module specification

Through a series of activities based both within the classroom and in the field, the module encourages students to reflect on their own identities, on lived experiences of others and on educational possibilities and limitations in urban contexts. The reading of empirical research and the introduction to relevant theory support this exploration.

The module aims:
• To draw upon the global multi-cultural city as an empirical resource for educational enquiry;
• To consider concepts of borders, boundaries and horizons and to identify their impact on social realities in the global city;
• To explore a range of theories from urban sociology, cultural studies and human geography to examine the relationship between the self, groups and place with a specific focus on educational institutions and their role in the city;
• To explore ways in which education has historically and traditionally impacted on social class, gender, ‘race’, ethnicity, language, dis/ability etc. in urban contexts.

Fieldwork and class-based activities encouraging students explore their own identities and relationships with London in comparison to those of their peers and others through methods such as walking, photography, video and observation. LO1,LO2

Introduction to theories related to space/place, globalisation/multiculturalism and equality/social justice, and methodologies of enquiry that enable the interpretation and the understanding of urban phenomena. LO3,LO4

Outline of educational debates focusing on equality and diversity as hallmarks of urban schools/schooling; these debates will emanate from and be stimulated by the study of empirical research. LO2,LO3,LO4,LO5

Introduction to current and past educational policies impacting on schools/schooling and urban life. LO5

The learning and teaching strategy for the module includes scheduled lectures, seminars and feedback sessions along with guided fieldwork.

The module incorporates specific sessions supporting students’ understanding of academic literature and research as well as the reading of such materials.

Students are encouraged to make use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and engaged with online discussions and tasks.

Written feedback is provided on all assessment tasks. Oral feedback is available where desired and necessary.

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. Recognise the city as an empirical resource for educational inquiry;
2. Acknowledge different social realities;
3. Identify a range of educational issues and describe their phenomenology within the context of the global multi-cultural city;
4. Demonstrate an understanding of urban theories and research;
5. Show awareness of the historical and political contexts of present day debates and educational policies in the area of diversity and inclusion and their impacts on urban life.

Two items of coursework:
1. Students are asked to summarise a key reading (1000 words) relevant to the module/the second assessment task.
2. Production of a multi-media essay (3000 words plus media) exploring possibilities and limitations for learning in a globalized multi-cultural city.

Core texts

Amin, A. & Thrift, N. (2017). Seeing like a city. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Back, L. (2012). Cultural sociology: An introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.

Blundell, D. (2016). Rethinking children’s spaces and places. London: Bloomsbury.

Creswell, T. (2015, 2nd Edition). Place: An introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.

Delaney, C., (2004). Investigating culture: An experiential introduction to anthropology. Oxford: Blackwell.

Gottdiener, M. & Budd, L. (2016). Key concepts in urban studies. London: Sage.

Hall, S. (2012). City, street and citizen: The measure of the ordinary. London Routledge.

Hollingsworth, S. & Archer, L. (2010). Urban schools as urban places: School reputation, children’s identities and engagement with education in London. Urban Studies, 47(3), 584-603.

Ingold, T. & Verguns, J. L. (eds.) (2016). Ways of walking: Ethnography and practice on foot. New York: Routledge.

Maalouf, A., (2000). On identity. London: Harville Press.

Massey, D., (2007). World city. Cambridge: Polity Press. – Introduction, pp.1-26

Perec, G. (1999). Species of spaces and other pieces. London: Penguin.

Pratt-Adams, S., Maguire, M. & Burn, E. (2010). Changing urban education. London: Continuum.

Rose, G. (2012, 3rd Edition). Visual methodologies: An interpretation of visual material. London: Sage.

Tuan, Y. F. (2001). Space and place: The perspective of experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.

Ward, C. (1990). The child in the city. London: Bedford Square Press.

Additional texts

Ackroyd, P. (2012). London under. London: Vintage.

Ackroyd, P. (2001). London: The biography. London: Vintage.

Alexander, C. & Knowles, C. (2005). Making race matter: Bodies, space and identity. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.

Amin, A. & Thrift, N. (2002). Cities: Reimagining the urban. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Archer, L., Hollingworth, S. & Mendick, H., (2010). Urban youth and schooling. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Beaumont, M. & Dart, G. (eds.) (2010). Restless cities. London: Verso.

Bignold, W. & Gayton, L. (2009). Perspectives in education studies: Global issues and comparative education. Exeter: Learning Matters.

Borden, I. (2006). Skateboarding, space and the city: Architecture and the body. London: Berg.

Boronski, T. & Hassan, N. (2015). Sociology of education. London: Sage.

Bridge, G. & Watson, S. (2010). The Blackwell city reader. London: Wiley-Blackwell.

Brighouse, T. & Fullick, L. (eds.) (2007). Education in a global city: Essays from London. London: Institute of Education.

Bull, M. (2007). Sound moves: iPod culture and urban experience. London: Routledge.

Bullman, J., Hegarty, N. & Hill, B. (2012). The secret history of our streets. London: BBC Books.

Butler, T. & Hamnett, C. (eds.) (2007). Special Issue on ‘The Geography of Education’, Urban Studies, 44(7).

Christensen, P. & O’Brien, M. (2003). Children in the city. London: Routledge Falmer.

DeCerteau, M. (1988). The practice of everyday life. London: University of California Press.

Diaconu, M., Heuberger, E., Mateus-Berr, R. & Vosicky, L. M. (eds.) (2011). Senses and the city: An interdisciplinary approach to urban sensecapes. Wien: Lit Verlag.

Dillabough, J. A. & J. Kennelly, J. (2010). Lost youth in the global city: Class, culture and the global imaginary. New York: Routledge.

Ferrell, J. (2001). Tearing down the streets: Adventures in urban anarchy. New York: St Martin’s Press.

Gardiner, M. E. (2000). Critiques of everyday life: An introduction. London: Routledge.

Goffman, E. (1969). The presentation of self in everyday life. London: Allen Lane.

Grace, G. (1984). Education and the city: Theory, history and contemporary practice. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Harrison, S., Pile, S. & Thrift, N. (eds.) (2004). Patterned ground: Entanglements of nature and culture. London: Reaktion Books.

Highmore, B.,(2009). A passion for cultural studies. London: Palgrave.

Highmore, B. (2002). Everyday life and cultural theory: An introduction. London: Routledge.

Hodkinson, P. & Deicke, W. (eds.) (2007). Youth cultures: Scenes, subcultures and tribes. New York: Routledge.

Jacobsen, H.J. (eds.) (2009). Encountering the everyday: An introduction to the sociologies of the unnoticed. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Keith, M. (2005). After the cosmopolitan?: Multicultural cities and the future of racism. London: Routledge.

Keith, M. & Pile, S. (1993). Place and the politics of identity. London: Routledge.

Labelle, B. (2011). Acoustic territories: Sound culture and everyday life. London: Routledge.

Lefebvre, H. (2003). The production of space. Oxford: Blackwell.

LeGates, R. T. & Stout, F. (2015, 6th Edition). The city reader. London: Routledge.

Lopez, N. (2002). Hopeful girls, troubled boys: Race and gender disparity in urban education. London: Routledge.

Macdonald, N. (2002). The graffiti subculture: Youth, masculinity and identity in London and New York. London: Palgrave.

Massey, D. (2005). For space. London: Sage.

Massey, D. (1994). Space, place and gender. Cambridge: Polity.

Maguire, M., Wooldridge, T. & Pratt-Adams, S. (2006). The urban primary school. London: Open University Press.

Meighan, R. & Harber, C. (2007, 5th Edition). A sociology of educating. London: Continuum.

Minton, A. (2009). Ground control: Fear and happiness in the twentieth century city. London: Penguin.

Moran, J. (2005). Reading the everyday. London: Routledge.

Morris, D. (2004). The sense of space. New York: Suny Press.

Mumford, L. (1966). The city in history. Harmondsworth: Pelican.

Raban, J. (2008). Soft city. London: Picador.

Rhys-Taylor, A. (2016). Food and multiculture: A sensory ethnography of East London. London: Bloomsbury.

Richards, C. (2011). Young people, popular culture and education. London: Continuum.

Roberts, J. (2006). Philosophizing the everyday: Revolutionary practice and the fate of cultural theory. London: Routledge.

Sandhu, S. (2006). Night haunts: A journey through the London night. London: Verso.

Sherringham, M. (2009). Everyday life: Theories and practices from surrealism to the present. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Sibley, D. (1995). Geographies of exclusion. London: Routledge.

Sinclair, I. (eds.) (2012). London: City of disappearances. London: Penguin.

Skeggs, B. (2004). Class, self, culture. London: Routledge.

Smith, P. D. (2012). City: A guidebook for the urban age. London: Bloomsbury.

Smith, Z. (2012). NW. London: Hamish Hamilton.

Solnit, R. (2002). Wanderlust: A history of walking. London: Verso.

Stewart, K. (2007). Ordinary affects. London: Duke University Press.

Symmons, M. & Farley, P. (2012). Edgelands: A journey into England’s true wilderness. London: Vintage.

Taylor, A. (2013). Reconfiguring the natures of childhood. London: Routldge.

Thrift, N., (2007). Non-representational theory: Space, politics, affect. London: Routledge.

Thrift, N. (1996). Spatial formations. London: Sage.

Thirft, N., Tickell, A., Woolgar, S. & Rupp, W. H. (eds.) (2014). Globalization practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Tuan, Y.  F. (2013). Topophilia: A study of environmental perceptions, attitudes and values. New York: Columbia University Press.

Urry, J. (2007). Mobilities. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Vitiello, R. & Willcocks, M. (2011). Unravelling the urban lexicons of our everyday environments. London: Lulu.

Ward, C. (1995). Talking schools. London: Freedom Press.

Weis, L. (eds.) (2008). The way class works: Readings on school, family and the economy. New York: Routledge.

Williams, R. (1975). The country and the city. New York: Oxford University Press.

Wissmann, T. (2014). Geographies of urban sound. New York: Routledge.

Wright, P. (2007). A journey through ruins: The last days of London. Oxford: Oxford University Press.