The Urban History Lab offers a chronological and thematic exploration of urbanization across recorded history, with a critical emphasis on how capitalism—as a social, political, and economic system—has shaped the built environment and everyday urban life. Students will examine how capitalism intersects with imperialism, race, gender, and sexuality, and how social movements have contested and reimagined urban space. Beginning with ancient cities, the course investigates the origins of urban life, exploring the human needs and desires cities have fulfilled and tracing how urban forms and experiences have evolved alongside the rise of capitalist economies. As the course moves into the modern era, special focus will be given to New York City—our home and a dynamic site for embodied learning. Students will be encouraged to use the city as a living laboratory, observing and theorizing urban change while imagining alternative futures. Rooted in historical inquiry, this course advances the program’s mission by cultivating a critical, justice-oriented approach to urbanism. Through lectures, readings, and fieldwork, students will engage the past to better understand—and intervene in— in the urban challenges of the present and future.