The city has been the motor of progress in modernity and the crucible of many of the social movements that have contested the darker underside of the modern. This seminar will explore how cities came to reside at the center of the modern project, how they have been transformed over time, and what those transformations might mean. It will also examine how the work of artists, most importantly film makers, react to the urban process, and how their creations contribute to understanding the complex dynamic that forms the culture and politics of cities.

The class will focus on a variety of cities as well as important films about them to show how the city passes from backdrop to protagonist of the changes in the urban process. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which the content and form of film reveal the authors’ views, and we will work through the techniques necessary to decipher the creative process. This will allow all of those in the class to hone their analytic skills as urbanists as well as film viewers.