Considers the reality that, before 1800, most people everywhere lived in rural villages or small towns, in a world of long-familiar faces. More recently, many have lived in cities of more than one million in population in what one sociologist calls a "world of strangers." What difference does it make? How does society control individuals in a big city? How do individuals experience urban life? Social scientists have long debated these questions, and the course examines the major answers that they have proposed. It also considers the implications of those answers for the solution of today's city problems. Prerequisite: Morrissy scholar or permission. Fulfills general education requirements in history and cross-cultural studies. [3 credits]