university of toronto department of geography and...
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University of TorontoDepartment of Geography and Planning
GGR 339 H1S Urban Geography, Planning
and Political Processes
Thursday 10-12
Claude T. Bissell Building (BL)Room 205
140 St. George Street, M5S 3G6
Course Instructor: James [email protected] 5009 (5th Floor) Sidney SmithOffice Hours: 12-1pm Thursdays, 4-5pm WednesdaysTeaching Assistants: Adam Garcia, Matthew Lie-Paehlke
This course investigates the city as a social, political-economic, and environmental struggle. Competing visions for city life and claims on urban space and production (surplus value) result in numerous conflicts over: immigration; ‘race,’ racism, and segregation; securityand policing; gentrification, affordable housing, and homelessness; labour market restructuring, the minimum wage, and working conditions; urban sprawl; nature and the environment; gender; and sexuality. Drawing on case studies from Canada and the United States, and Toronto in particular, we investigate how these struggles connect to economic, social and environmental politics at larger spatial scales.
In addition to considering the different theoretical frameworks used by geographers to make sense of these pressing, and often persistent,urban problems, this course draws on the perspective of those who are organizing politically to have these problems addressed. Representatives from grassroots organizations or community groups based in Toronto, which are often part of provincial, national, or international networks or movements, will be coming to class to giveus a first-hand account of their struggles. This will not only deepen our analysis of the causes and impacts of urban conflicts, but also thestrategies and challenges of urban social movements and communityorganizing.
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This course has four learning objectives:
• To identify some of the major problems facing Canadian and American cities, and Toronto in particular.
• To deepen our understanding of how the causes and effects of these urban problems produce, and are produced through, multiple scales.
• To apply social movement theory for explaining how urban social movements and community organizations emerge, build organizational strength, engage in particular strategies and tactics for social change, but also how they weaken or dissolve.
• To assess the impact and outcomes of urban social movement and community organizing, such as: new material conditions; individual and collective learning; affective processes; changes in policy or formal political representation; the creation of new ideas and visions of the city; broader changes in societal norms, attitudes, or values; and new social and socio-ecological relationships.
Evaluation
In general, you will be evaluated as follows:
Class Participation 10%Major Group Assignment 35%Bi-weekly Reflections 10%Mid-term Exam 15%Final Exam 30%
More specifically:
Class Participation* 10%(1% x 10 weeks)
Throughout Term
Group Assignment – Weekly Meetings
15%(min. of 10 x 1.5%)
Throughout Term
Individual Bi-Weekly Reflections
10%(4 x 2.5%)
Throughout Term (due before class or 10am)
Oral Examination Follow-up written
assignment
10%
5%
February 22nd-26th
March 17th (due before class)
Group Assignment – In-class Presentation
10% March 24th & 31st
Group Assignment – Materials 10% April 7th (due before class)
Final Exam 30% April 12th-29th
*A “rounding-up” bonus worth up to 99% of 1% of your final grade will be applied at the discretion of the Course Instructor based on your overall engagement with the course throughout the semester. E.g. if your final mark is 67.25%, normally I would record this as a final course grade of 67. Earning a “rounding-up” bonus would give you a final grade of 68.
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Course Texts
The required book for this course is:
Julie-Anne Boudreau, Roger Keil, and Douglas Young. 2009. Changing Toronto: Governing Urban Neolibearlism. University of Toronto Press: Toronto.
*Note: We will be using only half of the chapters of this book. The library has several copies and I have asked that a few of these be put on short-term (3 hour) loan to ensure they are available for sharing. You may also find cheaper used versions of these books or electronic versions on other websites. E.g. www.bookfinder.com .
Assignments
Class Participation is a critical component to this course. We'll be doing activities in small groups or as an entire class on a weekly basis. You will be given a pass or fail grade for your participation, often through the submission of a written in-class assignment, but also through my assessment of your contribution to the class. I am not evaluating your language skills or oratory showmanship in class; rather, I am most concerned with the substance of your ideas and arguments. Sometimes this simply means asking a good question (and sometimes the most basic questions can stir the greatest amount of debate). I encourage class discussion, but if you really enjoy talking in class, keep in mind how much space you’re taking up so that others can have a chance to contribute. You ability to earn a “rounding-up bonus” will depend greatly on your class participation.
Weekly Group Meetings are held outside of class within your group for the major assignment. You will receive a pass/fail grade for participation in each weekly group meeting, participating in a minimum of ten weekly meetings. Additional group meetings will be necessary to prepare for the in-class presentation and to produce materials. More details are found in the instructions for the major assignment. There is no 'make-up' for missed weekly group discussions, however you are allowed to miss one meeting without grade penalty.
Bi-weekly Reflections are done individually, once every two weeks. The purpose of these reflections are for you to think through how your major assignment (including weekly group meetings) are going, as well as to engage with the course readings and the discussions we have been having in-class. You will write five reflections in total, each worth 2% of your final grade; however, only four of these five reflections will be given a grade and you can choose one reflection to be graded pass/fail. Late assignments will not be accepted for bi-weekly reflections.
An ten-minute Oral Examination will be held the week after Reading Week. Please sign-up here: https://goo.gl/45k0nm Based on our discussion during your oral examination, I will ask you to complete a Follow-up Written Assignment worth 5% of your final grade.
Your group will make an In-class Group Presentation at the end of the course. This will be an opportunity for you to discuss what your group has been doing throughout the semester. Every
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group members does not need to actually present, but all students will be expected to have contributed in some way to the presentation as agreed upon by your group. All students will receive the same mark for your presentation. More details are found in the instructions for the major assignment.
Materials your group has developed over the course of the semester as part of your major group assignment will be submitted to me by the start of the final class (April 7th). More details are found in the hand-out guide for the major assignment.
Marks/Grading
Your Bi-weekly Reflections, Oral Examination, Follow-up Written Assignment, In-Class Presentation, and Materials, will all be graded as follows: High Honours/Honours/Pass with Merit/Low Pass/Fail. See the following document for an explanation of how this type of gradingsystem works: http://www.law.utoronto.ca/student-life/career-development-office/how-read-faculty-law-transcript The grades for these assignments will be converted into a numerical gradefor the purposes of calculating your final grade. Your Final Exam, as well as your final overall course grade, will be marked according to the Faculty of Arts and Science grading regulations: http://www.artsandscience.utoronto.ca/ofr/calendar/Rules_&_Regulations.html#grading
Term Work Remark Requests • Students wishing a remarking of an assignment or test must provide the Instructor with
a one page (single-spaced) explanation detailing why they believe they deserve a higher grade. Please be specific with reference to paragraphs and comments made by the marker, as well as reference to the assignment instructions where appropriate.
• FAS has changed the Calendar language to include the rule that students must submit remarking requests no later than 2 weeks after the work has been returned. Also, the Calendar now indicates that requests for term-work remark that go beyond the instructor (e.g., to Undergrad Chair) may only be made for assignments/tests worth at least 20% of the course mark.
Late Assignments
Assignments submitted late will be deducted 3% per day (including each weekend day) off from the assignment’s final mark. Late assignments will not be accepted for Bi-weekly Reflections or Materials, and there is no 'make-up' for missed participation in Weekly Group Discussions.
Circumstances always arise which cause some people to legitimately miss deadlines. If you do become ill (or otherwise incapacitated) you must provide me with appropriate documentation. Contact me as soon as possible – and no later than one-week after the original due date. For medical exemptions, only the official U of T “Verification of Student Illness or Injury” form willbe accepted (see: http://www.illnessverification.utoronto.ca). For non-medical emergencies, please submit a letter from your college registrar. Be aware that submitting a note that has been altered or obtained under false pretences is considered a very serious offence by the University. Submitting documentation or a letter from the Registrar does not guarantee that you will be allowed to submit the assignment late. Students unable to fit into the schedule for the Oral Examination must contact the Instructor as soon as possible to arrange an alternative time. Only in unique cases where finding an alternative time becomes impossible, then the 15% Oral Examination grade will be added to the final exam (making the Final Exam worth 45%).
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Blackboard
It is your responsibility to check Blackboard frequently (once or twice a week). You MUST havea [email protected] (or @utoronto.ca) email address indicated on ROSI to properly receive messages from the instructors through Blackboard. You can access the Blackboard site here: https :// portal . utoronto . ca / webapps / portal / frameset . jsp
Please note that all written assignment will be submitted onto Blackboard AND Turnitin.com. It is your responsibility to ensure that your assignment is uploaded properly. Please submit your assignment in two ways: cut and paste the text of your assignment into the text box for the assignment, as well as upload the formatted file to Blackboard as an attachment. We will be marking the attachment so don't worry if your formatting is wrong or not visible for the cut and paste version.
Turnitin.com
Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to Turnitin.com for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University's use of the Turnitin.com service are described on the Turnitin.com web site.Class ID: 11330015 Password: howtochange
Writing and Plagiarism
The University of Toronto is committed to the principles of academic integrity. Please review the University's Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters.
There are many tools to help you improve your writing. Please make an appointment with your college's writing centre and check out the following website:http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/writing-centres/arts-and-science. Plagiarism is a extremely serious academic offence and we will be taking measures to identify plagiarized assignments. It is your responsibility to understand what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it. Please see: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize
Accessibility Needs
The University of Toronto is committed to accessibility. If you require accommodations for a disability, or have any accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom or course materials, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible:disability . services @ utoronto . ca or http :// studentlife . utoronto . ca / accessibility I am happy to meet with students to discuss their needs during my office hours.
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January 14 | Identifying urban problems
Boudreau et al. 2006. Changing Toronto. Chapter 1, “Perspectives of Urban Research.” Available on Blackboard under “Readings.”
Read the newspaper everyday for a week, focusing on articles relating to the city.
January 21 | Theorizing Urban Social Movements
Staggenborg, Suzanne. 2008. Social movements. Oxford University Press: Toronto. pp.11-25. Available on Blackboard under “Readings.”
Lightbody, James. City Politics, Canada. “Introductory Note” (pp.17-19) and “Social movements, leadership, and the policy agenda” (pp.304-312). Broadview Press: Peterborough. Available on-line at: http://go.utlib.ca/cat/9089458
January 28 | Black Lives Matter
MacDonald, Neil. December 2, 2015. Black Lives Matter is mouthy, offensive — and spot on. CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/black-lives-matter-neil-macdonald-1.3346155
Cohen, Cathy J. and Jackson, Sarah J. 2015. Ask a Feminist: A Conversation with Cathy Cohen on Black Lives Matter, Feminism, and Contemporary Activism. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. http://signsjournal.org/ask-a-feminist-cohen-jackson/
Baszak, Gregor and Cedric Johnson. September 2015. Marxism through the back door: An interview with Cedric Johnson. The Platypus Review. #79. http://platypus1917.org/2015/09/01/marxism-back-door-interview-cedric-johnson/
Black Liberation Collective-Canada. January 11, 2016#BlackOnCampus student organizers seegains in their fight against anti-Black racism, starting at University of Torontohttp://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/blackoncampus-student-organizers-see-gains-in-their-fight-against-anti-black-racism-starting-at-university-of-toronto-564855701.html
Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas. December 17, 2015. UC Divests from Private Prisons After Pressure from Black Student Unions. Daily Nexus. http://dailynexus.com/2015-12-17/uc-divests-from-private-prisons-after-pressure-from-black-student-unions/
February 4 | Occupy (Capitalism Isn't Working)
1st reflection due before class
Pickerill, Jenny and Krinsky, John. 2012. Why Does Occupy Matter.Social Movement Studies. 11: 3-4.
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http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14742837.2012.708923
Walks, Alan. 2010. New Divisions: Social Polarization and Neighbourhood Inequality in the Canadian City. In Trudi Bunting, Pierre Filion, and Ryan Walker (Editors). 2010. Canadian Cities in Transition. 4th Edition. Chapter 10 (pp.170-190). Oxford University Press: Toronto. Available on Blackboard under "Readings."
Optional:Harvey, David. The urban process under capitalism: A framework for analysis. 1978. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 2: 1-4. pp.101-131. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2427.1978.tb00738.x/abstract Available on Blackboard under "Readings."
Harvey, David. 2007. Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford, GBR: Oxford University Press, UK. Chapter 1. Available electronically through UofT Library: http://go.utlib.ca/cat/5562170
February 11 | OCAP (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty)
Monsebraaten, Laurie. March 29, 2015. Homeless fear Toronto planto open suburban shelters. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/29/homeless-fear-toronto-plan-to-open-suburban-shelters.html
Connor, Kevin. February 24, 2015. Future unclear for men usingsoon-to-close Hope Shelter. The Toronto Sun. http://www.torontosun.com/2015/02/24/future-unclear-for-men-using-soon-to-close-hope-shelter
Boudreau et al. 2006. Changing Toronto. Chapter 2 “Towards the crisis of the Mid-1990s” & Chapter 3 “Neoliberalism in the City.”
Optional:Smith, N. (2002), New Globalism, New Urbanism: Gentrification as Global Urban Strategy. Antipode, 34: 427–450. doi: 10.1111/1467-8330.00249
February 18 | Reading Week (no class)
2st reflection due 10am
Sign-up for your oral examination: https://goo.gl/45k0nm
February 25 | Idle No More
Palmater, Pamela. January 4, 2013. Idle No More: What do we want and where are we headed?http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela-palmater/2013/01/what-idle-no-more-movement-really
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Sterritt, Angela. November 20, 2015. A Movement Rises. https://www.opencanada.org/features/movement-rises/
Peters, Evelyn J. Aboriginal People in Canadian Cities. In Trudi Bunting, Pierre Filion, and Ryan Walker (Editors). 2010. Canadian Cities in Transition. 4th Edition. Chapter 22 (pp.375-390). Oxford University Press: Toronto.
The Environics Institute. 2010. The Urban Aboriginal People's Study. Available on Blackboard under “Readings.” www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/pub/docs/UAPS-FULL-REPORT.pdf
March 3 | No One Is Illegal
Boudreau et al. 2006. Changing Toronto. Chapter 5, “Diverse City”
Read the website of No One Is Illegal: “Status for All” (http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/status4all) Access Without Fear”(http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/sanctuarycity)
March 10 | Labouring the City - UNITE HERE Local 75
3rd reflection due before class
MacDonald, Ian. (Forthcoming). Placing Labour. Introduction. Availableon Blackboard under “Readings.”
Cartwright, John. 2007. The Rise of Toronto's Living Wage Campaign. ASocialist Project Review. November/December. 2007. #20. pp.32-37. http://www.socialistproject.ca/relay/relay20.pdf
March 17 | Environmental Justice
Follow-up assignment from oral exam due 10am
Boudreau et al. 2006. Changing Toronto. Chapter 8,“Urinetown or Morainetown” and Chapter 9,“Transportation Dilemmas.”
Hartmann, Franz. January 5, 2016. 4 Ways Proposed City Budget Fails Toronto’s Environment. Toronto Environmental Alliance. http://www.torontoenvironment.org/budget_2016
Thompson, Brenda. January 28, 2015. Rapid Transit Rip-Off: How Kathleen Wynne became a transit privateer,and what we need to do to get back on track. The Bullet. #1073. http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/1073.php
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March 24 | Class Presentations
Perret, Nellie. Oral Presentations. University of Toronto. http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/oral-presentations
March 31 | Class Presentations
April 7 | Course Review: What have we learned?
Group assignment materials due before class
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Updated: January 14, 2016
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Lightbody, James. 2006. The policy-making system of the Canadian City. In City Politics, Canada. Broadview Press: Peterborough. p.79.