Representing the Urban Landscape
   

Just because this section of BGS 392 is online doesn't mean we can't get together, have fun, and learn stuff in the process!  How's that, you may ask?  Enter the Humanities Field Trip Experience.  Such excursions are not only fun learning experiences, but also great opportunities to get class credit for getting out and exploring some of Chicago's great cultural resources.  Besides that, they help foster a sense of community and camaraderie among you and your fellow classmates. 

: : A quick qualification -- although I strongly encourage all of you to attend the field trip, I'm realistic enough to know that not everyone will be able to make the scheduled date, given your commitments for work, family, and school--not to mention geographic location.  That's why I always have several alternatives available, whether "in the field" or on the web, for those folks with scheduling conflicts (see below).

Chicago Humanities Festival, Sun. 11/2, 1-4pm

One of the great things about teaching BGS 392 in the fall semester is that we have a chance to attend the annual Chicago Humanities Festival, a several-week-long celebration of the Arts and Humanities that takes place at several cultural institutions around the city.  A quick scan of the Festival program reveals a host of fascinating and entertaining programs.  For our class, I've selected a couple of Sunday afternoon programs at the Harris Theatre (205 E. Randolph, at the north end of Millennium Park) that are connected with the Burnham Plan Centennial for 2008-09 in Chicago.

       
A drawing from The Plan of Chicago (1909)

The two programs are "The Plan of Chicago," a roundtable discussion among Chicago-based architects, planners, historians, and critics, takes place at 12-1:30pm.  Soon afterward is the presentation "The Global City of the Future," which runs from 2:30 to 4pm (both in the Harris Theatre).  These exciting programs not only tie in beautifully to our material for week 7 ("Planning Chicago") but they're free.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Logistics and Alternative Activities

We will discuss logistical information for the trips as they come up in the semester.  I encourage people to form carpools based on where you're located in the Chicago area, and will set up a discussion forum to facilitate making contact with your classmates and arranging rides.  

For those unable to attend the scheduled trip, you've got plenty of options to get in on the action. You may either attend another session of the Humanities Festival (such as the Burnham 2.0 exhibit on public transportation running from Nov. 8 thru Jan. 19 at the Chicago History Museum) on a date convenient to you; choose another institution or event to attend (an excellent alternative is the "Chicago:  Crossroads of America" permanent exhibit at the Chicago History Museum or the Art Institute's exhibit of illustrations from Burnham's 1909 Plan)); or find and explore a web resource related to the theme/topic of the Plan of Chicago / urban planning.  Since we'll chat about our field trip experiences in the Discussion Board after the trip, it's actually great to have the added variety and perspectives of those folks who pursued an alternative activity.

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Last Updated:  25 October 2008