Courses - Spring 2026

Tri-Co Philly Image
Image of Mural on Building of Refugees

Photo: Calista Cleary

A Sociological Journey to Immigrant Communities in Contemporary Greater Philadelphia (SOCL B232)
Veronica Montes, BMC
Monday, 12:15-3:00 p.m.

Since its establishment in 1682, Philadelphia has welcomed numerous immigrant communities. However, their settlement has often been accompanied by racial, political, cultural, religious, and social tensions. Some of the older communities include Germans, Poles, Jews, Irish, Italians, and African Americans from the South. In the mid-20th century, the city saw an influx of Puerto Ricans, Africans, and Asians. In the last 30 years, immigrants from Mexico and Central and South America have also settled here. This course aims to familiarize students with Philadelphia’s history, its socioeconomic and political transformations, and how longtime and new residents have faced these changes. Furthermore, it will explore how all these immigrant communities have contributed to Philadelphia’s reputation as the "City of Brotherly Love."

In this course, we will examine, through a sociological lens, the various factors that influence immigration. We will explore the push factors that lead immigrants to leave their homelands and the pull factors that make Philadelphia an attractive place for them to settle. Additionally, we will analyze how these push and pull factors have evolved over time and how they intersect with race, ethnicity, and gender within different migrant communities in Philadelphia. The course will highlight how immigrant communities have shaped the city at various points in history and, conversely, how the Philadelphia metropolitan region has impacted the lives of these immigrants. This course will be taught in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program.  Counts for: CC; Tags: LAILS, CFS, CITY

View of Center City Philadelphia from atop City Hall.

Photo: Tanya Hoard

Architecture and Urbanism of Philadelphia (ARTH 029)
Brian Goldstein, SC
Wednesday 12:15-3:00 p.m.

Philadelphia offers a nearly unmatched physical record of American architectural and urban history. Even a cursory list touches on many major developments in the built environment over the last five centuries: William Penn’s Philadelphia Plan; Eastern State Penitentiary; W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Philadelphia Negro; Philadelphia Savings Fund Society; Carl Mackley Houses; Levittown; and Society Hill. This course turns to this history not only to understand the specific arc of architecture and planning in an influential metropolitan area, but also to understand how these examples can teach about broader themes in Philadelphia and beyond, including the history of land use and planning, the industrial and urban revolutions, social struggle and social change, public memory, and aesthetic and formal innovation. The course will combine discussion with extensive first hand observation in Philadelphia and visits with local experts to introduce the foundational methods of architectural and urban history, some of the questions that animate it, and the major cultural, political, and social forces that have shaped it.

This course will proceed from two basic assumptions: that the built environment, as a cultural product, is a rich archival record; and that architecture and urbanism are not born complete but made by people through discussion, debate, contingency, use, and reuse. These will offer the framework for an interdisciplinary introduction to the history of Philadelphia’s built environment through a variety of sources: paintings, archival documents, maps, drawings, and scholarly texts from fields including art history, history, sociology, and political science. Our primary text will be the city itself, with both brief and extended field trips a central part of the class. This course will be taught in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program. This course will be taught in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program.

Image of Painting of Wooden Shoe

Photo: Calista Cleary

Literary Philadelphia – A Collective Exploration (ENGL 093P)
Moriel Rothman-Zecher, SC
Thursday, 12:15-3:00 p.m.

Philadelphia offers a nearly unmatched physical record of American architectural and urban history. Even a cursory list touches on many major developments in the built environment over the last five centuries: William Penn’s Philadelphia Plan; Eastern State Penitentiary; W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Philadelphia Negro; Philadelphia Savings Fund Society; Carl Mackley Houses; Levittown; and Society Hill. This course turns to this history not only to understand the specific arc of architecture and planning in an influential metropolitan area, but also to understand how these examples can teach about broader themes in Philadelphia and beyond, including the history of land use and planning, the industrial and urban revolutions, social struggle and social change, public memory, and aesthetic and formal innovation. The course will combine discussion with extensive first hand observation in Philadelphia and visits with local experts to introduce the foundational methods of architectural and urban history, some of the questions that animate it, and the major cultural, political, and social forces that have shaped it.

This course will proceed from two basic assumptions: that the built environment, as a cultural product, is a rich archival record; and that architecture and urbanism are not born complete but made by people through discussion, debate, contingency, use, and reuse. These will offer the framework for an interdisciplinary introduction to the history of Philadelphia’s built environment through a variety of sources: paintings, archival documents, maps, drawings, and scholarly texts from fields including art history, history, sociology, and political science. Our primary text will be the city itself, with both brief and extended field trips a central part of the class. This course will be taught in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program. This course will be taught in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program.