Communication and the City

4 credits

The consequences of evolving communication and media technologies for cities, how they are represented, and for urban economies and ways of life.

When you walk through a city, you “make” the space around you. This is because your identity, occupation, emotions and the baggage you carry affect how you and others view the surrounding space. Is the city a relaxed place for you? One that produces anxiety? Are you interrupted or obstructed as you walk? Do you glide through the streets like a Dunedin seagull? City-spaces are sites of negotiation, contestation, vacation and entrapment for city inhabitants as they communicate and share city-space with other residents, businesses, animals and government authorities. In MFCO 312, we will examine how our experiences of cities, their formation and governance are influenced by communication technologies and practices.

Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the paper will

• Articulate how cities have been transformed historically and technologically
• Critically reflect on their own and others’ experiences of cities as spaces of governance, commerce and leisure
• Develop skills to respond creatively to the urban and demographic changes in cities bought about by communication technologies and practices