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Professor: Dr. Peter Vellon
peter.vellon@qc.cuny.edu
Instructional Technology Fellow: Caroline Erb-Medina
cerb@gc.cuny.edu
Author Archives: Matthew Gomm
Standardized Testing…Once Helpful, Now A Necessary Burden
After reading the selections from Nancy Foner’s From Ellis Island to JFK, I would like to focus this week’s journal on the topic of standardized testing. Back at the turn of the century, New York began giving scholarships for strong grades on … Continue reading
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Riots, Riots, Riots.
I was much appalled after reading the chapter “Riots” in the book Five Points by Tyler Anbinder. In the present day, the New York Police Department is, from what I understand, supposedly one of the best departments in the country, so … Continue reading
Posted in April 23
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The Rather Unforunate Fate of Five Points
In the Spring of 1867, New York City passed the first building codes in an attempt to better tenement conditions. The legislation mandated a variety of new building requirements, including fire escapes, windows in every room (although they did not … Continue reading
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Racism in New York City
Any student who has taken an American standardized test, such as an AP or an SAT, will remember being asked which ethnicity he or she was, “for statistical reasons” of course. Really, however, this kind of “question” is deeply rooted … Continue reading
Posted in April 9
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The Greatest Country Ever…Or Not?
As I read more and more on the lives of New York City immigrants, particularly those living in the area formerly known as Five Points, I am coming to understand that the American Dream is exactly as it is described: … Continue reading
Posted in March 12
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After reading chapter three of Tyler Anbinder’s Five Points, I couldn’t help but feel just as disgusted as the immigrants living in the tenement houses must have felt. Every part of the neighborhood was piled with garbage, apartments were crowded, stenches were … Continue reading
Posted in March 5
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Thoughts on “The Melting Pot and the Color Line” by Steven Steinberg
In this essay, Steinberg address the idea of the melting pot, and if it truly exists in America. I found the end of the article quite captivating. Steinberg references Gary Nash and Orlando Patterson, who believe that once the melting … Continue reading
Posted in February 12
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Some thoughts on Michael Walzer’s “What Does It Mean to Be an ‘American?'”
Michael Walzer discuss the meaning of the adjective “American” in this article, exploring whether this unclear adjective (since technically Mexicans and Canadians are “Americans” as well) relates to our level of national unity. After reading the passage, my personal opinion … Continue reading
Posted in February 12
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