Creative Cities

In the minor Creative Cities, you investigate spatial, social and cultural transformations in cities through interdisciplinary approaches and creative methods.

Content

The minor Creative Cities engages students with rapid socio-technological transformations in cities. The interdisciplinary program trains students in creative research methods, using conceptual frameworks from different fields, and positioning themselves as engaged academics. The minor is a collaboration between Media and Culture Studies and Human Geography/Spatial Planning, and frequently collaborates with external urban partners in the cultural field.

Cities are multifaceted and in constant flux: they are made of tangible physical buildings and planned spaces; swirling vortices of people's everyday interactions and experiences, and continually (re)imagined and discussed. The Minor considers urban life as contested and asks questions like: who have the right to the city, how can people (re)appropriate urban public spaces, how can we nurture open and inclusive cities?

Topics include openness, sustainability, climate justice/social justice, livability, safety, finance and capital, and digitalization/mediatization. Courses invite students to explore creative approaches like storytelling, critical making of speculative digital interfaces, (community) arts, and (performative) interventions in urban public space. These approaches bring out a wealth of views and experiences, including marginalized perspectives. This allows students to imagine and shape urban futures differently.

The minor Creative Cities is also a kernpakket for students TCS and LAS. 
 

Curriculum

The minor Creative Cities consists of 4 compulsory courses (30 EC). 

Note: If you  started your bachelor in Media en cultuur/Media and Culture in 2024-2025 or earlier with the specialisation (verdiepingspakket) Participatory Cultures, you have 7.5 EC overlap. In this case, you can do an extra elective course (profileringscursus/vrije keuze) instead. You need to request approval from the Board of Examiners for this extra elective course.

Interested in these Masters?

The minor provides substantive preparation for the Master's programmes listed below. It does not guarantee admission, so always check the entry requirements.

• Arts and Society
• Contemporary Theatre, Dance and Dramaturgy (pref. in combination with 2-3 courses on theatre/dance)
• Media, Art and Performance Studies
• New Media & Digital Culture
• Urban And Economic Geography
• Master’s studies in the social sciences (e.g. Human Geography and the Cultural Anthropology, Sociocultural in the Anglo-Saxon world)

Register

First, check whether you meet the entry requirements. How you register next depends on whether you are already a student at Utrecht University or not.

Contact

With questions or for more information about the registration procedure, please contact the Humanities Student Information Desk.