Theory of the Experiment: The Laboratory and the City

The course explores how cities act as laboratories for social and political change. Over the course of the semester, we study urban transformations and breaking points in the modern era. We learn about critical theories and concepts born through situated urban research. We delve into questions of infrastructures and the provisioning of public goods at the intersection of race, gender, and class. Perspectives of the Eastern European city (Post-)Socialist city, Islamic City or Middle Eastern City are interrogated to develop a shared vocabulary and toolkit of multi-sited de-centered urban studies. We reflect on changing trends of the so-called Second and Third World urbanization and subsequent topics of emerging prominence. The course is taught in cooperation between the European Humanities University in Vilnius and the American University of Beirut. The class experiments with the formats of research-based narrative, collage, and video documentation from the perspectives of each city.

This course counts towards the Civic Engagement certificate and Human Rights certificate.

American University of Beirut offers this course under the name "Arab Society and Culture".