Malcolm Alan Compitello |
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Spanish 696ASpring Semester 2008The Urban Experience
Introduction"The historical geography of capitalism has to be the central object of theoretical inquiry in the same way it is the nexus of political action." In this quote from David Harvey's seminal The Urban Experience (1989) we find a synthesis of Harvey's arguments about the central place that space and place must play in a rearticulated materialist theory and primordial role that the urban plays in the history of capital. In this course we will examine the fundamental role of Harvey's work in critical geography and use his insights to explore the nature of the urban experience. This will enable us to construct a frame of analysis with which to contextualize and interrogate the particularly rich cultures produced in urban areas in the 20th century in relationship to the production of urban consciousness. We will situate Harvey's seminal contributions against the work of other scholars who have written significant work on the city and on cultural geography in general. To undertake our analyses we will "read" a wide range of urban cultural productions from a variety of urban settings. We will scrutinize the role of architecture and urban design, the graphic arts and fashion, mass media and literature and see how they are mediated by the urban experience and also contribute to the construction of urban identity. We will pay particular attention to how film portrays the urban process. Examples will be drawn from the rich tradition of urban culture with particular attention given to recent urban developments in Latin America and Spain--the instructor's areas of specialization and American cities where there is a substantial Latino population. We will also examine urban phenomena from other areas such as New York, Paris, Berlin, etc. During the last weeks of the course each student, working alone or as part of a group, will present the findings of their research on a particular aspect of a specific urban space that relates to their own research specialization. ParticipaciónEste curso supone un alto nivel de participación por parte de los alumnos que en si supone un dominio de los materiales de lectura tanto de creación como de crítica. Parte de la participación, claro está, es la capacidad de escuchar y comentar de manera inteligente a los comentarios de los otros participantes en el curso. Proyectos
EvaluaciónEl estudiate se evalua de acuerdo con los siguentes criterios
LecturasTodas las lecturas necesarias para el curso se han preparado en forma de PDF. Horario de Clase
16 de eneroIntroduccion al curso 23de eneroComprender el proceso urbano: de la urbanizacioón del capitalismo al urbanismo de la conciencia Leer los siguientes ensayos de Harvey 30 de e neroLa imaginaria cartográfica Leer "Cartographic Identities"
6 de febreroLa imaginaria cartográfica bis 13 de febreroTransformaciones urbanas bajo el capitalismo 1
Lecturas Todos leen:
Lecturas por grupos—feel free to read them all if you so desire
20 de FebreroTransformaciones urbanas bajo el capitalismo 2
Leer Selling Place Reading assigned according to groups—feel free to read them all
27 de febreroLa comunidad del dinero Read Paquete Alex to be distributed on Disk Para el 27 todo el mundo debe haber visto La comunidad de Alex de la Iglesia. Voy a pasar la película el domingo 23 por la tarde si se quiere ver, si no esta en Casa Video con el título Commonwealth. 5 de marzoTeorizar la resistencia Duncombe, Stephen. "The Politics of Alternative Culture." Notes From Underground. Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture. New York: Verso, 1997. La estrategia del caracol 12 de marzoDe la Reina Sofía a Lavapiés I Read Lavapiés I in Packet to be distributed on disk 26 de marzoDe la Reina Sofía a Lavapiés II
2 de abrilDe la Reina Sofía a Lavapiés III De la Reina Sofía a Lavapiés IV 9 de abrilDe la Reina Sofía a Lavapiés V: Paint it Black Read Lavapiés Case Study 5 and one of the two novels assigned: Grupo de noche or Gálvez en la frontera. I will arrange a Sunday double feature of La fuente amarilla and El próximo oriente the films we will analyze in class today. 16 de abrilPaint it Black 2 Lavapiés on the Screen I Read Lavapiés Case Study 4 I will arrange a Sunday double feature of Extranjeras and El otro lado de Lavapiés, the two films we will analyze in class today. 23 de abrilLavapiés on the Screen II 30 de abril"Resistance Is Not Futile" Madrid me Mata Text will be put on line 7 de MayoConcluir que no es poco 14 de MayoSimposio urbano con tapas! Cada estudiante presentará una versión de 15 minutos de su trabajo
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