Download Urban Anthropology

ANTH 393
Urban Anthropology
INSTRUCTOR: Eleonora Diamanti
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
Studying the city means to look at the ways we inhabit and experience our built environment.
Urbanization is a rapidly growing process and one of the major trend of the XXI century. According to
the United Nations, half of humanity lives today in cities, and 60% of the world’s population will live in
urbanized areas by 2030. This course on Urban Anthropology seeks to investigate and understand
contemporary urban life and culture. It will address questions of inclusion, gentrification, design
strategies, citizenship, urban imaginary, and collective memory. It aims at setting interdisciplinary
modes of inquiry informed by and contributing to an anthropological study of the urban environment.
Students will develop methods of inquiry drawing on observation and description combined with other
sources and tools such as archival, media and practice-based research. We will look at design strategies,
media circulation, art and activists works, as well as civic engagement initiatives. At the end of the
course students will produce a practice-based project developed through the everyday practice of
walking as ethnographic method. The course will address the following main questions: How can Urban
Anthropology contribute to the understanding of urban life and forms? What is the role of anthropology
in the design of more inclusive, open and connected cities? The course will include some field visits,
workshops, screenings, and the intervention of key community members, design and arts organizations.
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
- Develop and apply an anthropological approach to the analysis of complex urban issues.
- Help students to situate themselves as anthropologists and observers in their own built environment
and in relation to other urban realities.
- Set interdisciplinary methods of inquiry using a hands-on approach.
- Understand how the study of urban culture is relevant to anthropology and viceversa
- Design and organize a practice-based research project using observation, media and archival research.
- Critically observe, describe, and analyze urban dynamics in relation to cultural, social, economic and
political issues.
- Foster students’ engagement as active citizens.
LOCATION AND SCHEDULE
UVic campus and CityStudio (742 Johnson Street, Victoria)
July 6-7: UVic campus
July 11-13: CityStudio
July 14: UVic Campus
July 18-20: CityStudio
July 21: UVic Campus
July 25-27-28: CityStudio
August: CityStudio