We will not be meeting on Monday and Wednesday.  During that time, you should be working on 3 items:

1)      Continue reading about your neighborhoods.  By now, you should have a firm grasp on the neighborhood’s history and immigration patterns.  Linda Rath is happy to help you find reliable sources.  You should also be locating academic studies and archives.  Linda gave us a handout with some possibilities and she is happy to meet with you, if you need help. linda.rath@baruch.cuny.edu

2)      Take a walking tour of your neighborhood using your background research as a guide.  For example, you may have read about a particular building or organization important to the neighborhood’s history.  Take a photo of that structure.  Talk with some folks in the neighborhood.  Use the tutorials Amanda posted to showcase your work.  You can create timelines, maps, videos, audio of interviews, etc.  Post this work to “Walking Tours” on our course website by March 25^th.  Be sure to give the name of the neighborhood and everyone in your group.  Be ready to discuss your work on March 26^th.

3)      Read Steinberg, Ethnic Myth Chapter 6 and Steinberg, “Poor Reason.”  We will discuss these readings during the second half of our class on March 26^th. 

I will be in my office on March 19^th and March 24^th for regular office hours and during our regularly scheduled class time (2:30-3:45).  Feel free to stop by (VC 4-271).  Enter through Black and Latino Studies.  Doors are locked on the Soc/Anthro side. 

Amanda will be visiting our class on April 2^nd.  By then, you should have completed a large portion of your research and be able to show us some of the timelines, maps, videos, etc. that you have created.   The final project is a large part of your grade.  You will want to work steadily on this project from now until the end of the semester.

Since you are getting two research days now, we can replace April 23^rd with the African Burial Ground guest speaker.  The guides are unable to give us a walking tour, but they may be able to come to our class.  I will keep you posted.  

I have updated the course calendar on the syllabus to reflect these changes.

I’ve mentioned the speaker series I am organizing this semester.  Our first guest will be the Historian Barbara J. Fields of Columbia University.  She will join us on March 20th for a talk on “Racecraft.”  For those interested, here is the flyer:  Weissman- Racecraft Barbara J. Fields-Guest

I hope you enjoyed the tour today.  Think about some of the things our tour guide noted and how you might use the same methods she did as you tell the story of your neighborhood.  The reading due for Wednesday is “Everything you Ever Wanted to Know about Assimilation.”  Christine will be presenting.  See you then!

I just now received word that our tour guide will be able to condense our tour into 1 hour.  This will help accommodate those of you who have obligations after class.  See you at 3:00, 103 Orchard Street.

**We will be meeting at the Tenement Museum (103 Orchard Street) tomorrow, Monday, March 10th for our walking tour.  http://tenement.org/directions.html  Our tour starts at 3:00.  Here is some important information from our tour guide:

Please check in at the Museum Shop no more than 10 minutes before your program is scheduled to begin. The shop is located at 103 Orchard Street on the corner of Orchard and Delancey.

As we do not have space inside the Museum Shop for large groups you will be asked to wait on Orchard Street for your tour. Please make sure that you and your group are prepared to wait outside.

Here are those websites I showed you in class today:

Welcome

Gentrification in New York City

And here is the encyclopedia, where you can look through all of the sites:

About the Encyclopedia

You should all now be in a position to start your walking tours and research on your neighborhoods.  If you are still not sure what you are going to do for your project, please meet with me to discuss.

Class,

Sorry to have to cancel today.  I was very excited to hear about your projects!  I have spoken with some of you through email, and I can’t wait to hear more!  We will discuss your projects on Wednesday and skip the New York documentary.  That film is a 7 part series, which you can read about here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/series/index.html

Some of the series is on youtube.  In your free time, you can find the component of the series that most interests you and watch it online.

**Amanda sent out the information on tech fairs last week.  Remember the fairs take place tomorrow (March 4th) and Wednesday (March 5th).

**We will be meeting at the Tenement Museum (103 Orchard Street) next week, Monday, March 10th for the “Then and Now” walking tour.  http://tenement.org/directions.html  Our tour starts at 3:00.

See you on Wednesday!

I am very sorry to have to cancel today.  I just received a message from the school nurse.  We will discuss the projects Wednesday and I’ll send another announcement with reminders later today.

Hi Class,

Just a reminder that we will be meeting at the Tenement Museum on March 10th for our walking tour, “Then and Now.”  Here is a description from the website:

For generations of immigrants, the Lower East Side wasn’t just a place to find a cheap home. It was also where they learned how to start a business, build a congregation, educate their children, and lobby the government. Discover the fascinating history of this neighborhood and find out why it’s such an ever-changing mix of the old and the new.

If you haven’t posted your project idea yet, please do so ASAP!  Post to “Project Ideas,” which is a sub-menu of presentations.