The Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Department of History hope to add a program emphasizing the importance of urban focus beginning Fall 2010.
‘We want to develop a minor in some aspect of urban studies to encompass a wider variety of people,’ history professor Martin Melosi said.
‘For a metropolitan university to have so few programs that deal with cities seemed to provide an opportunity to develop something from a global perspective, since urban issues transcend location.’
Melosi and assistant architecture professor Michelangelo Sabatino presented a possible new minor May 22. The idea for the program came from a holistic approach to learning.
‘We envision this minor will give students exposure to a number of issues related to history, architecture, public policy, sociology, anthropology and many other areas,’ Sabatino said in an e-mail. ‘Exposure to methods with which to understand world cities is key to helping students identify their future role in the complex scenario that is unfolding in the way we interact with the world at large.’
Associate history professor Kathleen Brosnan is enthused to be part of the minor’s faculty.
‘As a scholar and teacher, most of my work has focused on the history of cities and the central role that has played in the built environment, economic development, cultural transformations, social organization and ecological change,’ Brosnan said in an e-mail. ‘I love the idea of an interdisciplinary minor that considers cities from different geographical, chronological, and disciplinary perspectives. It offers students the opportunity to understand the complex phenomena that define world cities.’
For further review and approval, a steering committee composed of professors from various departments, including professors of German and economics, will promote the proposal to other faculty and the administration at the end of this summer.
‘The steering committee will discuss the practicality of different options, including research driven courses,’ Brosnan said. ‘The faculty members realize and will try to support the university’s commitment to undergraduate research.’
With different elements still in the works, Brosnan said the architecture deans are on board to pass the minor and offer any guidance and support needed in preparation for its arrival.
‘Architecture is willing to take the responsibility, for the sake of a bureaucratic system, of housing the minor,’ Melosi said.
With the Architecture Department volunteering to host the minor, students will have the availability to use the department for job interests involving focus on world cities.
As a proposed undergraduate interdisciplinary course, students will be expected to take a few introductory classes. Melosi wanted to ensure the new minor would be accessible to interested students of all majors.
‘Students have a choice to take these core classes as an individual class or commit as a minor. We don’t want it to be too difficult to enter. A minor is something students can take on that doesn’t directly conflict with their major, but can be a valuable compliment,’ Melosi said.
The growth of the program depends on the amount of interest generated by the student body. According to Melosi, the proposed future of the minor at UH branches is not out of the question.
Bronson said the new minor will positively impact the University’s image.
‘We believe the minor supports the University’s larger goals of enhancing its international reputation and emerging as the nation’s premier public university in an urban setting.’
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