a macaulay honors seminar taught by tamar rabinowitz, ph.d
John Semanduyev
Reflection 1/5
Trump May Have America, But the City Is Still Ours
David Wallace-Wells
Wallace-Wells describes the aftermath of Trump’s victory after election night. In a dramatic fashion, he paints an image of a unified city working hard to suppress the realization of what happened. He describes New York as its own bubble, an isolated domain somehow thriving as a madhouse. What makes this madhouse so enticing?
Continue reading “Trump May Have America, But the City Is Still Ours”
Shainu George
Reflection 1 of 5
Trump May Have America, But the City Is Still ours
David Wallace-Wells
Although Trump is president, the city can still have the diversity and tolerance that it aims for. At first, people were upset over the presidential elections, especially in the city. I remember kids crying when they came to school the day after elections with fears that their parents would get deported. The results of the election were so unexpected. We just continued to live in denial, even after the fact. However, as time went on, I realized how strong the city really was. We didn’t accept defeat but fought back. The author says, “The city will continue to be itself — a theater of freaks and refugees and the restless” (1). That statement is very accurate. I was able to attend the women’s march of 2018 and I was able to see with my own eyes how powerful these people are. They refused to be silenced. Posters saying “Pussy grabs back” and “Women’s rights are human rights” show the true spirit of the city. Even my high school, Brooklyn Tech is planning a walkout to protest against gun violence. The spirit of the city lays in the fact that we will not be tamed. We will fight for what’s right until we get it the results we want.
Questions:
Rebecca Kreiser
Reflection 1 of 5
Trump May Have America, But the City is Still Ours
Author: David Wallace-Wells
In his article Trump May Have America, But the City is Still Ours, David Wallace-Wells chooses to focus on the shock New Yorkers experienced upon hearing of Trump’s victory to demonstrate that we (New Yorkers) live in a bubble. Furthermore, Wallace-Wells poses a question to his readers: Is the NYC bubble a “sanctuary or madhouse?”
Rachel Swed
Reflection 2 of 5
Hot Dogs, Hipsters, and Xenophobia: Immigrant Street Food Vendors in New York by Sean Basinski
(Written in summer 2014)
In his research paper “Hot Dogs, Hipsters, and Xenophobia: Immigrant Street Food Vendors in New York,” Sean Basinski talks about xenophobia and laws directed toward street food vendors. In 1925, a whopping 90 percent of 31,000 vendors were foreign born (1). An easy job for immigrants who had no skill or formal job was to become a street vendor. However, these immigrants were quickly a target for anti-immigrant bias. For example, there were many laws put in place to limit the number of foreign vendors such as, “the Board of Alderman required “foreigners” to declare their intention for US citizenship in order to receive peddling licenses” (2). In addition to this, foreign vendors received many tickets for pointless refractions like not having all their items in or under their pushcart or not “‘conspicuously display’ their vending licenses” (7). Because of the cultural and language barrier established by city law enforcement, street food vendors struggle to avoid costly consequences from regulation. Enacting more laws that limit licenses or locations to sell creates a system of disadvantage because a majority of street food vendors are immigrants who use vending as their sole source of income and employment. As a result, Basinski founded The Street Vendor Project. This center, “provides legal and small business services to our members while organizing vendors to amplify their voices so as to increase their collective power in our city” (4). Ultimately, SVP will help immigrant vendors get their voices back and help against any refractions they receive by providing them with an attorney. Continue reading “Street Vendors Vs. Anti Immigrant Bias”
Abhayvir Singh
Reflection 2 of 5
“Trump May Have America, But the City Is Still Ours”
by: David Wallace-Wells
This article, in its beginning, captures the mournful spirit of New York City following the Election night of 2016. Yet, it wasn’t every New Yorker that was mourning. There was Staten Island, Rockaway, about a quarter of Brooklyn and scattered neighborhoods all across the city that had voted for Donald Trump. For them, it was a good day. The rest, since that day, had to buckle up and become members of the resistance. Continue reading “The New Yorker Spirit”
Absara Hassan
Response 1: Sean Basinski, “Hot Dogs, Hipsters, and Xenophobia: Immigrant Street Food Vendors in New York”
There’s almost never a time when we don’t come across one: a shiny metal cart reflecting the view of the city, emitting an aroma that mixes with the urban atmosphere. Food carts can be found at any corner, and while we often stop by one in between classes, or just on our way somewhere, we rarely consider the role food vendors have played in the history of New York, specifically our immigration history. Continue reading “Xenophobia and Street Food Vendors”
Here is the primary source that will be used in class on Tues., Feb. 13, for in-class strategies for critically reading primary sources (that can also be used for secondary sources). Click through for the PDF!
Continue reading “ITF Post: NYT primary source,”Sauerkraut May Be ‘Liberty Cabbage’” (1918)”
Primary source #2 used in class on 2/13/18 Continue reading “Prof. Post: Primary source #2 for class 2/13/18”
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Response 1 of 5: “Introduction: Food in Multi-Ethnic Literatures” by Fred L. Gardaphè and Wenying Xu
by Mariam Esa
As rather social beings, we humans like to make plans quite often to hang out with one another. And usually when making these plans, there’s the very important factor to consider: “What are we eating?” Living in New York City, we have plenty of options to choose from, however, as pointed out by Gardaphè and Xu, this may have not been the case. Foods of immigrants, such as the example with Italian food, was considered to be “filthy and unhealthful” (6). Can you imagine not ever having Italian food?
