A Gallatin Travel Course Explores Detroit’s Reinvention

Prior to the travel aspect of the course, students engaged in classroom discussions that examined the arc of Detroit’s past, present, and possible future through myriad lenses—political, economic, cultural, racial, and more. These discussions helped them understand how the city weaves its new narrative and what that narrative might ultimately be. “We talked a lot about the current efforts to shape Detroit through both private development plans and local activism, and how different communities have different visions for the city,” says Maria Polzin, a Gallatin student studying the poetics of the political.

During their week in Detroit, students conducted independent research in an area of their choice to discover unique aspects of the city’s many communities. Some explored the possibilities of shuttered factories like the Packard Automotive Plant. Others talked with business and community leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, and local artists to get their take on how the city is improving. Maria focused on the fact that Detroit has the highest density of urban food gardens in the country. “Gardeners and activists partnered with churches, municipalities, and nonprofits to teach Detroiters how to grow their own produce and potentially make a living from it,” she explains.

The travel course let the students walk the streets, see the buildings, and talk with the people of the city—bringing their in-class discussions to life. “Detroit is a complicated city with a history of discrimination, deindustrialization, and violence,” says Gallatin rising junior Bella Florence. “We definitely saw evidence of that—but we also saw abundant love. Especially at the Heidelberg Project, an outdoor art installation by Tyree Guyton dedicated to improving the lives of people and neighborhoods through art.”