Sydney: Colonization, Health, and the Environment

CEGU 22300. Sydney: Colonization, Health, and the Environment
Christopher Kindell, Assistant Instructional Professor, Committee on Environment, Geography and Urbanization (CEGU)

Colonial Sydney was both a site of British imperial experimentation and a crucial node in Pacific World networks of trade, migration, and disease transmission. Focusing on the period between the First Fleet’s arrival in 1788 and Australian Federation in 1901, this intensive, three-week study abroad course will examine how encounters among various populations—from Aboriginal Australians, British convicts, and colonial officials to East Asian immigrants and Pacific Island laborers—fundamentally altered the social, environmental, and urban fabric of this Pacific port city.

What does Sydney’s built environment tell us about the city’s colonial past? What sociocultural, economic, and physical forces transformed Sydney from the traditional lands of the Eora people into Britain’s most distant colonial outpost? How did the global importation and exploitation of people, plants, animals, and diseases reshape both the natural environment and human experience in this thriving Pacific seaport? What tensions emerged as colonial authorities sought to impose control over unfamiliar landscapes and diverse populations while pursuing broader imperial strategies?

Students will explore such questions and develop essential skills in historical analysis and place-based learning through a series of in-class lectures, readings, and guided visits to many of Sydney’s museums, heritage sites, and cultural landmarks. Experiential learning excursions to Cockatoo Island, Elizabeth Farm, Blue Mountains National Park, and North Head Quarantine Station, among other sites of historic importance, will illuminate how colonial cities often developed as crucibles of contestation, environmental change, and imperial governance.

This course is well-suited to undergraduate students from various disciplinary and interdisciplinary backgrounds who are interested in histories of imperial expansion, exploration, and colonization; indigeneity, race, and migration; labor systems and incarceration; land use reform, agriculture, environmental change, and urban development; infectious diseases, public health, and quarantine. Students majoring or minoring in CEGU, HIST, HIPS, HLTH, GLST, or RDIN will find the readings, assignments, and site visits closely aligned with their academic interest and expectations. However, those pursuing ARTH, ARCH, ANTH, SOCI, and CMLT will also uncover valuable interdisciplinary connections that enhance their primary field of study.

Faculty who teach on this program rotate from year to year. The faculty roster is designated by the program faculty director.

Housing abroad can vary from year to year, and precise details will be confirmed during the pre-departure process. It is important to recognize the cultural context of housing in Australia and understand that the amenities of the student residences may vary. Although some of these differences may take some getting used to, remember that cultural differences extend to all aspects of your experience abroad. Having realistic expectations for your term in Sydney will help you approach the study abroad experience with a positive attitude.

Participants in the Sydney September program will take and receive credit for one 100-unit course. This course is considered part of the students’ Summer Quarter course load and is recorded as a course enrollment on their Summer Quarter registration. The course title, units of credit, and grade are placed on the College transcript.

Completion of a September course abroad will earn students 1 point toward Global Honors, the College’s recognition of exceptional global engagement. Visit the Chicago Language Center’s website for information on how to apply for Global Honors.

Study abroad students pay regular Summer Quarter tuition at the one-course rate, a program fee, and a nonrefundable study abroad administrative fee. The tuition and program fee are paid in conformity with the home campus payment schedule, and a deposit toward the nonrefundable study abroad administrative fee is submitted when accepting a place in a program. Precise figures for the Sydney September program during the 2025-2026 year are listed below:

Summer tuition for one course: $4,980 (Summer 2026)

Study abroad administrative fee: $675

Sydney September program fee: $4,000

Previous program participants report spending in the range of $200 to $275 per week on meals and incidentals while on the program, though frugal students may spend less, and others could spend much more. Bear in mind that the cost of living in Sydney is relatively high and that, while it is possible to live frugally, it is also possible to run short of money if you are unwary. It is therefore essential that you budget your funds prudently, apportioning your resources so that they last for the duration of the program. If you are planning to travel before or after the program or on weekends, you should budget accordingly.

Participants in summer College-sponsored programs are eligible for need-based financial aid, following the procedure described on the Summer and September Aid page of the Financial Aid website. For more information about financial aid resources, please see our general Tuition, Fees, and Funding section.

The Sydney September program is open to University of Chicago undergraduate students only. Applications from outside the University are not accepted.

The program is designed for undergraduates in good academic and disciplinary standing who are beyond their first year in the College. While the program stipulates no minimum grade point average, an applicant’s transcript should demonstrate that they are a serious student who will make the most of this opportunity.

Each application is examined on the basis of the student’s scholastic record and personal statement. If you are interested in applying for this program, please fill out the online application.

To discuss Sydney: Colonization, Health, and the Environment and the possibility of participating in this program, please contact Damaris Crocker De Ruiter.