Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in the Professions

Global and Urban Education

This 16-credit interdisciplinary minor in Global and Urban Education Studies introduces students from across New York University to critical social, cultural, economic, political, legal and policy issues in education.  Courses examine the role of education not only in American society but also in international contexts, both urban and non-urban. 

Through elective courses, students choose to focus on one of two options:

Urban Education

This option includes courses that engage with questions of funding, equity, urban youth identities, organization and governance of urban schools, development and implementation of policies and practices, and multicultural and multilingual education. 

Global Education

This option examines social, cultural, and economic aspects of globalization and their implications for the field of education.  Courses examine various topics as they relate to education, including notions of international human rights standards and principles, the emergence of global markets, new information technologies, migration, and comparative studies of socialization, race, class, gender and sexuality in educational contexts.

This minor is appropriate for students considering careers and/or further study in education, including:
A: Required Core Course (4 credits): 

HSED-UE.1005/HIST-UA.0060 Introduction to Education
Offered by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

In this course, students engage with central themes, issues, and controversies in education, such as:

B: Choose one of the following four restricted electives (4 credits):

Urban Education
SOCED-UE.238: Urban Schools in Crisis: Policy Issues and Perspectives
Offered by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

TCHL-UE.41: American Dilemmas: Race, Inequality, and the Unfulfilled Promises of Public Education
Offered by the Department of Teaching and Learning

OR           

Global Education
INTE-UE.10 Introduction to Global Education
INTE-UE.11 Globalization and Education
Offered by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

C: Choose at least 8 credits from the following options—as well as others by advisement:

Urban Education

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
SOED-UE.1025 The Sociology of Urban Life and Education (3 credits)
HSED-UE.610 Education and the American Dream: Historical Perspectives (4 credits)

Department of Media, Culture, and Communication
MCC-UE.1017 Youth Media: Community, Communication and Social Change (4 credits)

Department of Applied Psychology
APSY-UE.5 Community Psychology (4 credits)
APSY-UE.1040 Students in the Community: Service, Leadership and Training  (2 credits)
APSY-UE.1270 Social Intervention in Schools and Communities (4 credits)
APSY-UE.1278 Families, Schools and Child Development (4 credits)

Department of Teaching and Learning
ENGED-UE.1205 Hip Hop and the Teaching of English (3 credits) 

Wagner School of Public Service
UPADM-GP.219 Race, Class, & Gender in American Cities (4 credits)

Silver School of Social Work
UNDSW-US.68 Service Learning through Community Engagement (2 credits)
UNDSW-US.72 Service Learning with Refugee Youth (2 credits)

College of Arts and Science
SCA-UA.115 Introduction to Black Urban Studies (4 credits)
SCA-UA.541 Latino Youth:  Migration & Policing in the Americas (4 credits)
SCA-UA.613 Community Empowerment (4 credits)
SCA-UA.751 Urban Economics (4 credits)
SCA-UA.610 Law and Urban Problems (4 credits)
HIST-UA.639 New York City: A Social History (4 credits)
SOC-UA.137 Wealth, Power, Status: Inequality in Society (4 credits)
SOC-UA.415 Education and Society (4 credits)
SOC-UA.460 Cities, Communities, and Urban Life (4 credits)
SOC-UA.465 Childhood (4 credits)
PSYCH-UA 9036 Community Psychology (4 credits) ****

Global Education

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
HSED-UE.1028 Schooling in Diverse Societies* (4 credits)
HSED-UE.1061 History of Higher Education (4 credits)
INTE-UE.1532 Terrorism, Extremism and Education (4 credits)
INTE-UE.1010 International Human Rights Activism and Education (4 credits)
INTE-UE.1545/ LIBAR-UE.531 Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the New Immigration (4 credits)
INTE-UE.1xxx International Perspectives On Gender and Education (4 credits)**
INTE-UE.1xxx Contemporary International Relations: Peace, Security, and Education (4 credits)**
INTE-UE 1141 Justice, Reason, and Culture (4 credits)
INTE-UE 1012-001  God ,Schools and the Globe  (4 Credits)
INTE-UE 1011  Billionaires, Best Intentions, and Public Education (4 credits)
PHED-UE.10/LIBAR-UE.501: Learning and the Meaning of Life
SOED-UE.1214 Education and Development in Latin America (4 credits)
SOC-UA.9415 Sociology of Education: Global Education in the 21st Century (4 credits)***

Silver School of Social Work
UNDSW-US.68 Service Learning through Community Engagement (4 credits)
UNDSW-US.72 Service Learning with Refugee Youth (2 credits)

College of Arts and Science
ECON-UA.323 Economic Development (4 credits)

* course is offered in Ghana during summer session
** course is in development
***course is offered at NYU Berlin
****course is offered at NYU Accra

Fall 2013 Courses*:

INTE-UE 10 Introduction to Global Education (4 credits): This survey course offers an introduction to the field of global education. Education in the 21st century is undoubtedly a central area for international collaboration as well as contestation. In this survey course, we will examine key debates about the role of education in national & international society, examining the multiple stake holders that work to improve education globally, & their diverse interpretations of that mandate. The course will introduce students to the history of mass education as a global phenomenon, & the comparative ways in which it is now studied. Students will examine both K-12 & higher education. 

TCHL-UE 41 American Dilemmas: Race, Inequality, and the Unfulfilled (4 credits): This course provides students with background on the historical & sociological foundation of education in the United States. It examines the role that education has played in advancing civil & human rights I it explores the ways in which education continues to be implicated in the maintenance of social inequality in American society. Through readings, lectures, films & class debates, students will gain an understanding of some of the most complex & controversial issues confronting education today including: affirmative action, Bi-Lingual Education, Special Education, the achievement gap, school choice & vouchers, & the role of race & culture in student achievement. 

TCHL-UE 1030 Lang Acquis and Literacy Educ/Multi & Multi Cntxt (4 credits): Students will explore the first and second language acquisition process and their implications for the development of literacy skills in multicultural settings. Particular focus will be on both remedial and development processes for acquiring advanced reading and writing skills across the curriculum in middle childhood and adolescence. Emphasis is also placed on the varieties of language and literacy acquisition processes and the role of culture, family, and society in learning. 

HSED-UE 610 Educ/American Dream: Historical Perspectives (4 credits): The course will examine historical perspectives on the relationship between public schooling and the promotion of democratic ideals. Students will explore some of the central goals and purposes of American public education over the past two centuries, and the historiographical debates about those goals and purposes. In the second half of the course, students will the relationship between schooling and civic education, and between schooling and specific communities, in order to ask whether the goals of schooling might promote or contradict the goals of particular groups who seek to benefit from public education, and ways in which education does not promote democratic ideals.           

HSED-UE 1033 Culture Wars in America (4 credits): This course will examine the origins, development, and meanings of so-called cultural conflict in the United States. Topics will include abortion, gay rights, bilingualism, and the teaching of evolution in public schools. 

HSED-UE 1067 History of Higher Education (4 credits): Discussions of selected topics in the social & intellectual history of higher education in America since 1750. Integration of educational policies & functions, with attention to limitations of educational responsibility, development of institutional structures, changing modes for gaining & imparting knowledge, & the social prerogatives and initiatives variously assigned to an educated class. 

SOED-UE 1015 Education as Social Institution (4 credits): Part of the common pedagogical core, this course provides an introduction to the social foundations of education. The structure of education in terms of the rights and responsibilities of teachings, administrators, community members and policy makers in relation to the rest of the society are explored from both legal and sociological credits of view. Comparisons with education and schooling in other countries are made. The study of particular school and professional issues includes diversity, student variability, bilingualism, and special education in terms of their effects on policy, practice, and student and teacher rights. 

SOED-UE 1050 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Topics in Education (4 credits): This course focuses on LGBT experiences, with an emphasis on schools & young people. The course helps students develop vocabulary & general understanding of LGBT identities, particularly as they are depicted through sexual identity development models & popular coming out narratives. Students will apply social theory to coming out narratives to gain a critical perspective on how LGBT identities are produced. Students will also examine how schools have responded to sexual & gender diversity, paying particular attention to obstacles & potential solutions to create inclusive educational environments for LGBT people.                                   

MCC-UE 1018 Kids in Media Culture: An examination of debates about children, adolescents, and media is grounded in research about how kids actually use and value different media, and find meaning in different socio-cultural contexts. Discussions explore the social, cultural, and political implications of these situations, and suggestions for action. 

APSY-UE 1278 Families, Schools, and Child Development (4 credits): Examination of the complex relationships between family & school systems, with a special focus on low-income urban communities as they relate to child development. Topics explore the roles culture, immigration, & racial/ethnic diversity play in establishing effective partnerships between families & schools. 

ENGED-UE 1205 Hip Hop and The Teaching of English (4 credits): Examines ways that hip hop culture, texts, and language exists as valuable resources worthy of serious study in secondary English classrooms. Students will learn to teach English by learning hip hop, learning about hip hop, and learning through hip hop. Group projects focus on grounded investigations in the area of critical literacy, sociolinguistics, and English language arts teaching/learning. Readings will cover divergent voices in contemporary society as students consider ways to integrate such voices into existing language and literacy curriculums, K through college.                                               

CHDED-UE 1142 Integrated Curr/Multi Ed Soc Studies/Curr Design (4 credits): This course will provide an introduction to the foundations of multicultural, culturally relevant education, with particular attention to its implications in the area of social studies. We will examine issues of historical and current inequity in our schools and society. Explores dimensions of identity and diversity, as well as concepts of prejudice, discrimination and racism. Introduces the theory and skills necessary for successful culturally responsive teaching. Establishes the basis for planning integrative, social studies curricula that are inclusive of all voices and perspectives, and which prepare students to be agents of change in their own lives and education. Models broad variety of instructional strategies aimed at eliciting participation of diverse learners. This course proposed that multicultural education is by definition and necessity teaching for social justice. 

UNDSW-US 55 Diversity, Racism, Oppression and Privilege (4 credits): The course centers on expanding the student's understanding of the meaning of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and culture, as well as the concepts of prejudice, discrimination, oppression, stigma, and stereotyping. Racism, particularly as it impacts on personal, professional, institutional, and societal levels, is studied. Special attention is given to the experiences of African Americans and Latino/as in U.S. society in general and in the New York City metropolitan area in particular. Within an integrative perspective, implications for direct and indirect social work practice are explored. Specifically, the importance of ethnoculturally competent practice for the individual worker and the design of service delivery systems are covered.      

UNDSW-US 68 Service Learning Through Community Engagement (4 credits): This course is offered as a co-requisite for student participation in a weekly community service opportunity on the Lower East Side. Students will provide tutoring for K-12 youth and/or adult learners from disadvantaged backgrounds at the University Settlement House. The accomThis course is offered as a co-requisite for student participation in a weekly community service opportunity on the Lower East Side. Students will provide tutoring for K-12 youth and/or adult learners from disadvantaged backgrounds at the University Settlement House. The accompanying course will offer broad and general content related to students' service experiences. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the individuals with whom they are working and the contexts in which they live and learn. The course will touch on the fundamentals of engaging individuals in a helping situation; theories related to individual development; implications of race, ethnicity, culture and immigration; impacts of multiple social contexts: the family, peers, school, social agencies and community; understanding the effects of social oppression on people's lives: poverty, racism, sexism, classism, etc. Students will be expected to do journal writing and will have opportunities in class to share their experiences.

UNDSW-US 72 Service Learning With Refugee Youth (4 credits): This weekly one-hour course is offered as a co-requisite for student participation in a weekly community service opportunity with refugees. Emphasis will be placed on students. understanding of the individuals with whom they are working and the contexts in which they live and learn. Students will learn about immigration and resettling refugees. The course will touch on the fundamentals of engaging individuals in a helping situation; theories related to individual development; implications of race, ethnicity, culture and immigration; impacts of multiple social contexts: the family, peers, school, social agencies and community; understanding the effects of social oppression on people's lives: poverty, racism, sexism, classism, etc. Students will be expected to do journal writing and will have opportunities in class to share their experience. As part of their community service they will provide academic coaching and mentoring for refugees from such nations as Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma, Moldova, Uganda, and Sudan for a minimum of two hours weekly at Brooklyn International High School (Tuesdays or Wednesdays from 2:30pm to 4:30pm).

*Note that these are only a few of the offerings during Fall 2013.