Cities and Regions of Europe

Cities and Regions of Europe

Jiri Musil

THREE HOURS PER WEEK

In European history, cities and regions played a considerable role, which differed in vari-ous periods due to the changing power of the individual state formations. In the present pe-riod of European integration, the national states are losing some of their competence while the political and cultural role of cities and regions are increas-ing. This course will acquaint the student with the basic facts and cultural patterns of the existing European regions and with the economic, social and cultural competition and symbiosis of large European cities. Concrete examples of their orientation and influence will be presented, i.e. Vienna fin de siecle, Prague of interwar period, London and Paris in the second half of the l9th century. This course will also explain the formation of a new urban structure after the collapse of the commu-nist regimes.

Course requirements:

Midterm Oral Examination, Final essay 10-15 pages, Project

Week 1

Concepts, approaches and methods used in the course: Social and cultural theory of cities. Old and new theories, Diversity of cultures and cities. The meaning of so called European cultural macro-regions. Criteria used in cultural regionalization of Europe. The concept of region in regional econ-omy, the meaning of such terms as province, land, pay. The specificity of European regionalization: diversity and heteroge-neity.

READINGS
White, Paul: 1984. The West European City. A Social Geography. Chapter I: The Legacy of History. p.1-34. London: Longman.
Lees, Andrew: 1985. Cities Perceived Urban Society in European and American Thought. 1820-1940. New York: Columbia University Press. Introduction, p.1-13.

Week 2

Cities as social, political and cultural entities: The comparative approach to the study of cities. Is there a European city? Can we discover differing urban regions in Europe? The chang-ing relations between cities and state in European history. The urban system of Europe in the past and in present time.

READINGS
Claval, Paul: 1985. "Reflections on the Cultural Geography of the European City". In: Lees, Andrew 1985, p. 31-49
White, Paul: 1984. The West European City. A Social Geography. Chapter 1: The Legacy of History. p.1-34. London: Longman.

Week 3 – 4

The term of Europe as used in the course: Cultural regions of Europe, i.e. Europe of religions and of languages. Major changes in language regions in l9th and 20th century Europe. Regions and re-gional cultural patterns, life styles. The future role of cultural regions.

READINGS
Seton-Watson, Hugh: 1989. What is Europe, Where is Europe? From Mystique to Politics. In Search of Central Europe. p.30-36, ed. by Schöpflin,
G., Wood, N. Bames and Noble: Totowa N. Jersey.
Hanak, Peter: 1989. Central Europe: A Historical Region in Modern Times. In Schöpflin. Wood op.cit. p. 57-69.
Rugg Dean S.: 1985. Eastern Europe. Chapter 8: The East European landscape. p. 362- 367. London: Longman.

Week 5 – 6

Socioeconomic divisions of Europe and socioeconomic macroregions: Economic disparities within contemporary Europe. European Union (EU), associated members of the CEU, countries outside EU and not associated. The historical causes of the differences and the causes of economic back-wardness of some macroregions. The new phenomenon of Euroregions (regions "ignoring" the state borders).

READINGS
Rugg, Dean S.1985, chapter 1, p.1-16. Masser Ian, Sviden,
Wegener Michael: 1992. The Geography of Europe´s Future. Chapter 7. Regional Development p. 92-109. London: Belhaven Press.

Week 7

Examples of impressionistic and at the same time stimulating regionalization of Europe: Europe of human types and characters: Hamlet, Don Quixote, Faust, Don Juan, Rastignac, Ivan Karamazoff; Peer Gynt, Svejk. Europe of rivers: Rhine, Danube. Europe of tensions and reconcialiations: France - Germany, Germany - Russia, Great Britain - Germany, Poland-Russia.

READINGS
de Madariaga, Salvador: no date. Portrait of Europe. Chapter 1. The European Spirit. p.11-27. London: Unvin & Allen.

Week 8

Culture and various European orders, the continuous interaction: How cities influenced European cultures and how these cultures influenced the cities in physical patterns, colors, textures, sounds, smells, in the structure of inhabitants, in the life styles and in the artistic and intellectual production.

READINGS
Hohenberg, Paul, M., Lees, Lynn, H.:1985. The Making of Urban Europe 1000-1950. Chapter 8. The Human Consequences of Industrial Urbanization p. 248-289. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Lees, Andrew: 1984. The Metropolis and the Intellectuals. In Metropolis 1890-1940, Sutcliffe, A. (ed.), p. 67-94. London: Mansel.

Week 9 – 10

Fin de siecle Vienna as an example of a glorious city before the disaster of World War I: The role of ethnic and cultural heterogeneity in Vienna's glory at the end of l9th and begin-ning of the 20th century. Vienna as a newcomer among European metropolis competing with Paris, Berlin. The creativity based on cultural plurality and social security of strong middle classes.

READINGS
Schorske, Carl, E.:1981. Fin-de-Siecle Vienna. Politics and Culture. Chapters 1 and 2 p.3-115. New York: Vintage Books.
Hofmann Paul:1988. The Viennese Splendor Twilight and Exile. Introduction p.1-52. New York: Anchor Books.

Week 11

Paris 1830-1914, Paris as a cultural, scientific and political center of Europe: The interaction of power, economy and culture. The role of art and literature.

READINGS
Girouard, Mark: 1985. Cities and People. Chapter 14: Paris and the Boulevards. p. 285- 300. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Shapiro, Theda: 1984. The Metropolis in the Visual Arts: Paris, Berlin, New York, 1890-1940. In Metropolis 1890-1940, Sutcliffe, A. (ed.), p.96-127. London: Mansel.

Week 12

Prague in the period 1890-1938 as an example of a transformation from a provincial city into a small modem metropolis: The role of national revival, nationalism and of the establish-ment of a new state in 1918. Urban growth, politics and cultural drive. Symbiosis of pragmatism and artistic creativity. Comtemporary and future Prague

READINGS
Musil, Jirí: 1991. Prague in Central Europe. Changing Roles and Interactions. Amsterdam: CGO.

Week 13

The possible scenarios of urban and regional futures of Europe and of the European cultural di-versities: The integration of Central and Eastern parts of the continent into European structures.

READINGS
Hall, Peter: 1993. Forces Shaping Urban Europe. Urban Studies, vol. 30, No. 6, p. 883- 898
Musil, Jirí: 1993. Changing Urban Systems in Post-Communist Societies in Central Europe: Analysis and Prediction. Urban Studies. vol. 30, No. 6, p. 899-906
Benevolo, Leonardo: 1993. The European City. Reflections on the future. Oxford: Blackwell, pp 213-219

Bibliography

Claval, Paul: 1985. Reflections on the Cultural Geography of the European City. In: Lees, Andrew 1985, p. 31-49.

Girouard, Mark: 1985. Cities and People. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.

Hall, Peter: 1993. Forces Shaping Urban Europe. Urban Studies, vol. 30, No. 6, p. 883- 898

Hanak, Peter: 1989. Central Europe: A Historical Region in Modern Times. In Search of Central Europe. ed. by Schöpflin, G., Wood, N. Bames and Noble: Totowa N. Jersey, p. 57-69.

Hofmann Paul:1988. The Viennese Splendor Twilight and Exile. New York: Anchor Books.

Hohenberg, Paul, M., Lees, Lynn, H.:1985. The Making of Urban Europe 1000-1950. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Lees, Andrew: 1984. The Metropolis and the Intellectuals. In Metropolis 1890-1940, Sutcliffe, A. (ed.), p. 67-94. London: Mansel.

Lees, Andrew: 1985. Cities Perceived Urban Society in European and American Thought. 1820-1940. New York: Columbia University Press.

de Madariaga, Salvador: no date. Portrait of Europe. London: Unvin & Allen. Masser Ian, Sviden,

Wegener Michael: 1992. The Geography of Europe´s Future. London: Belhaven Press.

Musil, Jiri: 1991. Prague in Central Europe. Changing Roles and Interactions. Amsterdam: CGO.

Musil, Jiri: 1993. Changing Urban Systems in Post-Communist Societies in Central Europe: Analysis and Prediction. Urban Studies. vol. 30, No. 6, p. 899-906

Rugg Dean S.: 1985. Eastern Europe. London: Longman.

Schorske, Carl, E.:1981. Fin-de-Siecle Vienna. Politics and Culture. New York: Vintage Books.

Seton-Watson, Hugh: 1989. What is Europe, Where is Europe? From Mystique to Politics. In Search of Central Europe. ed. by Schöpflin, G., Wood, N. Bames and Noble: Totowa N. Jersey.

Shapiro, Theda: 1984. The Metropolis in the Visual Arts: Paris, Berlin, New York, 1890-1940. In Metropolis 1890-1940, Sutcliffe, A. (ed.), p.96-127. London: Mansel.

White, Paul: 1984. The West European City. A Social Geography. London: Longman.