Introduction:

This course concerns different elements of the social and cultural geography of the modern city. The main themes considered are representations of the city, in prose, film, tourist literature and historical writing; identity in the city, thinking particularly about sexuality and race; the imperial and post-imperial city; social exclusion and the city; the role of suburbia in the making of the modern identities; and imagining the city, examining the rhetoric of planning and visionary writing about the city. These themes are both broad and interrelated and no course could hope to do them justice in all contexts. The course therefore examines the ways in which these themes have played out in one particular 'world city': London.

To help you in your work an Information Services team has collaborated with us to create a set of web pages for the course, with hyperlinks both to our own library resources and to a range of interesting sites. The idea is to make material more readily accessible to you and to involve you actively in the search for knowledge and the enjoyment of research. Many of these sites give you access to critical material and discussion groups. In addition we will have our own on-line exchange and discussion failities, giving you the chance to comment on classes and swap ideas and information. I hope you will find this exciting, as well as useful. We are seeking your co-operation in the use and evaluation of this electronic portal, which is at the leading edge of a wider college strategy (called the SCOLAR project) to develop web-based learning tools. We hope you enjoy the experience and find it valuable.

David Gilbert