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ANTH 3368 Urban Life

Final Examination
ANTH 3368 Final Examination

Instructions:

Answer two (2) of the following three (3) questions.

Do not write more than four pages (1,000 words) for each answer.

Use Times New Roman (or equivalent) font, 12 point size, double-spaced, 1" margins all around.

In the text of each essay, give references and citations as appropriate -- for example, (Wirth, p. 65), ("Halsted Street" video); (lecture, 11/28/2006).

Do not use other external resources within your essays.

Do remember to write your name on each essay submitted.

The essays will be considered late after the due date/time of December 7th at 2:30 p.m.

Please bring your essays to Heroy 408 and turn them in to one of the staff persons there (Ms. Hogan or Ms. Sarmiento). Electronic submissions will not be accepted.

Question 1.

In his essay "Urbanism as a Way of Life," Louis Wirth defines cities as a type of community which is large, dense, and comprised of socially heterogeneous individuals. Based on your understanding of the lectures, readings, and videos in this class, evaluate the continuing usefulness of Wirth’s approach to contemporary cities in the United States and at least one other major area of the world (e.g., Latin America, Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia).

Question 2.

Using the "My Hometown" data set on the course web site, discuss the range and variation in urban life in contemporary North America. What are three (3) common features that emerge from your examination of this set of communities? And how do these common features exemplify the major features of urban life in North America as conveyed in lectures, readings, and videos?

Question 3.

In urban anthropology and urban sociology, some scholars emphasize the "city" as a location in which distinctive human activities take place; other scholars emphasize the "urban system" which includes all places regardless of their size and other features. Based on your understanding of the lectures, readings, and videos in this class, what do you consider to be the advantages/disadvantages of focusing scholarly attention on "the city" or the "urban system"? Finally, what impact does the historical and contemporary process of globalization have on the "city" and the "urban system"?