Spring 2010 Political Science Course Offering
POLS 559 - Politics in Global Cities
aka. Topics in State & Local Governments
Mondays 3:30 – 6:00pm
POLS 559
Cities and Globalization
Spring 2010
Professor Yue Zhang
When globalization has become an increasingly popular term in both academia and daily life, to what extent has it improved our understanding of politics, society, and cities? When we are more and more convinced of the power of globalization in shaping the urban arena, do we tend to miss other factors which are the real driving forces behind local transformation? These debates go deeper than disagreement over historical facts of globalization. They concern theoretical issues: what are the relevant questions to be asked and what are the appropriate units of analysis for the study of urban changes; and how to build the long-missing connection between urban politics and other theoretical approaches in political science.
This course provides a graduate level introduction to the theoretically guided study of urban politics and policies. It starts from a critical review of globalization theories as a unique perspective for understanding urban changes, with specific focuses on global institutions and global cities. It then introduces four theoretical approaches that challenge the globalization perspective: state-society relations, institutionalism, modernization, and urban power structure. Guided by the theoretical dialogues constructed in the first two parts, the final part of the course analyzes several urban policy issues and compares the experiences of cities across national boundaries.
To register for this course please send an email message to Professor Yue Zhang at yuezhang@uic.edu. Please include a brief description of your previous coursework in urban studies.