Course Schedule

Week 1: Introduction (Feb. 1)         

• In Class:
  • Introduction to course
  • Introduction to research project (Storefront Survivors)
  • Introduce ITFs.

Week 2: The Endangered Enclave (Feb. 8) 

• In Class:
  • My Brooklyn screening
• Readings:
  • Oldenburg, Ray (1989). Excerpts from “Characteristics of Third Places” in The Great Good Place
  • Zukin, Sharon. (2012) “Will New York City Become One Big Suburb?” from BigThink.com. (video file here if you’d rather watch than read)
  • Benediktsson, et. al. (2014). “The Real Small Business Killer”
  • Benediktsson, et. al. (2015). “The Endangered Enclave”
• Assignments:
  • Post reading response by 10pm the night before class.
  • Choose a research partner by 10pm on Super Bowl sunday.
  • Introduce yourself via a “Who We Are” post, by 10pm the night before class.

FEB. 15: NO CLASS! (Classes follow a Monday schedule for some reason) 

Week 3: Describing Diversity (Feb. 22)

• In Class:
  • Lecture / Discussion
  • Choose neighborhood
  • Workshop: interviewing strategies
• Readings:
  • Mehta, Suketu. (2003) “The Meltingest Pot,” from The New York Times.
  • Ellick, Adam. (2009) “In Queens: A Melting Pot, and a Closed Book.” The New York Times
  • Berger, Joe. (2007) “Melting Together in Ditmas Park,” from The World in a City.
• Assignments:
  • Post reading response by 10pm the night before class.
  • Complete the CITI human subjects research training.

Week 4: Sweatshop Assimilation in the Jewish Lower East Side (Mar. 1)

• In Class:
  • Lecture / Discussion
  • Hester Street Screening
• Readings:
  • Riis, Jacob. “Jewtown” from How The Other Half Lives
  • Gordon, Milton (1964). Excerpt from The Nature of Assimilation.
  • Hapke, Laura. (2004). Excerpt from “Sweatshop: The History of an American Idea”
  • 19th century Assimilation Cartoons
• Assignments:
  • Post reading response by 10pm the night before class.

Week 5: Shop Life (Mar. 8)

• In Class:
  • Meet at 3:45pm at the Tenement Museum for tour. (Directions here. Don’t be late!!)
• Assignment:
  • Work on Oral History #1

Oral History #1 (Due 10pm the night before class, March 14, as post of transcript / video on our website.)

March 15: Class cancelled due to Professor Mike’s child-inflicted back injury

Week 6: Ethnic Conflict and the Irish Saloon (Mar. 22)

• In Class:
  • Lecture / Discussion
  • Gangs of New York Screening
  • Workshop: First visit to the field.
• Readings:
  • Sismondo, Christine (2011). Excerpt from “The Political Machine Invades a Bar,” in America Walks Into a Bar.
  • Anbinder, Tyler, Excerpt on Taverns from The Five Points (skim)
  • Anti-Irish Political Cartoons
  • Anbinder, Tyler, “The Dead Rabbit Riot” from The Five Points
  • Gangs of New York scene depicting the “Dead Rabbit Riot” Part 1
  • Gangs of New York scene depicting the “Dead Rabbit Riot” Part 2
  • Gangs of New York scene depicting the “Dead Rabbit Riot” Part 3
• Assignments:
  • Post reading response by 10pm the night before class.

Week 7: The Urban Mosaic (Mar. 29)

• Meet at City Hall for L.E.S. tour.
• Assignment:
  • Oral History #2 (Due 10pm the night before class, Mar. 28, as transcript, audio file, or video on our website.)

Week 8: Americanization, Multiculturalism, and the Food Cart (Apr. 5)

• In Class:
  • Discussion / Lecture
  • Street vendor documentary screening
  • Workshop: Statistics, Maps
• Readings:
  • Gabaccia, Donna. (1998) “Food Fights and American Values”, from We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans
•  Assignments:
  • Your Story, Our Stories (Due 10pm Monday Apr. 10, as post to Tenement Museum site)
  • Post reading response by 10pm the night before class.

APRIL 12: NO CLASS! SPRING BREAK

Week 9: Enclaves, Eyesores, and the Willets Point Repair Shop (Apr. 19)           

• In Class:
  • Lecture / Discussion
  • Workshop: Archival Sources
• Readings:
  • Waldinger, “Immigrant Enterprise”
  • Guest, section on Enclaves from “God in Chinatown”
  • Santos, Fernanda (2008). “A Dilapidated Tract in Queens, and a Fight to Control its Future” in The New York Times.
  • Bilefsky, Dan. (2011) “Concern for the Underclass as the City Progresses with its Willets Point Plan” in The New York Times.
• Assignments:
  • “Zooming Out, Zooming In” (Due by 10pm the night before class, April 18, as a post on our website.)
  • Post reading response by 10pm the night before class.

Week 10: Throwing the Can – Race War and Pizza in ’90s Brooklyn (Apr. 26)

• In Class:
  • Lecture / Discussion
  • Do The Right Thing Screening
• Readings:
  • Sciorra, Joseph (2012) “‘Italians Against Racism’: The Murder of Yusef Hawkins and My March on Bensonhurst, from Are Italians White?
• Assignments:
  • “Looking Forward, Looking Back” (Due by 10pm the night before class, April 25, as post on our website.)

Week 11: From Enclave to Hipster Utopia (May 3)

• Sunset Park Tour

Week 12: Final Class Workshop (May 10)

• ITF Marnie visits to lead last class workshop on Aesop.
• Assignment:
  • By 10pm the night before class, please create a post categorized under “Storefront Survivors / Raw Materials” on our class website that includes the following things:
    1. A possible title for your post (not just the name of the business – put some thought into it).
    2. A featured image of the shopkeeper or storefront that you plan to use for your post’s main image. Highest quality image possible.
    3. All transcripts, notes, and/or audio files from all your interviews. (I’ll explain why later.) Copy and paste into the post, or attach as Microsoft Word documents or pdfs.
    4. Two pull quotes from your interviews that you plan to use. (Again, put some thought into this. Pull quotes should be important and make an impact.)
    5. Any other photos / images / maps that you might use (if these are already embedded other posts, you don’t need to re-embed them – only if you haven’t uploaded them yet.)
    6. A link to any video that you plan to use (follow the instructions on our site for uploading video)

Storefront Survivors post due on Storefront Survivors site by 10pm on Tuesday, May 30.