什麼是城市？是什麼塑造了它？其歷史是如何影響未來發展的？各城市間的物質形態及機制有何不同，這些差異的重要性為何？城市如何變化，它們的未來會如何？本課程將探索這些以及其他問題，重點為20世紀的美國城市。主要著重於城市的物質形態——從鬧區、市中心到郊區和邊緣城市以及其塑造過程。
從一開始的屯墾到現在，層層相續的歷史留下了城市不斷建造與與重建的遺跡。城市之中也有城市；每個城市都有許多區——鬧市區、社區、郊區，每個地區都有自己的歷史、習慣機制、延續的人口，和城市形態。其結果造就出的是有著複雜脈絡的歷史遺跡：從房屋到學校、銀行，從操場到公園、廣場，從小巷到大道，從下水道到高速公路。這些元件透露出城市的環境、社會與政治紋理，還有其建造者及其需求與慾望等線索。我們在本課程會先將目標放在在理解過去的城市建設上，然後再轉而解讀當代城市居地。建於今天的城市展露了哪些社會和個人接納或摒棄的價值？
我們會透過課堂講授，閱讀資料，及特定場所的分析來探索這些問題。研究重點會放在波士頓。會有一個短期的田野調查作業並進一步利用其中所獲得的機會來使用、發展與磨練"解讀" 城市的新技巧。本課程將大量利用網路提供的機會。教學大綱，圖片庫以及其他鏈結將在網上公佈。通過與課程網站的鏈結，學生將於線上展示他們的專題。這些學生網站與每週指定閱讀資料將在課堂上進行討論。
課程中的成績通過兩種方式評定：一個包含5部分的專題（75%），以及課堂參與（25%）。
這是一個人文藝術社會科學的溝通密集（HASS-CI）課程，通過課堂討論、書面作業和網站設計為學生提供口頭和書面表達的機會。本課程要求至少有20頁文字作品，分為3到5 次作業繳交；其中最少有一份需要經過重新修訂與重交。
本課程限25名學生。
What is a city? What shapes it? How does its history influence future development? How do physical form and institutions vary from city to city and how are these differences significant? How are cities changing and what is their future? This course will explore these and other questions, with emphasis upon twentieth-century American cities. A major focus will be on the physical form of cities -- from downtown and inner-city to suburb and edge city -- and the processes that shape them.
Cities are constantly built and rebuilt; from the initial settlement to the present, successive layers leave traces. There are also cities within cities; every city has many districts -- downtown, neighborhoods, suburbs, each evolving with its own history, institutions, successive populations, and urban form. The result is a richly complex text of artifacts: from houses to schools and banks, playgrounds to parks and plazas, alleys to boulevards, sewers to freeways. These provide clues to the environmental, social, and political context in which they were built and to the people who built them, their needs and desires. Armed with an understanding of places built in the past, we will turn to a reading of contemporary urban settlements. What do the cities being built today reveal about the values societies and individuals hold or reject?
We will explore these issues through lectures, readings, and analysis of particular places. Boston will provide a primary text. A project involving short field assignments will provide further opportunity to use, develop, and refine new skills in "reading" the city. The course will take advantage of opportunities afforded by the Internet. The syllabus, a gallery, and other links will be posted on the World-Wide Web. Students will present their projects online with links to the course website. These student websites, along with weekly readings, will provide material for class discussion.
Work for the course will be evaluated in two ways: a project consisting of five parts (75%) and class participation (25%).
This is a HASS-CI class, which offers students opportunity for verbal and graphic expression through class discussion, written texts, and website design. Communication-intensive subjects in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences require at least twenty pages of writing divided among three to five assignments; at least one must be revised and resubmitted.
The class is limited to twenty-five students.
