MONASH UNIVERSITY FACULTY HANDBOOKS
Arts Undergraduate Handbook 1996
Published by Monash University
Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia
Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
HSY2850
The Australian city: contemporary problems in historical perspective
Graeme Davison and others
8 points + One lecture and one 1.5-hour seminar per week plus three 2-hour
field excursions + Second semester + Clayton
Synopsis This subject examines contemporary concerns about the structure
and functions of Australian cities in the light of past debates about the
future of cities and the historical experience of urban change. It analyses a
range of past and present representations of the city placing them in both
comparative and historical perspective. Attention will be paid to images of
urban life in popular culture, such as film and television. Students will be
expected to engage in fieldwork and project related research. Among the
specific questions to be considered are: How do cities compete with each other,
and who wins? Is suburban sprawl a benefit or a liability? Is the suburb a
female prison? Why have Australians become so attached to the idea of
individual home ownership. Have Australians been successful in absorbing
immigrants, and, if so, why? Are Australian cities becoming more unequal and
more dangerous? In what ways do cities contribute to, or retard, cultural and
social innovation?
Assessment Document exercise (1000 words): 20% + Fieldwork report (1000
words): 20% + Research essay (3000 words): 40% + Examination (1 hour): 20%
Recommended texts
- Johnson L (ed.) Suburban dreaming: An interdisciplinary approach to
Australian cities Deakin U P, 1994
- Frost L Australian cities in comparative perspective Penguin, 1991
- McCalman J Struggletown: Public and private life in Richmond,
1900-1965 MUP, 1984
- Davison G The rise and fall of marvellous Melbourne MUP, 1978
- Peel M Good times, hard times: The past and future in Elizabeth MUP,
1995
- Davison G, Dingle T and O'Hanlon S (eds) The cream brick frontier:
Histories of Australian suburbia Monash History Monographs, 1995
- Gibson K, and Watson S (eds) Metropolis now: Planning and the urban in
contemporary Australia Pluto Press, 1994
- Sandercock L Property, politics and urban planning: A history of
Australian city planning Transactions Publishing, 1990
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