LLAS 253 Mexico City: Biography of a Capital

This interdisciplinary course will survey the urban geography and cultural history of Mexico City from the late nineteenth century to the present. Through a range of sources including photographs, literature, film, art, architecture, and public spaces we will chart the growth of the oldest capital in the Americas as it developed into the world's original mega city and what journalist David Lida argues is the capital of the 21st century. The lectures and discussions will center on a series of overlapping questions: How did Mexico City take shape culturally and physically in the modern era? What traces remain of the colonial city? How should we conceptualize and theorize the city? How have different social groups and individuals negotiated and appropriated urban spaces? What have been the political and environmental consequences of the city's explosive growth? Through writing assignments and digital mapping we will develop sensitivity to historical contingency in the development of urban space and skills for cultural and visual analysis.