Urban sociologists have approached the question as to what constitutes “urban spaces” from a variety of different perspectives. In this course we critically interrogate a number of theoretical frameworks that allow us to understand how urban spaces are constituted by political, economic, and social processes operating at multiple and interconnected scales from global to local.  Specifically we examine how functionalist, structuralist, post-structuralist and postmodern theoretical approaches conceptualize the relationships among broader processes of society, “urban spaces” and people’s daily lives in cities.  We pay particular attention to how “race,” class, and gender inequalities shape the social and spatial organization of cities. Based on a grounded understanding of the theoretical frameworks discussed in the first part of the course, we explore contemporary debates concerning different types of urban spaces including ghettos, skid rows, barrios, ethnic neighborhoods, gentrified spaces, tourist areas, industrial wastelands, and suburbs.  Each student is expected to review a key text, to produce weekly journal entries, and to write papers on selected topics around contemporary urban issues that are of interest to them.