A Multi-Faceted Look at the Unseen City

Abstract

This article describes an interdisciplinary, team-taught introduction to the urban situation, called “The Unseen City.” The course began two years ago, as a three-credit follow-up to a popular Notre Dame program called “Urban Plunge,” through which undergraduates visit inner cities across the United States and experience urban problems firsthand. The aim of “The Unseen City” is to foster greater understanding of the complexities of the city, primarily through economic, political, and theological perspectives; and to allow students the opportunity to pursue their own particular interests in this field. To accomplish this, the course includes three major components: “experiential,” of which the Urban Plunge is the main element; “academic”—the class sessions, readings, assignments, and exams; and “specialized,” primarily accomplished through an open-ended student research activity. Each of these components is separately discussed, and the final section comments on some of the advantages and disadvantages of the unusual structures of the course, especially the team-teaching format and the expectations placed on students. A syllabus, with a partial reading list, is also included.