“What is Urban History?” History 97

“What Is Urban History?” is one section of the History Department tutorial required of all concentrators. It is usually taken in the spring of the sophomore year. Students can choose between different sections, but in all of them they will learn the tools of research, analysis, and writing that historians employ in their work. The course is also open to non-concentrators with permission of the instructor, space permitting. Students will meet in a weekly seminar of up to sixteen students with Professor Cohen as well as in smaller groups where they will get substantial attention to their writing. This seminar will explore the methods, sources, and ideas historians have used to understand the political, economic, and social development of cities and urban life over the past four centuries. Our primary focus will be on transformation in American metropolitan areas, but we will also make some comparisons to urban centers across the globe.