Cities in Comparative and Historical Perspective

I'm majoring in Urban Studies because it groups my academic interests of history, political science, and global health into one major.

I come from a small town in Central Oregon, so driving 3 hours north to the "big" city of Portland was like stepping into another world. I am majoring in Urban Studies to better understand how and why cities develop and what roles we can take on as policy makers to guide this growth in an equitable way.

I'm majoring in Urban Studies because the discipline brings many different fields together, endowing its students with a unique way of thinking about social issues. It combines design, history, sociology, literature, and more, to create an understanding of society at one of its most basic levels: human settlement.

The Urban Studies major gives me the flexibility to explore the social sciences and humanities while still following a cohesive course of study.

I've been the Associate Director, Acting Director, and now Co-Director of the Program on Urban Studies since the fall of 2003; I'm also a senior lecturer in Sociology. 

I teach both introductory and upper-level courses in Urban Studies, and courses on the history of American cities, including: