GGR400H1-S: Special Topics in Geography I
Masculinity and the 'Hood’
Day/Time: Wednesday 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM; Instructor(s): Tyeshia Redden
The construction of Black masculinity and the tangible consequences of racialized and gendered tropes have been discussed in a vacuum, removed from the structural and policy-driven factors that have contributed to present-day realities. This course examines several urban centers in the United States (Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York) and examines how the intersection of public policy and urban history, manifested through the built environment, has shaped the ways in which Black masculinity is performed and perceived. Through the lenses of film and music, the course centers the narratives of Black men and reveals the role that urban development has played in shaping racial inequality, social inequities, and injustice.
GGR458H1-F: Selected Topics in Urban Geography
Urban Problems
Day/Time: Tuesday 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM; Instructor(s): Jason Hackworth
Cities, or at least parts of cities, have long been framed as a problem, particularly in large sprawling federalist societies like the United States and Canada. Exactly what those problems are, who they affect, and what should be done (or not done) about them vary over time and space. This is a seminar on the social construction of urban problems. We will explore the tension between on-the-ground challenges such as deprivation, crime, and depopulation, on the one hand, and the way that these problems are deployed by political and economic elites to motivate (or in some cases avoid) change, on the other.
GGR499H1– F: Independent Research
Statistical Testing and Analysis
Day/Time: Wednesday 11:00 AM -2:00 PM; Instructor(s): Harald Bathelt
This course is offered jointly with the Graduate Planning course JPG1170H.
This course advances important quantitative methods and techniques used in the analysis of empirical data in Geography, Planning and other Social Sciences. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of statistical methods for graduate and advanced undergraduate students required to
I. quantify relations and dependencies between variables and
II. conduct statistical tests in a variety of applications related to the Canadian urban system.
The topics of the course include probability distributions, statistical testing and inference, as well as linear and non-linear, simple and multiple regression and correlation techniques. The application of these methods through the use of statistical software (primarily SPSS) – both menu- and code-based – will also be part of the course. Canadian Census data comprising a large set of socio-economic variables for metropolitan/urban areas for the years 2011, 2016 and 2021 will be the basis for analyses conducted in class and for the assignments. Students are required to have a background in knowledge of research design, basic descriptive statistics, testing and regression analysis at the undergraduate level. The course will help students develop an intuitive, as well as a more formal understanding of these methods. Although formal language will be used, the course does not require in-depth mathematical knowledge.