As part of the final year Human Geography module Chicago: Sites of Global Change, we spent eight days exploring the city, offering powerful examples of social change. The trip marked the culmination of a year of lectures and seminars, providing an incredible opportunity to apply what we had learned in the classroom to the real world. From conducting our own research to experiencing the city’s neighbourhoods first-hand, the trip brought our studies to life in a unique and unforgettable way.
Tuesday
Our trip began from Heathrow airport, where our lecture group met to begin our week in Chicago. After a smooth flight from Heathrow, with the bonus of sitting together, we landed around 8pm local time, greeted by the familiar faces of our professors at the airport! Tired but excited, we made our way to the hostel, checked in, and headed straight back out for food. First stop: Pizzeria Due for some Chicago deep dish pizza. We kept ourselves going just long enough to fight the jet lag, then called it a night. A solid start to the trip!
Wednesday
Our first day in Chicago began with breakfast at the hostel before heading out as an entire group to explore Chicago. First up was a river cruise along the city’s iconic skyline. Even with the rain, it was such a fun way to take in the architecture and learn about the cityscape from a different perspective.
Afterwards, we made our way to Chinatown for a delicious lunch at MingHin Cuisine. The food was amazing, and the warm plates were perfect after being out in the rain. We then visited the Chinese American Museum of Chicago, which had several fascinating exhibitions about the area. Following this we had free time to explore Chinatown in smaller groups.
In the afternoon, we headed to the Loop for a debrief before exploring Chicago in the evening. We wrapped up the day at Andy’s Jazz Club, home to some of Chicago’s best-known Jazz. The Jazz show was incredible; the live music and energy of the place made it a definite highlight of the trip.
Thursday
We kicked off the day with breakfast at the hostel before heading over to the University of Chicago for a guest lecture and tour. The guest lecture was fascinating, learning about recent and historic social change in Chicago. Following the lecture, we received a campus tour, giving us a chance to soak up the university and asked further questions.
For lunch, we hit up Valois Restaurant and dug into some classic American pancakes and breakfast favourites that hit the spot perfectly. Later, we joined lecturer Sam for a walking tour all about Neoliberal Chicago. It really clicked with everything we’d been learning this year and made the city feel even more alive.
The tour wrapped up at the bustling Time Out Market in Fulton Market, where we got together in groups to write up our fieldnotes from the day. We ended the day at a great burger spot down by the waterfront, which was the perfect finish to a full day of exploring.
Friday
After breakfast, we had some free time to explore the neighbourhood of Pilsen. It was incredible to see so many murals we had learned about in our lectures come to life. We took lots of photos and detailed field notes to use later in our report. Our exploration ended at the National Museum of Mexican Art, with a tour of the art pieces and their connection to the local community. Lunch was at Taqueria Los Camales where we enjoyed delicious tacos and burritos. Afterwards, we spent more time exploring Pilsen before meeting up at the Lozano Branch of the Chicago Public Library to write up our notes.
That evening was a real treat. We had free time and went to watch the Chicago Bulls play basketball at the United Centre. We enjoyed the match with a traditional American hot dog, and we were even lucky enough to see the Bulls win! The atmosphere was electric!
Saturday
After spending the first three days as an entire group on guided activities, the last three days provided time to split into smaller groups to complete research on our specific topic. Our group was interested in murals and gentrification across Chicago, and we had the freedom to plan how we would spend the three days researching our topic.
We spent the first research day exploring the South Side of the city. Our first stop was the DuSable Museum of African American History. It was a powerful museum and provided a multitude of material for our fieldnotes, with exhibitions of murals and social change throughout the neighbourhood. Next, we walked to Daley’s iconic diner before heading over to the Obama Presidential Centre. Despite still being under construction, it was surrounded by murals for us to view. After a full day of exploring with our smaller groups, we came back together for dinner at True Food Kitchen. It was a great chance to debrief the day and share thoughts with our lecturers.
Sunday
After breakfast at the hostel, our research group spent some free time exploring the Humboldt Park area, known as ‘Puerto Rican Town.’ We visited the community centre and had conversations with local workers, gaining valuable insights. We wandered around the neighbourhood, continuing our research and viewing murals in the area. We then had a free walking tour from the tourist board of Chicago throughout Humbolt Park. Our tour guide was an expert on Chicago and the Humbolt Park area, so we were able to ask plenty of questions to aid out research! Later, as we had done before, we all met up for dinner at True Food Kitchen to share our experiences and reflect on the day.
Monday
Another day spent in our research groups exploring Chicago. Today we decided to visited the Art Institute of Chicago and spent hours admiring incredible works by Frida Kahlo and Van Gogh, amongst many others. We also explored exhibitions focused on Chicago’s history and murals, which added a new layer to what we had been learning. That evening we gathered for our final group debriefs to review our notes and prepare for the field reports due after the trip.
Afterwards, we headed to Wrigleyville to catch a Cubs baseball game. It was very fun to watch, despite not entirely knowing what was going on! To finish the night, we tried our hand at a batting cage, and I quickly learned it is much harder than it looks!!
Tuesday
I started the last day in Chicago with a run around the lake with two other girls. It was a beautiful, sunny morning — the perfect way to end an amazing trip. Afterwards, we had some free time to explore the city before our 5pm flight. We visited the iconic Chicago Bean and squeezed in a bit of shopping, soaking up the last moments of the city before heading home!
Discover more
Feeling inspired? Take a look at our Geography Department webpages
Follow The Durham Student on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube
Create your own personalised prospectus here
