to be properly credited.

Senate Rules 6.3.1 (see [http://www.uky.edu/Faculty/Senate/] for the current set of Senate Rules) states that all academic work, written or otherwise, submitted by students to their instructors or other academic supervisors, is expected to be the result of their own thought, research, or self-expression. In cases where students feel unsure about a question of plagiarism involving their work, they are obliged to consult their instructors on the matter before submission.

When students submit work purporting to be their own, but which in any way borrows ideas, organization, wording, or content from another source without appropriate acknowledgment of the fact, the students are guilty of plagiarism.

Plagiarism includes reproducing someone else's work (including, but not limited to a published article, a book, a website, computer code, or a paper from a friend) without clear attribution. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or revise the work, which a student submits as his/her own, whoever that other person may be. Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with an instructor or tutor, but when the actual work is done, it must be done by the student, and the student alone.

When a student's assignment involves research in outside sources or information, the student must carefully acknowledge exactly what, where and how he/she has employed them. If the words of someone else are used, the student must put quotation marks around the passage in question and add an appropriate indication of its origin. Making simple changes while leaving the organization, content, and phraseology intact is plagiaristic. However, nothing in these Rules shall apply to those ideas, which are so generally and freely circulated as to be a part of the public domain.

Please note: Any assignment you turn in may be submitted to an electronic database to check for plagiarism.

Accommodations Due to Disability

If you have a documented disability that requires academic accommodations, please see me as soon as possible during scheduled office hours or via email. In order to receive accommodations in this course, you must provide me with a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC coordinates campus disability services available to students with disabilities. It is located on the corner of Rose Street and Huguelet Drive in the Multidisciplinary Science Building, Suite 407. You can reach them via phone at (859) 257-2754 and via email at [drc@uky.edu]. Their web address is [http://www.uky.edu/DisabilityResourceCenter].

Title IV

Federal regulation mandates that federal financial aid funds (Title IV) may only be disbursed to students who are actually enrolled and engaged in coursework. This regulation mandates that institutions provide evidence of engagement early in each semester.

To comply with this regulation, faculty are required to report students for non-attendance/non-participation/non-engagement through the class roster in MyUK. Attendance and a participation assignment during Week 2 will be used to determine evidence of engagement. Non-attending/non-participating students will be automatically dropped from the course, and the course will not appear on the student’s transcript. If a student is adversely or unfairly impacted by the new requirements, the student may seek relief through the tuition appeals process.

Non-Discrimination Statement and Title IX Information

The University of Kentucky faculty are committed to supporting students and upholding the University's non-discrimination policy.

Discrimination is prohibited at UK. If you experience an incident of discrimination we encourage you to report it to Institutional Equity & Equal Opportunity (IEEO) Office, 13 Main Building, (859) 257-8927.

If you experience an incident of sex- or gender-based discrimination or interpersonal violence, we encourage you to report it. While you may talk to a faculty member or TA/RA/GA, understand that as a “Responsible Employee” of the University these individuals MUST report any acts of violence (including verbal bullying and sexual harassment) to the University's Title IX Coordinator in the IEEO Office. If you would like to speak with someone who may be able to afford you confidentiality, the Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) program (Frazee Hall – Lower Level; [http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/VIPCenter/]), the Counseling Center (106 Frazee Hall, [http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Counseling/]), and the University Health Services ([http://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/uhs/student-health/]) are confidential resources on campus.

Other Course Resources

• The University Writing Center: http://wrd.as.uky.edu/writing-center
• Counseling and Stress Management Workshops, Frazee Hall: http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Counseling/
• Academic Ombud Services: Ombud@uky.edu or [859-257-3737]

The Office of Academic Ombud Services (http://www.uky.edu/Ombud/) is responsible for assisting students to work through and resolve academic related problems and conflicts and to help students know and protect their Student Academic Rights. The primary focus of Academic Ombud Services is the process by which decisions are made, and the primary task of the Ombud is to ensure fair policies, processes, and procedures that are equitably implemented. Thus, the Academic Ombud is a neutral party working as an advocate for fairness and equity.

• Writing and Referencing (APA style): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Course Schedule