Shu Hirata – TUFS

Shu Hirata specializes in the European history of ideas—focused on France—with a particular emphasis on in urban and spatial theories. In this course, he takes the interplay between urbanization and globalization as a starting point. He will discuss how globalization not only brings changes between nation-states but also produces domestic geographical inequalities through competition among municipalities, and how urbanization now extends beyond the geographical boundaries of cities and impacts various hinterlands, including rural areas, forests, oceans, and wilderness or other undeveloped regions. By critically rethinking existing modes and histories of urbanization together with students, he seeks to envision alternative ways of urbanizing that can inspire a new future for our cities, nations, and the international community.

• Faculty Profile - TUFS