Assignments and Evaluation | Learning Objectives | Course Policies | Class Calendar

PDF copy of the syllabus for download

ASSIGNMENTS AND EVALUATION:

  1. Random Reading Quizzes (5): 15%; These will test comprehension of main ideas and also test details to ensure that the reading was done carefully rather than skimmed; they will be short multiple choice (M/C) and True/False (T/F) quizzes and generally five (5) questions long. These are also designed to incentivize excellent attendance as you will need a doctor’s note (or its equivalent) or a previously arranged religious exemption to make up a missed reading quiz.
  2. Reading Response Blog/Student Led Discussion (2 per student): 15%; Each student will be responsible for two 500-word blog posts on the weeks’ readings/assignments, taken as a whole. Blog posts must be posted by the previous Sunday 5:00 P.M. for a Tuesday class and by the previous Tuesday at 5:00 P.M. for a Thursday class. You should discuss what the main ideas of the readings were and how they connect to broader class themes. Come prepared to spend 5-10 minutes in class getting the conversation rolling (you can produce handouts such as discussion questions if you’d like). More on this in class at the beginning of the course.
  3. Synthetic Paper (5-7 pages): 20 %; For this assignment, you should identify at least five (5) sources, of which two (2) must be academic (e.g. peer-reviewed article; academic book) relevant to your chosen contemporary issue and write a paper which discusses the issue through the lens of the democratic theory we will have read to that point. Although the synthetic papers will directly inform and help you work towards the final group project (political art), the synthetic paper is not a group assignment and you should work alone on the researching and writing of this paper.
  4. Attendance and Participation: 20%; This course is specifically designed to be an interactive seminar. It is a course we must build together; your active and thoughtful participation will be awarded.
  5. Final Political Art Project: 30%; For this project, working as a group, you will be asked to engage the contemporary issue you researched by way of one of the historical forms of activist and political art will have studied and to provide accompanying information (like a poster, graphic, or a pamphlet) about the activist art genre you chose (e.g., its historical contexts and uses) and the contemporary issue you are addressing. Examples of possible art genres include: freedom poles, freedom songs, poetry, political cartoons, posters, photography/photo essays, banners, public rituals, performance art, absurdist theater, etc.

Possible Examples of Contemporary Issues for Final Projects:

  • Police violence and Black Lives Matter
  • The coming of Amazon to L.I.C. and its impact on existing immigrant communities
  • Human trafficking in NYC
  • Environmental racism and/or the impact of climate change on NYC
  • Gentrification and affordable housing and housing advocacy
  • The impact of the war against drugs on poor communities of color; disparities in sentencing for drug related convictions
  • Transphobia and the struggles of trans persons of color
  • Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism, and religious violence
  • Income inequality and access to higher education
  • Gentrification and the hyper-policing of working communities of color
  • The example of the High Line project and luxury development
  • Food deserts
  • The Two Bridges Towers development and its impact on Chinatown
  • Racial tourism (e.g., Harlem gospel tours) and/or the commercialization of the city
  • Equity and equality issues facing undocumented communities
  • The effect of Uber and Lyft on taxi drivers
  • Interracial/religious and inter-ethnic/religious relationships

****EXTRA CREDIT: We would like to encourage your participation in Creative Inquiry Day at Baruch College. If you create a poster for the event that showcases your final political art project in some way, your participation score will automatically be boosted half a letter grade (e.g., B+ to A-).  Please contact Hamad Sindhi and I for further information.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

  • Interpret a historically specific and grounded working knowledge of New York City’s pluralism through the lens of the project of radical democracy and its aspirations
  • Understand the immigration histories and those of New York City’s historical communities through an engagement with the political activism and political art of those groups
  • Research a contemporary issue facing New York City’s diverse communities
  • Lead an interactive group discussion that engages key readings about the people of New York City
  • Apply the medium of political art to synthesize a historical understanding of the peopling of New York and the present needs of the peoples of New York City today

COURSE POLICIES:

Office Hours: Please come visit me during office hours. Office hours are open times when you do not need an appointment (although it is always nice to tell me you are coming in case I plan to briefly be at the copier next door). Some of you might want to come see me on a regular basis; some of you may just want to come by to say hello (something I always welcome). In any and all events, office hours are made available to student as additional instructional support and should be accessed as needed.

Additional Academic Support: You may also want to seek out additional university support, for example, by working with a tutor at the Student Academic Consulting Center (SACC), or by visiting the Writing Center. The Counseling Center operates as part of Student Affairs. They offer confidential, individual and group counseling and psychotherapy in the Annex Building at  137 East 25th Street (9th floor). Contact: (646) 312-2155 or email counseling@baruch.cuny.edu.

Do NOT wait until the end of the semester to tell me you have been struggling all along – either on account of the course materials themselves or due to personal problems outside of class.  The end of the semester is much too late in the course to remedy the situation.  Please note that coming to my office hours does not guarantee a specific grade or a passing grade.  It does guarantee that I will do my best to work with you to help you move through the course, if possible.

Academic Adjustments for Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments for this course must contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities before the beginning of the course. They will provide you with paperwork to give to me detailing the suggested academic adjustments needed. Baruch College is committed to providing equal access to all programs and curricula to all students.

 A Note on Immigration Status: As an educator, I fully support the rights of undocumented students to an education and to study and live free from the fear of deportation. If you have any concerns in that regard, feel free to discuss them with me, and, should you want me to, I will connect you with supportive university networks. At all times, I will respect your wishes concerning confidentiality.

The Syllabus: This syllabus is a handbook and contract for the course. You should consult it regularly. Before asking me about assignments, grade policies, and due dates, please check your syllabus to be sure the answer is not included there already.  Please note that I reserve the right to alter the syllabus during the semester if needed (but will never do so lightly).

Make-Ups for Assignments: Make-ups for assignments will be granted only in extenuating circumstances. The granting of any make-up is at the professor’s discretion. Documentation such as a doctor’s note will be required. If you have a religious obligation that prevents you from coming to class or completing an assignment on a certain day, please inform me in writing at least a week in advance.

Email Policy: Because I often communicate with students via email, you will need to regularly check your Baruch College email account. Making sure you get the information via email is part of this class and your responsibility. Please do not ask me to send emails to your preferred account (e.g., beststudent@gmail.com). I will only email students via their Baruch account. I will make every effort to read and return emails within twenty-four (24) hours. If you require immediate assistance, please write “URGENT” in the Re: line of your email and I will make every effort to read and respond as soon as I am able to. If I have not written back within forty-eight (48) hours, your email likely was lost in a barrage of digital communications. Please kindly email me again.

Electronic Devices: We will enforce a strict classroom ban of all electronic devices (unless one is prescribed by the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) and you provide me with documentation of such) including but not limited to laptops, smart phones, and music devices. I highly recommend that you take handwritten notes in a lined notebook. Breaches in the policy will negatively impact your participation score and, hence, your grade in the class. Three breaches of the policy will result in a grade of F for that course component.

Academic Dishonesty: Unless you are working on a sanctioned group project, all work in this course must be the sole work of the student whose name appears on that work. Students must observe the College’s standards for academic honesty.  If caught cheating or plagiarizing, students will, at a minimum, receive an F for the assignment, and open themselves up to formal sanctioning at the College level. The life and work of colleges and universities are premised on the principle of academic integrity and violations of College standards regarding plagiarism and cheating amount to ethical violations which threaten the health of the academic community as a whole. Please consult this site to refer to Baruch College’s definitions, policies and procedures regarding academic dishonesty.

Classroom Decorum:

  • You are expected to remain engaged and attentive for the duration of the 75-minute class period. If you have a medical condition that makes this difficult, please provide relevant medical documentation. Please account for commuting issues and refrain from walking in late to class on a regular basis.
  • Students who are chronically late will be penalized on their attendance and participation score. Talking in class on matters unrelated to the class is disruptive and can negatively affect your attendance and participation score. The use of electronic devices is prohibited, and breaches of this classroom policy will lead to the sanctions already outlined above.
  • In effect, what we do in the classroom is an expression of that which we hope to study—namely, the practice and exercise of democratic speech. While you don’t have to always agree with your classmates or what is presented by the course materials (vigorous disagreement is, in fact, part of democracy’s lifeblood), what you must do is present your disagreements in constructive, respectful ways that take seriously the perspectives of others and do not dehumanize those with whom we disagree. As important as sharing one’s views and experiences is the art of learning from the views and experiences of others.

CLASS CALENDAR

January 29 – Theme: Welcome + Introduction

Overview of Website

Introduction to the course

Review of the syllabus

January 31 – Theme: A Trio of New York Poems

Readings:

The poem, “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman; the poem, “I, Too” by Langston Hughes; the poem, “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus

Author Bios located on this site.

In Class:

Student Led Discussion; Begin Process of Choosing Contemporary Issue and Work Groups

February 5 – Theme: A Radical Democracy for a Radically Plural City?

Readings: Nancy Foner, “Immigrants in New York City in the New Millennium” (PDF) (27 pp); Chantal Mouffe, “Democratic Citizenship and the Political Community” (PDF) (13 pp); Steven Jaffe, “Introduction: A City of Activists” (Textbook) (pp. 12-15)

In Class:

Student Led Discussion; Finalize Process of Choosing Contemporary Issue and Work Groups

February 7 – Theme: Colonial and Revolutionary New York I, Early Struggles for Religious Freedom

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 1: Let us Stay: The Struggle for Religious Freedom in Dutch New Netherland” (textbook pages 21-32); First 3 lines of the First Amendment; The article, “First Amendment and Religion” from US Courts.gov

In Class:

Student Led Discussion

February 12 – No class

February 14 – Theme: Colonial and Revolutionary New York II, Towards an Imperfect Union

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Educating the Enslaved in Colonial New York” (textbook pages 39-41); Steven Jaffe, “Leather Aprons & Silk Stockings: The Coming of the American Revolution in New York” (textbook pages 45-55); Nicholas Lampert, “Visualizing a Partial Revolution” (textbook pages 11-22);  The article, “The 3/5 Compromise” from Digital History; Sections 1776-1790 (first 12 sentences) of “U.S Voting Rights Timeline” from the Northern California Citizenship

Recommended: “Constitution of the United States—A History”

In Class:

Student Led Discussion

February 19 – Theme: New York City Immigration from 1789-1880

Readings: Frederick Binder & David Reimers, “Dynamic Growth and Diversity: The City and its People, 1789-1880” (PDF) (25 pages); Frederick Binder & David Reimers, “Diversity in Action: Irish and German Immigrants in a Growing City”, 1789-1880 (PDF) (33 pages)

In Class:

Student Led Discussion

February 21 – Theme: Seaport City: 1763-1865 I, New York’s Labor Movement Takes Shape

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 4: Workingmen & Aristocrats: New York’s Labor Movement Takes Shape” (textbook pages 56-72)

In Class:

Student Led Discussion 

February 26 – Theme: Seaport City: 1763-1865 II, New York’s Abolitionists

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 5: Practical Abolitionists: David Ruggles and the New York Committee of Vigilance” (textbook pages 73-89); Nicholas Lampert, “Liberation Graphics” (textbook pages 23-32); Nicholas Lampert, “Abolitionism as Autonomy, Activism, and Entertainment” (textbook pages 33-38)

In Class:

Student Led Discussion

February 28 – Theme: Gilded Age to Progressive Era, 1865-1918 I, Anarchists and Class Struggle

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 6: “Propaganda by Deed: New York City Anarchists” (textbook pages 95-108); Nicholas Lampert, “Blurring the Boundaries Between Art and Life” (textbook pages 86-98); Nicholas Lampert, “The Masses on Trial” (textbook pages 99-109)

In Class:

Student Led Discussion

March 5 – Theme: A Theoretical Interlude: Whither, How and Why Art and Politics?

Readings: Jean Leca, “Questions on Citizenship” (PDF) (15 pages); The article, “The Naysayers—Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, and the Critique of Pop Culture” by Alex Ross; Michael Jackson, “Broken Journeys” (4 pages) (PDF); Michael Jackson, “Making it Otherwise” (7 pages) (PDF); Nancy Fraser, “From Redistribution to Recognition?” (PDF)

In Class:

Student Led Discussion

March 7 – Theme: A Visit to the Activist New York Exhibition at the Museum for the City of New York

Readings: Explore the museum’s website beforehand

In Class:

Museum Visit (1120 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street); Bring student ID for free admission! Please be on time!

March 12 – Theme: Gilded Age to Progressive Era, 1865-1918 II, 19th Century Latin@ Activism

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 7: “Inside the Monster”: Latino Activism in 19th Century New York” (textbook pages 109-121)

Additional Homework:  Assess progress made researching the contemporary issue you are working on.

In Class:

Student Led Discussion; More information regarding synthetic papers released (this will be in the form of logistical information and some broad suggestions regarding structure; you can and should be working on the paper in advance of this)

March 14 – Theme: Political Art and The Sting of Prejudice during the Progressive Era

Readings: Nancy Foner, “The Sting of Prejudice” (PDF) (26 pages); Nicholas Lampert, “Jacob A. Riis’s Image Problem” (textbook pages. 60-69)

In Class:

Student Led Discussion

March 19 – Theme: Gilded Age to Progressive Era, 1865-1918 II, 19th Century Women’s Labor

Readings:  Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 8: “I am a Working Girl”: Upheaval in the Garment Trades” (textbook pages 123-140); Nancy Foner, “Immigrant Women and Work” (PDF) (33 pages)

In Class: Student led discussion

March 21 – Theme: Gilded Age to Progressive Era, 1865-1918 III, New York in the Age of Women’s Suffrage

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 9: “New York is the Battleground”: The Campaign for Woman Suffrage” (textbook pages 141-153); Nicholas Lampert, “Banners Designed to Break a President” (textbook pages 110-120); The article, “How the Suffrage Movement Betrayed Black Women” by Brent Staples

In Class: Student led discussion

March 26 – Theme: New York From World War I to Great Depression

Readings: Frederick Binder and David Reimers, “Jews and Italians in Greater New York City, 1880-World War I” (PDF) (34 pages); Frederick Binder and David Reimers, “Ethnic New Yorkers from the Great War to the Great Depression” (PDF) (26 pages)

In Class: Student led discussion

March 28 – Theme: The Harlem Renaissance in the Age of the Lynching Tree

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 10: “The New Negro”: Activist Harlem” (textbook pages 158-175); Nicholas Lampert, “The Lynching Crisis” (textbook pages 121-134); The poem, “Christ in Alabama” byLangston Hughes; Watch Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”; Langston Hughes’ biography; Billie Holiday’s biography

In Class: Student led discussion; synthetic papers due ****

April 2 – Theme: Public and Activist Art During the Great Depression

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 11: Art is a Weapon—Activist Theater in the Great Depression” (textbook pages 177-190); Nicholas Lampert, “Government-Funded Art: The Boom and Bust Years for Public Art” (textbook pages 144-156); Nicholas Lampert, “Artists Organize” (textbook pages 156-166)

In Class: Student led discussion

April 5 – Theme: New York between Great Depression and World War II

Readings: Frederick Binder and David Reimers, “A Time of Trial” New Yorkers During the Great Depression and World War II” (PDF) (20 pages); Nicholas Lambert, “Resistance or Loyalty: The Visual Politics of Miné Okubo” (textbook pages 176-187)

In Class: Student led discussion; brainstorming final political art projects in small groups

April 9 – Theme: New York at Midcentury and the Cold War

Readings: Frederick Binder and David Reimers, “A Better Time: New York City, 1945-1970” (PDF) (20 pages); Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 12: A Cold War: Activism and Anti-Communism in New York” (textbook pages 189-205) 

In Class: Visit to MakerHub (Bring your materials)

April 11 – Theme: An Interlude Across the Country: The Political Art of the Sixties and Early Seventies, The Struggle for Civil Rights

Readings: T.V. Read, “Singing Civil Rights—The Freedom Song Tradition” (PDF) (39 pages); Nicholas Lambert, “Come Let Us Build a New World Together” (textbook pages 188-198); Nicholas Lambert, “Party Artist: Emory Douglas the Black Panther Party” (textbook pages 199-210); Explore the website for Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping

In Class: Guest Speakers: William Talen and Savitri D from Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping

April 15 – Theme: An Interlude Across the Country: The Political Art of the Sixties and Early Seventies, Furthering the Struggle for Racial Justice

Readings: T.V. Read, “Scenarios for Revolution—The Drama of the Black Panthers” (PDF) (34 pages); T.V. Read, “Revolutionary Walls—Chicano/a Murals, Chicano/a Movements” (PDF) (25 pages)

In Class: Student led discussion

April 16 – Theme: An Interlude Across the Country: The Political Art of the Sixties and Early Seventies, Feminist Organizing

Readings: T.V. Read, The Poetical is the Political—Feminist Poetry and the Poetics of Women’s Rights” (PDF) (27 pages); Nicholas Lampert, “The Living, Breathing Embodiment of a Culture Transformed” (PDF) (pp. 224-234); Steven Jaffe, “Women’s Liberation” (textbook pages 225-229); Maylei Blackwell, “Chicana Insurgencies” (PDF) (47 pages)

Watch at home: this video about the women’s movement

In Class: Student led discussion

April 18 – Theme: Puerto Rican and Asian-American Activism in New York

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 14: “!Basta Ya!”: The Young Lords and Puerto Rican Activism” and “Asian-American Activism” (textbook pages 230-245); Rose Muzio, “Introduction—Puerto Rican Radical Politics in the 1970s” and “Operation Move-In and the Making of a Political Movement” (PDF; PDF) (41 pages)

In Class: Student led discussion

SPRING RECESS (April 19-28)

April 30 – Theme: Gay Liberation, ACT-UP, and the Fight Against AIDS

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “ “Gay is Good”: The Rise of Gay Power” (textbook pages. 210-224); T.V. Read, “Acting Up Against AIDS—The (Very) Graphic Arts in a Moment of Crisis (PDF) (38 pages); Nicholas Lampert, “Art is Not Enough” ACT-UP, Gran Fury, and the AIDS crisis” (Textbook pages 252-262); Deborah Gould, “ACT UP, Racism, and the Question of How to Use History” (PDF) (8 pages)

In Class: Student led discussion

May 2 – Theme: Gentrification, Racial Politics, and the New Housing Advocacy

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 15: “Don’t Move! Improve!—The New Housing Advocates” (Textbook pages 251-265); Jeremiah Moss, “Part III: Brooklyn” and “Part III: Queens” in Vanishing New York—How a Great City Lost its Soul (PDF) (43 pages total); the blog article, “Ask About the Gentrification of Chinatown, parts 1-3” by Peter Kwong

In Class: Student led discussion

May 7 – Theme: Early 21st Century Activist New York: Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, the New Sanctuary Movement, and the Struggle for Environmental Justice

Readings: Steven Jaffe, “Chapter 16: “We Are the 99%!’: Occupying Wall Street” (textbook pages 265-275); Nicholas Lampert, “Public Rituals, Media Performances, and Citywide Interventions” (textbook pages 235-241); Julia Mantaay, “The Geography of Environmental Injustice in the Bronx, New York City” (PDF) (7 Pages); The article, “A Massive Black Lives Matter Protest Floods NYC and Shuts Down Fifth Avenue” by Kimberly Ricci; The article, “The “Extinction Rebellion” Wants to Wake You Up” by Ellie Schecket

Explore: the website for Extinction Rebellion

Watch: “The ongoing and immediate threat posed by climate breakdown…”

Watch: the WE ACT Story on Youtube, and explore the website for WE ACT

Watch: “Suitcase Project” by the New Sanctuary Coalition, and explore the website for the New Sanctuary Coalition

In Class: Student led discussion

May 9 – Theme: The Early 21st Century Peopling of New York, I

Readings: Nancy Foner, “The Social Construction of Race in Two Immigrant Eras” (PDF) (31 pages); Min Zhou, “Chinese: Diverse Origins and Destinies” (PDF) (26 pages); Robert Courtney Smith, “Mexicans: Civic Engagement, Education, and Progress Achieved and Inhibited” (PDF) (20 pages)

In Class: Student led discussion

CREATIVE INQUIRY DAY

May 14 – Theme: The Early 21st Century Peopling of New York, II

Readings: Milton Vickerman, “Jamaicans: Balancing Race and Ethnicity” (PDF) (23 pages); Bernadette Ludwig, “Liberians: Struggles for Refugee Families” (PDF) (22 pages); Silvio Torres-Saillant and Ramona Hernández, “Dominicans: Community, Culture, and Collective Identity” (PDF) (22 pages); Sheldon Wolin, “What Revolutionary Action Means Today” (PDF) (13 pages); Jeffrey Stout, “The Responsibilities of a Citizen” (PDF) (20 pages)

In Class: Student led discussion

May ___ – Final Exam Period: Showcasing Final Projects!

We will showcase final political art projects in class. I will provide pizza and drinks.