Course Information
SemesterCourse Unit CodeCourse Unit TitleT+P+LCreditNumber of ECTS CreditsLast Updated Date
2POLS 532Cities and Citizenship3+0+03804.11.2025

 
Course Details
Language of Instruction English
Level of Course Unit Master's Degree
Department / Program MA Program in Political Science and International Relations (Thesis) (English)
Type of Program Formal Education
Type of Course Unit Elective
Course Delivery Method Face To Face
Objectives of the Course 1-Demonstrate strong knowledge of complex theories of urban politics and urban sociology, as well as their relation to global politics.
Relate urban politics studies to other fields of study in political science

2-Analyze emerging power relations in urban space, and predict future consequences and impacts on social cohesion and rights of citizenship.


3-Develop critical assessment of research in the field from different angles, and relate them to other fields of study.

4. Adapt theoretical research and produce creative formulation of new
knowledge in the field of Political Science and Global politics.

5.Exhibit professionalism, skillfulness, and creativity in planning, executing and evaluating urban strategies and action plans in a complex and critical manner, and be open to various perspectives and sources of knowledge
beneficial to political engagement.

6. Critically analyze and evaluate ideas and theories and sources of knowledge in the discipline of Political Science and International Relations to produce authentic knowledge in that specific field of study of urban politics and citizenship.

7. Be able to formulate valid arguments about the status of urban conditions and how to achieve change and engagement in urban spaces
8. Demonstrate commitment to civic virtues, and develop strategies of deliberation and activism to avoid eruption of violence due to wide gaps between classes, ethnicities and citizens/immigrants.
Course Content The course allows students to understand the role of place and space in shaping politics.
It will examine historical formations of the urban, and its relation to the rural and tribal societies, and the social, political and economic factors determining the rise of modern cities.
The city in political thought will be explored, and how we can compare diverse ideas and experiences across civilizations and regions.
Students will be introduced to the theories of citizenship, cosmopolitanism and globalization.
The theme of social movements and urban political logics of action, participation and engagement will be highlighted, with special focus on the Arab spring.
Course Methods and Techniques
Prerequisites and co-requisities None
Course Coordinator Associate Prof.Dr. Ali ASLAN
Name of Lecturers Associate Prof.Dr. ALİ ASLAN
Assistants None
Work Placement(s) No

Recommended or Required Reading
Resources https://library.ihu.edu.tr/veri-tabanlari/
Course Notes The readings and discussions will be framed by the different concepts of citizenship, the right to the city, and the right to the state. The course will conclude by highlighting the impact of the above on the future of the city and the meaning and scope of citizenship and civility.
Documents Please see the weekly schedule
Assignments Will be announced at the begenning of the semester
Exams 1 midterm and 1 final exam

Course Category
Social Sciences %100

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
Activities are given in detail in the section of "Assessment Methods and Criteria" and "Workload Calculation"

Assessment Methods and Criteria
In-Term Studies Quantity Percentage
Mid-terms 1 % 15
Assignment 10 % 25
Attendance 1 % 15
Project 1 % 25
Final examination 1 % 20
Total
14
% 100

 
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration Total Work Load
Course Duration 14 3 42
Hours for off-the-c.r.stud 14 6 84
Assignments 10 5 50
Mid-terms 1 20 20
Project 1 20 20
Final examination 1 20 20
Total Work Load   Number of ECTS Credits 8 236

 
Course Learning Outcomes: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
NoLearning Outcomes
1 Demonstrate strong knowledge of complex theories of urban politics and urban sociology, as well as their relation to global politics.
2 Analyze emerging power relations in urban space, and predict future consequences and impacts on social cohesion and rights of citizenship.
3 Develop critical assessment of research in the field from different angles, and relate them to other fields of study.
4 Adapt theoretical research and produce creative formulation of new knowledge in the field of Political Science and Global politics.
5 Exhibit professionalism, skillfulness, and creativity in planning, executing and evaluating urban strategies and action plans in a complex and critical manner, and be open to various perspectives and sources of knowledge beneficial to political engagement.

 
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
WeekTopicsStudy MaterialsMaterials
1 Defining the Urban : On Being Political Mumford,M. (1937). What is a city. Architectural record, 82(5), 59-62.(PDF) - Heidegger,M. (1971) “Building, Dwelling, Thinking” in: Heidegger,M. Poetry, Language, Thought, Translated by Albert Hofstadter. N.Y.: Harper and Row.pp.141-160. (PDF) -Isin,I. (2002).Being Political Genealogies of Citizenship. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.pp.1-52
2 The City in political thought and history - Mumford.L.(1960). The City in History: Its origins, its transformations, and its prospects. London: Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (Chapters 1-2). - Isin, E. “Historical Sociology of the City”. in: Gerard Delanty (ed.). Handbook of Historical Sociology.London: Sage. pp.312-324.
3 : State and Space -Brenner,N.(Ed. et al.).(2003). State/ Space: A Reader. Oxford: Blackwell.pp.1-26. -Nezar Alsayyad, & Ananya Roy,Medieval modernity: on citizenship and Urbanism in a Global Era. Space & Polity, 10(1), (2006)1-20.
4 Urban Sociology as condition for the political -May,T. et al. (2005).The Future of Urban Sociology. Sociology.Volume 39(2): 343–370. - Da Cruz,N. et al. (2019) New urban governance: A review of current themes and future priorities, Journal of Urban Affairs, 41:1, 1-19,
5 Cities and Citizenship - Smith,R. (2015). “The Questions Facing Citizenship in the Twenty-First Century”, in: Kruman, M. and Marback ,R.(eds.).The Meaning of Citizenship, Michigan: Wayne University Press, (Chapter 1) - Giorgio Agamben, Beyond Human Rights”, in: Eduardo Cadava and Aaron Levy (Eds.).Cities Without Citizens, Philadelphia: Slought Books, pp.2-12
6 Everyday life - Beveridge,R. and Koch,P. (2019 ), “Urban everyday politics: Politicising practices and the transformation of the here and now”. Environment and Planning / Society and Space. Vol. 37(1) 142–157. - Bayat,A. (2010)Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East.Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press,pp.1-26,43-65.
7 The Production of Space and its power dynamics -Henri Lefebvre, The Production of Space, Translated by Donald Nicholson-Smith,Oxford: Blackwell, 1991, pp.1-67 - Agnew,J.(2005). “Sovereignty Regimes: Territoriality and State Authority in Contemporary World Politics”. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 95, No. 2 .pp.437-461.
8 Midterm and : Immigrants, Nomads and the Cities -Bauman, Z. (1996). From pilgrim to tourist—or a short history of identity. In S. Hall & P. Du Gay (Eds.), Questions of cultural identity. Sage Publications, Inc. Questions of Cultural Identity, pp.18-36. -Nail,T. The Figure of the Migrant. (2015) California: Stanford University Press.pp.1-20.
9 Cities between Militarization and Chaos - Bauman,Z. (1999)Urban space wars: On destructive order and creative chaos. Citizenship studies, 3(2). pp.173-185. -Graham,S. (2011) Cities under siege: The New Military Urbanism. London: Verso Books. pp.1-88.
10 Cosmopolitanism and the Global Dimesnion - Curtis,S. (2011). “Global cities and the transformation of the International System”, Review of International Studies, Vol. 37, No. 4 October 2011), pp. 1923-1947. -Saskia Sassen, “Cosmopolitanism and the Diasporas:Urban Capabilities-An Essay On Our Challenges And Differences”, Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 65, No. 2, The Future of the City(Sprıng/Summer 2012), pp. 85-95
11 The City in the Islamic Political Imaginary - Ziada,H.(2011), “Preliminary Notes on Islamic Political Space: Madina In Quranic Discourse. Journal of Islamic Architecture .Volume 1. Issue 4. December. pp.199-209. - Macarimbang,A.T. (2013). “Envisioning a Perfect City: An Introduction to al-Farabi’s Political Philosophy”, in: IQRA: Journal for Islamic Identities and Dialogue in Southeast Asia, Volume 1. pp. 73-92. - Saoud, R.(2002). Introduction to the Islamic City, Manchester: Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilization.
12 Islamic Modern Public Spaces -Janet L. Abu-Lughod. .(1987). “ The Islamic City-Historic Myth, Islamic Essence, and Contemporary Relevance” in: International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2 . May. pp. 155-176. -Desplat,P. &Schulz,D (Editors).(2012) Prayer in the City: The Making of Muslim Sacred Places and Urban Life (Global / Local Islam. Bielfeld: Transcript Verlag. pp.1-30.
13 Urbanism and Dissent: The Arab Spring Julie-Anne Boudreau Environment and Planning A 2007, volume 39, pages 2593 ^ 2611 - Tawil-Souri,H.(2012). “Egypt's Uprising and the Shifting Spatialities of Politics”. Cinema Journal. Fall. Vol. 52, No. 1 . pp. 160-166
14 : Cities, Power and War - Sassen,S.(2010). “When the City Itself Becomes a Technology of War”, Theory, Culture & Society.Vol. 27(6): 33-50. Coward ,M.(2009).Urbicide:The politics of urban destruction, New York: Routledge. Full book will be read. Chapters will be presented by students.

 
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5
All 5 4 5 5 4
C1 4 5 4 4 4
C2 4 4 4 4 5
C3 5 5 4 4 4
C4 4 5 4 5 5
C5 5 4 4 5 4

  Contribution: 1: Very Slight 2:Slight 3:Moderate 4:Significant 5:Very Significant

  
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