Students explore inside the ore wall at the historic Southworks site in South Chicago

Classes

Study Chicago with Chicago Studies (CHST)

Chicago Studies supports students and instructors in studying Chicago in and beyond the classroom.  We cross-list both Chicago-focused (content is about Chicago) and Chicago-engaged courses (that regularly use Chicago examples, data, or experiences) as Chicago Studies (CHST) classes.  We also sponsor special curricular opportunities like Chicago Studies Quarters, sequenced classes, and course bundles. All CHST classes count toward the College's interdisciplinary Certificate in Chicago Studies.

For instructors, we support Chicago-based teaching and learning with course/instructional design consultation, content resources, and micro-grants and logistical support for experiential learning.

Search for CHST classes Resources for Instructors

CHST Classes – Spring 2023

Chicago Studies (CHST) cross-listed classes explore aspects of Chicago's ecology, culture, politics, history, social structure, and economic life, either as their primary focus or as a significant example/case study. Many engage students directly in the life of the city’s communities, cultural institutions, or community organizations through experiential learning and fieldwork.  You can search for Chicago Studies classes when registering -- choose "Chicago Studies" as the department OR look for "CHST" classes in AIS.

All CHST classes contribute to fulfillment of the academic requirements of the College’s interdisciplinary Certificate in Chicago Studies.

    Chicago-focused courses take some aspect of Chicago's history, culture, ecology, etc. as their main theme.  Many also include experiential learning in the city (as do all the "Chicago-engaged" courses that follow).

    27 Contact Hours (Theaster Gates) - ARTV/CHST 25118

    Architecture of the Chicago Public Library (Luke Joyner) - ARTH/ARCH/CHST/AMER/GEOG 24198; ARTV 20664

    Beginning Nonfiction Workshop: Chicago (Ben Austen) - CRWR 10406 (section 1)

    Chicago Habla Español (Nene Losada-Cerna) - SPAN/LACS/CHST 20310

    Chicago Politics (John Mark Hansen) - PLSC/PBPL/CHST 24202

    Chicago’s Worlds and Exhibitions: Archives and Memory Work (Samantha Steckler) - ENGL/CHST 10109

    Cultural Cartography of Bronzeville (Andrew Schachman) - ARTH/ARCH/ENST/AMER/CHST 24206

    Dancing Chicago (Elizabeth Leopold) - TAPS/CHST 26225

    Diasporic Narratives and Memories (Bozena Shallcross) - BPRO/CHST/CMLT/CRES/KNOW 29943; REES 29950; HIPS 26943

    Mapping Global Chicago (Callie Maidhof) - GLST/PBPL/CHST 26383

    Physics and Contemporary Architecture (Heinrich Jaeger) - PHSC/ARCH/CHST 11800

    Reading as a Writer: Chicago “City on the Remake” (Garin Cycholl) - CRWR 12112

    Chicago-engaged classes integrate Chicago examples, data, archives, and/or experiential learning to enrich course content with real-world experiences and applications.  (Note that most Chicago-focused classes also regularly integrate experiential learning!)

    Climate Change and Human Mobility (Jessica Darrow) - SSAD/CHST 29400

    Community Organizing (Jane Ramsey) - SSAD/CHST 28112

    Human Rights:  Contemporary Issues (Susan Gzesh) - SOSC/LLSO/LACS/CHST/HMRT/CRES 21001

    Introduction to GIS and Spatial Analysis (Crystal Bae) - GISC/ENST/ARCH/CHST 28702; SOCI 20283

    Introduction to the Built Environment (Aleksandr Bierig) - ARTH/ARCH/CHST 15705

    Material Narratives (Sam Park) - ARTH/ARCH/CHST 20685

    Oral History & Podcasting (Sarah Geis) - TAPS/CHST 28330

    Policing in America: Black, White and Blue (Clayton Harris) - PBPL/CRES/CHST 28502

    Public Policy Practicum: Interview Project on Urban Education (Karlyn Gorski) - PBPL/CHST 26303

    Site-Based Practice: Choreographing The Smart Museum (Julia Rhoads) - TAPS/ARCH/CHST 26280; ARTV 20027

    The Architect’s Eye/Making of Architecture (Billie Tsien/Tod Williams) - ARCH/CHST 10231

    The Literature of Riot: The Red Summer of 1919 and African American Literary History (Noah Hansen) - CRES/CHST 27528; ENGL 12001

    The Rights of Immigrants and Refugees in Practice (Susan Gzesh) - SOSC/CHST/GLST/LLSO 24506; HMRT 26813

    Theme Park America (Alexander Hofmann) - HIST/CHST 28814

    Urban Design with Nature (Sabina Shaikh/Emily Talen) - ENST/GISC/BPRO/CHST 27155; PBPL 27156

    The Business of Non-Profits and The Evolving Social Sector (Christa Valasquez) - PBPL/CHST 24751

    "The Right to the Second City" consist of three interconnected classes (enriched by experiential learning in the city) that explore different aspects of the Chicago immigrant experience, past and present.  Register for one, two, or all three for progressively deeper opportunity to explore this rich theme.  Click here to learn more.

    Voices of Alterity and the Languages of Immigration (Angelina Ilieva) - REES 29025; HIST 27710; ENST/CHST/CMLT/ENGL/PBPL 27125

    Where We Come From:  Methods and Materials in the Study of Immigration (William Nickell) - REES/CHST 24417; ENST 27210; HIST 27712

    Spaces of Hope: The City and its Immigrants (Nada Petkovic) - REES/CHST 21500; ENST/PBPL 27330; HIST 27713

Why take CHST classes?