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Dear all, This is a call for applications for the LSE-PKU Summer School course, "The Political Economy of Urbanisation in China and Asia: Globalisation and Uneven Development<http://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Summer-Schools/lse-pku-summer-school/courses/lps-gy201>". The Summer School will be held in Beijing, from the 6-17 August 2018, at the Peking University campus. The course "The Political Economy of Urbanisation in China and Asia: Globalisation and Uneven Development<http://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Summer-Schools/lse-pku-summer-school/courses/lps-gy201>" (LPS-GY201) explores the contemporary dynamics of urbanisation in Asia, with special emphasis on cities in China and other East and South-east Asian economies, which share the experiences of rapid urban development with strong state intervention in the context of condensed industrialisation. We believe that the course will benefit from the geographical advantage of taking place in Beijing and make use of a number of China case studies to examine the differences as well as similarities of urban development between Chinese and other Asian cities. Applying interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives, the course encourages students to develop critical knowledge and comparative understanding of how urban space is transformed in different social, economic and political settings, and what socio-spatial implications are made in a differentiated way upon local populations. Throughout the course, we ask whether the concepts and theories born out of the (post-)industrial Western urban experiences can be applicable to the understanding of urban Asia. We also ask what are the challenges that cities in East and Southeast Asia face, given its current development trajectory. We do this by examining a set of carefully selected themes that address (1) the integration of Asian cities with the global economy, (2) the distinctive characteristics of Asia's urban development, (3) the place-specificities of state intervention in forming urban growth strategies, and (4) socio-political implications of urbanisation processes in the region. Furthermore, the beginning of 2017 marked the start of a new period for the city of Beijing, with the city experiencing perhaps its greatest changes since the Olympic games of 2008. The course makes use of the city of Beijing to go out into the field and examine how the city of Beijing is changing under the current administration, with the city offering a window on to many of the courses themes. Course Overview: Day 1. Introduction: Planetary Urbanisation and Asian Cities - A Comparative Perspective Day 2. Urbanisation, Capitalism and the State Day 3. Urbanisation, (Post-)Socialism and the State Day 4. The Politics of Land Day 5. Heritage and Urban Development (inc. Field trip to inner Beijing) Day 6. The Politics of Displacement Day 7. Planetary Gentrification Day 8. The Olympic Cities: Urban Spectacles and Mega-events Day 9. Financialisation and Indebted Citizens Day 10. Contesting Cities Instructor: Dr Hyun Bang Shin, Associate Professor of Geography and Urban Studies in the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science. For more information on his research and publications, see his personal website<http://urbancommune.net/> or his department profile<http://www.lse.ac.uk/Geography-and-Environment/People/Academic-Staff/Hyun-Bang-Shin/Hyun-Bang-Shin>. His recent work focuses on planetary and global gentrification and urbanisation. Programme: The LSE-PKU Summer School is an intensive, two-week programme for students and professionals. Each course is full-time and consists of a total of 48 contact hours between Monday and Friday over the two weeks. Usually, this involves 36 hours of lectures, attended by all participants in the class and held each morning, and 12 hours of seminar classes in groups of up to 15, held each afternoon. Admission criteria: The LSE-PKU Summer School in Beijing is a university-level programme which accepts applications from university students and professionals from all over the world. There is no minimum grade requirement for applications to the programme, but applicants should be prepared to actively participate in a rigorous, intensive academic programme run by two leading research and teaching universities. It is expected that participants will engage with the extensive reading list as required by their course and contribute fully to class discussions. For more information on this course please see http://www.lse.ac.uk/study/summerSchools/LSEPKUProgramme/courses/gy201.aspx How to apply: https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Summer-Schools/lse-pku-summer-school/secure/how-to-apply (Deadline: 15 June 2018) Finally, new to 2018, there will be a pre-sessional Chinese language course<http://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Summer-Schools/lse-pku-summer-school/pre-sessional-chinese-language-course> available to those wishing to start learning or improve their mandarin. Carwyn Morris PhD Candidate Department of Geography and Environment London School of Economics