Chicago Area Studies

Gateway

One of the following:

• ARTH 200 - Chicago Art and Architecture

  ARTH 200 - Chicago Art and Architecture

  4.00 credit hours

  Development of the city of Chicago including architecture, public art and urban design. Emphasis on analysis of urban challenges and the application of design solutions. Field trips.

  Schedule Of Classes

• HIST 120 - Chicago History

  HIST 120 - Chicago History

  4.00 credit hours

  This introduction to Chicago history explores the major events, people, and transformations of the metropolitan area from Indian Country to twenty-first century metropolis through historical texts, films, literature, visual art, and media related to Chicago's development. Particular attention will be paid to the following themes: politics and government; industrialization and technological change; reform and social change; labor; and racial and ethnic identities.

  Schedule Of Classes

• SOCI 223 - Community and City Life

  SOCI 223 - Community and City Life

  4.00 credit hours

  Discover the breath of experiences, the range of life styles, and the persistent problems that make city life the social setting for the richest opportunities and most perplexing inequalities in contemporary society. Attention given to issues of urban culture, schooling, housing and planning for more sustainable and equitable environments.

  Schedule Of Classes

Electives

A minimum 12 credit hours from the following:

• CHAS 310 - Leadership and Place

  CHAS 310 - Leadership and Place

  4.00 credit hours

  Leadership and Place traces the influence of home towns and home places on contemporary and historical leadership paradigms while considering such ethical questions as: What role does place play in forming a responsible and responsive leader? How does one lead responsibly and well far from home? How and where do rural, urban and suburban ethical standards and value judgments converge and diverge? Where have the leaders of the past come from and where are they likely to be found in the future? Paying close attention to small communities and neighborhoods as key loci in the production of twentieth-century civic leaders and as ethical centers in a Jeffersonian republic, course texts, lectures and discussions feature real-life case studies designed to engage students in debates weighing ethical and moral positions viewed through the lens of place. Leadership and Place uniquely encourages students in the study of personal (inside-out) as well as cultural (outside-in) place-based, ethical perspectives while inviting them to consider the foundational role home communities play in ethical leadership on the local, regional and national level.

  Schedule Of Classes

• CHAS 390 - Special Topics in Chicago Area Studies

  CHAS 390 - Special Topics in Chicago Area Studies

  4.00 credit hours

  Emerging issues, specialized topics, experimental offerings find their home in this course. That is, the regular curriculum may benefit from the expertise of a new faculty member, a more in-depth discussion of a particular issue or specialized content not represented in the main curriculum. This course provides the flexibility for these discussions and would include topics such as public housing, immigration, urban innovation, sports and urban life.

  Schedule Of Classes

• CHAS 397 - Internship

  CHAS 397 - Internship

  0.00-12.00 credit hours

  An opportunity to develop substantive knowledge and professional skills as these relate to issues of urban, suburban or rural environments.

  Schedule Of Classes

• CHAS 399 - Independent Study

  CHAS 399 - Independent Study

  1.00-12.00 credit hours

  An opportunity to engage in a focused, independent study on a topic related to urban, suburban or rural settings.

  Schedule Of Classes

• ANTH 355 - Native Nations of North America: Homelands, Reservations and Urban Indian Communities

  ANTH 355 - Native Nations of North America: Homelands, Reservations and Urban Indian Communities

  4.00 credit hours

  The archaeology, ethno history and ethnography of selected indigenous nations with homelands north of Mesoamerica. Exploration of tensions among continuity and change, diversity and commonality. Examination of cultural and linguistic revitalization in response to imposed cultural and social change. Changing relationships with various landscapes that result from colonial, removal, reservation and assimilationist policies. Concentration on native nations of the upper Midwest.

  Schedule Of Classes

• ANTH 375 - Urban Anthropology

  ANTH 375 - Urban Anthropology

  4.00 credit hours

  Draws on anthropological approaches, theories and methods to examine urbanism and city life across time and space. Examination of theories to explain appearance and disappearance of urbanism in the archaeological record. Contemporary urban centers and urban neighborhoods in transnational context. Extensive ethnographic field study required. Emphasis on an urban center determined by the instructor.

  Schedule Of Classes

• ARTH 200 - Chicago Art and Architecture

  ARTH 200 - Chicago Art and Architecture

  4.00 credit hours

  Development of the city of Chicago including architecture, public art and urban design. Emphasis on analysis of urban challenges and the application of design solutions. Field trips.

  Schedule Of Classes

• ENGL 216 - Place and Travel Writing

  ENGL 216 - Place and Travel Writing

  4.00 credit hours

  A workshop-based public and professional writing course focusing on writing about travel; nature and ecology; and immersion or experiential writing. Place, setting and location inspire in myriad ways; mindful of this, students read and collaboratively analyze professional and peer practitioners for craft. Students also write, edit and revise original place-based and travel writing for workshop.

  Schedule Of Classes

• ENVI 260 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

  ENVI 260 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

  4.00 credit hours

  Geographic Information Science (GIS) links data to locations to explore spatial relationships. GIS is a research and problem-solving tool used in sciences, social sciences, and business analytics for mapping and evaluating the relationship between different spatial information. This course introduces basic GIS concepts such as spatial data sources and structures, projections and coordinate systems, data editing and creation and geospatial analysis.

  Schedule Of Classes

• ENVI 380 - Urban/Suburban/Rural Environmental Nexus

  ENVI 380 - Urban/Suburban/Rural Environmental Nexus

  4.00 credit hours

  The Chicago metropolitan locale provides an ideal location to study the intersections of urban, suburban and rural environmental issues such as regional environmental interdependence, urban ecology, sustainable cities, suburban sprawl, transportation, restoration/reuse of brownfields, green spaces in urban, suburban and rural environments and agriculture and the city. This course explores these issues with particular attention to their relationship to the local history and politics of Chicago.

  Schedule Of Classes

• HIST 120 - Chicago History

  HIST 120 - Chicago History

  4.00 credit hours

  This introduction to Chicago history explores the major events, people, and transformations of the metropolitan area from Indian Country to twenty-first century metropolis through historical texts, films, literature, visual art, and media related to Chicago's development. Particular attention will be paid to the following themes: politics and government; industrialization and technological change; reform and social change; labor; and racial and ethnic identities.

  Schedule Of Classes

• HIST 248 - American Environmental History

  HIST 248 - American Environmental History

  4.00 credit hours

  This broad exploration of American history from an environmental perspective examines the ways that different groups of Americans adapted to and altered the landscape, and analyzes their changing ideas about nature. The course begins in the colonial era and examines nineteenth-century economic growth and twentieth-century environmental awareness. Key themes include the new perspective of environmental history, the role of region in America, and reading the landscape.

  Schedule Of Classes

• HIST 310 - Immigration and U.S. Ethnic Identity

  HIST 310 - Immigration and U.S. Ethnic Identity

  4.00 credit hours

  This research seminar examines U.S. immigration history from colonial times to the present. Exploration of the world conditions that led to the major waves of American immigration. Comparison of immigrant experiences to those of African Americans and Native Americans opens to wider focus on the concept of ethnic identity in U.S. history. Each student designs, researches and writes a historical essay related to major course themes.

  Schedule Of Classes

• HIST 315 - Public History and Local History

  HIST 315 - Public History and Local History

  4.00 credit hours

  Seminar examines the field of public history with a focus on local history. Local field trips with behind-the-scenes tours of museums, archives, and area historical sites will offer insight into public history careers. Will study Illinois communities outside Chicago over the course of their history, examining how local communities are part of the wider sweep of regional and national patterns, and also analyzing how they present their histories to the public. Each student designs, researches, and writes a historical essay on a local history topic using primary sources.

  Schedule Of Classes

• HIST 325 - American Cities and Suburbs

  HIST 325 - American Cities and Suburbs

  4.00 credit hours

  This research seminar explores the development of American cities and suburbs, focusing on the forces that have stimulated their growth and transformation. Topics include the influence of immigrants and migrants, technological and industrial revolutions, population mobility and suburbanization, private and public responses to change, race and ethnic issues as well as class and gender matters. Each student designs, researches and writes a historical essay related to major course themes.

  Schedule Of Classes

• PSYC 330 - Community Psychology

  PSYC 330 - Community Psychology

  4.00 credit hours

  Community Psychology focuses on the integration of social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental influences to promote prevention, health, and empowerment in communities. Course topics include program development and evaluation, grant writing, and community organizing.

  Schedule Of Classes

• RELG 225 - Urban Ethics and Religion

  RELG 225 - Urban Ethics and Religion

  4.00 credit hours

  An examination of urban problems and the ways in which religious communities relate and respond to these problems in both helpful and detrimental ways.

  Schedule Of Classes

• SOCI 223 - Community and City Life

  SOCI 223 - Community and City Life

  4.00 credit hours

  Discover the breath of experiences, the range of life styles, and the persistent problems that make city life the social setting for the richest opportunities and most perplexing inequalities in contemporary society. Attention given to issues of urban culture, schooling, housing and planning for more sustainable and equitable environments.

  Schedule Of Classes

• SOCI 332 - Chicago Encounters

  SOCI 332 - Chicago Encounters

  4.00 credit hours

  From the Gold Coast to Pilsen, Bucktown to Bridgeport. Join with fellow students in a first-hand, field study of Chicago's most interesting and intriguing neighborhoods. Students work together and conduct an original investigation of a selected neighborhood by means of interviews, demographic analysis and street level observations. A Chicago Semester course that provides students with a supervised introduction to the communities of the city and the opportunity to develop an appreciation for the personal and career opportunities in this world-class urban environment.

  Schedule Of Classes

• SOCI 344 - Sport in Society

  SOCI 344 - Sport in Society

  4.00 credit hours

  An historical-comparative analysis of sport across time and cultures and its uses in ancient, medieval and modern societies is undertaken. Examines work-leisure patterns that developed over the course of American history. Primary consideration of the urban, industrial and commercial processes that contributed to culture formation, with particular emphases on class and gender relations, commercialized leisure practices and the impact of the mass media in the formation of value systems.

  Schedule Of Classes

Capstone

• CHAS 400 - Chicago Area Studies

  CHAS 400 - Chicago Area Studies

  4.00 credit hours

  The capstone brings together interdisciplinary themes in the study of urban, suburban and/or rural places, especially as these relate to the larger, Chicago metropolitan area. Students engage in a thoughtful, real world and practical examination of issues related to these places with particular attention devoted to their impact on life chances, opportunities and social justice.

  Schedule Of Classes