Led by top scholars and practitioners in their fields, these first semester courses connect students to the city of Chicago and encourage reflection on those experiences with a cohort of student peers. Students investigate aspects of Columbia College Chicago's diverse urban and cultural setting. Courses introduce students to different learning environments, issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and deeper ways of engaging the urban contexts and communities of Chicago.
Section 01: Access, Civic Life & City Design: Honors
Taught by: Marcella David (Business and Entrepreneurship)
Tuesdays, Thursdays 10:30-11:50 am, 618, #LL02
"Access" has many connotations. It can mean the actual physical means of entering a location, the permission given to people seeking to enter a location, start a career, or communicate with a person, or the ability someone may have to make use of a resource. Each of these instances of "access" is linked to a design or plan: an architect's choice between a ramp or stairs, the decision to limit enrollment of a new school building to children living within 20 blocks and not 25 blocks, the decision to locate a free clinic far away from public transportation. We will investigate how Chicago's design choices influence how people experience and use the city. On walking tours and site visits throughout the city, students will examine and critically evaluate the current condition of Chicago's urban spaces and investigate how different people may be welcomed or discouraged from fully participating in Chicago's civic life. As part of our analysis we will explore how markers of difference, including physical ability, race, socio- economic status and gender, may be influential elements of design that expand or restrict access.
Section 02: The Global Metropolis: Honors
Taught by: Erin McCarthy (Humanities, History and Social Sciences)
Tuesdays 12:30-3:20 pm, 618, #LL01
The course will introduce students to Chicago's economic, ethnic, racial, cultural, and political development. Students develop knowledge concerning the impact of technological change on Chicago and the economic and demographic forces that have helped shape the city's history. In addition, the class will help Columbia freshman to gain access to the various cultural institutions and neighborhoods of the city.
Section 03: A City of Neighborhoods: Honors
Taught by: Steven Corey (Humanities, History and Social Sciences)
Tuesdays 12:30-3:20 pm, 618, #LL02
Chicago is a city of neighborhoods. Hundreds of neighborhoods. Some are distinct, even infamous, such as Lincoln Park, Wrigleyville, Pilsen, Bronzeville, and Hyde Park, others obscure or unknown to outsiders such as Mayfair and Hegewisch. In this course, we will visit (in class field trips or small teams) select neighborhoods and cultural landmarks in the Chicago metropolitan area to explore and experience the various ways that people interact with where they live and work. We will be exposed to a host of local characteristics, social issues, and public amenities, such as the Chicago Transit Authority and the Chicago Public Library. We will also explore nonprofit and community-based organizations dedicated to remembering, preserving, and improving the unique heritage and ways of life in various corners of the city.
Section 04: Wild in Chicago: Honors
Taught by: Robin Whatley (Science and Mathematics)
Thursdays 12:30-3:20 pm, 618, #LL01
How do we notice and consider animals in the city? Pigeons, rats, dogs, cats…. and also red foxes, bobcats, flying squirrels, North American beavers, river otters, little brown bats, peregrine falcons, spiny softshell turtles, leopard frogs, blue spotted salamanders, American eels, deertoe mussels, dark fishing spiders, common green darner dragonflies, monarch butterflies, rusty patched bumblebees…are just a small sampling of the non-human animals navigating life in Chicago environments. Where do these animals live and how do we co-exist in urban environments? The parks, neighborhoods, air, soil, rivers, lake, and even skyscrapers, bridges, train tracks, and sidewalk cracks are homes to the city’s animals. We’ll explore animal and plant habitats on walking tours and site visits around and beyond the Columbia campus, and investigate how development and planning decisions can impact the biodiversity of natural environments over time. We will create a field guide documenting and analyzing our observations and perspectives on nature, recording how, when, and where to find wildlife in the city, and we'll reflect on the meaning, importance, and creative inspiration that nature and animals can contribute to our own urban lives.