City Futures

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 hours

Completion of 100 points of first and/ or second year subjects including at least 50 points at first year level from approved subjects in your home faculty.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

What is the future of the polis? Exploration of past and present conditions of urban ordering and development inform understanding of 21st century challenges for cities and urban societies. This subject critically examines imagined city futures from historical and contemporary perspectives, incorporating concepts and approaches from utopian literature, critical urban theory, and philosophy to explore how the ‘city’ is understood as a physical realm, a social realm, and an imagined realm. In addition, the subject also critically investigates how imagined and real cities are influenced by popular media and technology, as well as cultural, environmental, economic, social, and political contexts. Students will be able to speculate upon the future of the polis, and their place in shaping or being shaped by the urban condition.

Upon completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. Critically analyse historical and contemporary views of cities and civilization as utopian or dystopian;
2. Explore cultural, environmental, economic, social, and political contexts of urbanism historically, today, and in the future city;
3. Identify the forces that influence the way cities are imagined historically and today, and how these imaginations are articulated and/or negotiated;
4. Critically analyse the role of utopia today in terms of how it is imagined and applied, and what factors obstruct the realisation of utopian ideals if such ideals are relevant.

• Turorial prersenation (10 mintutes) equivalent to 1000 words rolling due date (20%);
• Class paper equivalent to 500 words due week 5 (15%);
• Annotated bibliography equivalent to 1000 words due week 9 (25%);
• Major essay equivalent to 1500 words, due first week of examination period (40%).

There is no prescribed texts. Prescribed and recommended weekly readings and other digital resources will be available on the LMS.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Upon completion of this subject, students should have enhanced their skills in:
1. Critical reading and analysis of literature and theory;
2. Critical analysis of social, cultural and political contexts;
3. Development of logical arguments;
4. Written and verbal communication of an academic standard;

Subject available as breadth.