This course looks at the changing dynamic between cities and suburbs and how schools have been central to this process. Using historical and sociological sources, this course examines the government role in bankrolling the suburbs, desegregating schools, the rise of school choice through magnets and charters, and how the current desegregation of inner ring suburbs and urban gentrification are affecting the landscape of education reform. Part of the course will focus on researching New Haven and its surrounding suburban school systems. Through this course, students will develop the following research skills: 1) write, code and interpret field notes 2) evaluate data and the implications of policy 3) predict unexpected outcomes of seemingly neutral policies and 4) synthesize and create reports. By the end of the course, students will have gained a strong understanding of how school choice, represented generally as a positive market option has huge consequences for where people live, the demographics of communities, where children go to school, and the reproduction of inequality.
