Urban Cultures

ended

Based on the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Urban Dynamics (2015-2018), the planned joint master Urban Cultures (UC) will provide students interested in urban cultural studies transdisciplinary competencies to foster sustainable and urban diversity oriented cultural agency in a European and Latin American setting. UC is grounded on four pillars: reflective urban aesthetics & city semiotics; sociocultural urban transformation; creativity & urban cultural resilience; and socio-environmental urban regeneration. Besides treating core urbanism theories and practices, the curriculum focuses on the importance of arts and culture for sustainable and inclusive urban planning and management. The envisioned joint master’s degree (120 ECTS) will be offered by the Universities of Augsburg, Santiago de Compostela and Coimbra with the Universities of São Paulo and El Salvador in Buenos Aires. In semester 1, students draw on the Humanities (cultural media & history, ecocriticism, sociolinguistics) to study the relevance of urban imaginaries, heritage, and discourses. From a human geography perspective (urban commons, regional planning, city management), students conceive in the 2nd semester interactions that tackle with the needs of different actors and address interdependent urban challenges posed by pandemics, degradation, tourism, migration, coloniality, and inequality. In semester 3, students apply methods for cultural mapping and community-centred interventions to connect sociocultural dynamics with urban planning means. In the 4th semester, a master's thesis is accomplished at one of the European Universities, depending on study track. Also, students must absolve either a Latin American study mobility or a practical unit at one of the non-academic EU partners. With support of a transatlantic network of already more than 30 stakeholders, the EMDM-UC seeks to establish a polyvalent and transprofessional formation of future urban cultural administrators and policy makers.