Discover how cities can develop a distinct heritage through embracing cultural diversity.

- Duration3 weeks
- Weekly study3 hours
Cultural Diversity and the City
Understand the importance of cultural diversity to the thriving city
Cities all over the world have embraced cultural and religious diversity, creating unique heritages. On this course you will investigate both ‘old’ and ‘new’ diversities in city heritage in four different continents.
You will look at cities with a divisive heritage (Bristol as a slave port) and a post-migration heritage (such as Cologne in Germany). You will will also look at major post-colonial urban centres and how they used cultural diversity to revitalise inner city areas. You will also consider those cities that turn diversity into a branding tool, like Singapore or Doha.
Syllabus
Week 1
Cultural Diversity, Heritage and the City
Introducing the course
Welcome to our course on cultural diversity and the city. Meet your educators and get an overview of the topics that will be covered during these three weeks.
Contested heritage in Cities
What is contested heritage? How does it play out in contemporary cities, and what can be done about it?
Dealing with complex diversity heritage
Explore two cases of complex diversity heritage: Mumbai and Johanneburg
Turning diversity into an asset
See how cities have used their cultural diversity to generate economic and social impacts
Week 1 wrap up
Let us sum up what we learned in this first week about cultural diversity and heritage in cities
Week 2
Heritage Labelling, Networks, and the City
Welcome to Week 2
Let us introduce two tools that cities use to foster cultural diversity through heritage: labels and networks.
Heritage labels
How can labels promote cities’ cultural diversity? Let us look at labels such as World Heritage or World Book Capitals.
City networks
Explore how cities build networks to better promote cultural diversity and develop transnational heritage projects
Week 2 wrap up
What have we learned on labels and city networks? How do they contribute to building more inclusive cities, widen our perspective on heritage, and create connections across diverse cultures?
Week 3
The Rise of New Cultural Hubs
Introducing week 3
This week will deal with the role of globalizing cities as agents of diversity in the global cultural landscape
Cultural diversity in global urban landscapes
Let's look at how the urban landscape reflects cities’ identity. We will reflect on processes that contribute to transforming urban spaces, from public policies to markets dynamics and the mobility of people.
Museums in the globalizing city
How does globalization affect museums? How do globalizing cities use museums in their strategies? Let us reflect on these questions based on various case studies.
New voices in the global movie industry
The movie industry is a sector of mass culture in which a few players dominate. This activity looks at how cities can nurture cinematographic production and contribute to cultural diversification.
Wrap up of the course
We have the reached the end of our course. Let's review the main issues we have covered and the discussions we have had over the last three weeks.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and learn at your own pace. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Identify the challenges and opportunities of cultural diversity in cities
- Design creative solutions to deal with contested heritage
- Assess labels aimed at promoting inclusive heritage in diverse cities
- Explore the rise of transnational city networks for culture
- Discuss the rise of regional and global cultural hubs in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa
Who is the course for?
This course is for anyone interested in the cultures of cities, but will be of particular interest to those working in the arts, culture and heritage.
Who will you learn with?
Anna Triandafyllidou is Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
Jeremie Molho is Research Fellow at the European University Institute and the National University of Singapore
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