City Lives unit (HGA341)

Introduction

City Lives brings together practical skills in urban analysis and observation to promote critical consideration of the pressing urban issues of our times. In particular, this unit tackles contemporary issues of urban inclusion, exclusion, diversity, and creativity. It interrogates who and what is given ‘place’ in the city and the norms which shape urban governance, encounter, interaction, and resistance. Foregrounding urban social theory focused on race, gender and inequality, City Lives engages with intersecting explanations for the current structure of life in cities and what is needed to promote sociospatial inclusion and liveability into the future. The unit locates theoretical thinking in local and international examples of urban poverty, stigma, disaster, activism and innovation, with a focus on how the communities, identities, and bodies of city dwellers are enabled, disabled, celebrated and erased in cityspace.

Summary

Unit name	City Lives
Unit code	HGA341
Credit points	12.5
College/School	Arts and Society Humanities and Social Sciences
Discipline	Sociology and Criminology
Coordinator	Associate Professor Catherine Robinson
Available as an elective?	Yes
Delivered By	University of Tasmania
Level	Advanced

Availability

Specific information on 2027 unit availability will be available in August

Learning Outcomes

• Explain contemporary urban social theory to inform understanding of cities and city dwellers.
• Utilise observational research methods reflexively to investigate urban social spaces.
• Analyse observed urban social spaces independently using a theoretically informed approach.
• Communicate effectively and accurately in written work.

Fee Information

2027 fee information will be available in August.

Requisites

Prerequisites

25 points at introductory level in any discipline in any faculty

Teaching

Teaching Pattern	Weekly online lecture Weekly online tutorial Weekly reading and tutorial preparation Independent learning activities (including weekly observation activity and reflections) Independent learning activities (including observation fieldwork) Assessment work
Assessment	Reading the city (20%)|Problematising the city (40%)|Solving the city (40%)
Timetable	View the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable

Textbooks

Required

There are no required textbooks for this unit.  Essential and recommended readings will be set each week and will be available via quick links in the weekly MyLO content and through a Reading List for the unit.  Questions to help guide your critical engagement with essential readings will also be set each week. It is expected that you have thoroughly engaged with weekly essential readings prior to undertaking Thinking-Doing Tasks and attending weekly online tutorials. Reading Lists provide direct access to all material on unit reading lists in one place. This includes eReadings and items in Reserve. You can access the Reading List for this unit from the link in MyLO, or by going to the Reading Lists page on the University Library website.

The University reserves the right to amend or remove courses and unit availabilities, as appropriate.