| Urban Anthropology: Imagining New York City Sarah Lawrence College (ANTH-3161-R) Spring 2003 Instructor: David Valentine Class time: M/W 3:35 - 5:00pm, Sheffield 01 Office: Sheffield 05 Spring class dates: January 22 - May 14, 2002 Phone: 914.395.2363 email: [email protected] Course Description: New York City is often mythologized as the place of possibility, abandon, and freedom. But it is also a place characterized by poverty, racism, and class divisions, and as much by community action as the anonymity imagined by Georg Simmel. This semester, we continue the work we began in the fall, bringing the questions we considered then to bear on New York. Some of these questions are: how does one define a city like New York? What counts as a community in NYC? What kinds of people are seen to be "good citizens?" How is the use of urban space tied to ideas about modern citizenship and personhood? We will consider New York City in the context of its status both as a place where people live and work, but also as a nexus of global connections. In the self-proclaimed "Capital of the World," what does it mean to be a New Yorker? Classes in this semester will be supplemented by field trips to the city. In addition, at the beginning of the term you will be required to make a trip into New York by yourself (or with your classmates) to do your first paper assignment. These field trips are part of the course, and will take place on Saturdays, as detailed in the syllabus. Please ensure you organize your spring schedule to take these into account. Note on Films The films shown in class are a part of the course, and should be considered as required texts. Required Texts: A course reading packet is available at the library, and from me should you want to borrow it to make copies. As well as the reading packet, the following books will be needed, all of which are on reserve at the library and available for purchase in the bookstore: Tanenbaum, Susie J. 1995 Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics in the Subways of New York (Anthropology of Contemporary Issues). Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Gregory, Steven 1998 Black Corona: race and the politics of place in an urban community. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Gandy, Matthew 2002 Concrete and Clay: Reworking Nature in New York City (Urban and Industrial Environments). Cambridge: MIT Press. Policies and Requirements Course and Conference Requirements Class work for the semester will consist of the following formal projects: 1. Three 4-5 page papers, due in class on days noted in syllabus below. 2. Two mini-research projects, to be discussed in class. Class work is due in class on the days noted in the syllabus below. I do not grant extensions other than for exceptional circumstances. If you believe you are embroiled in such a circumstance, I expect you to request an extension at least a day before the paper is due; DO NOT come to class without completed work unless I have granted you an extension. I am always willing to look at drafts of your work up until two days before the due date, which you may email me. I will not, however, accept emailed versions of your papers. Conferences I expect that you will complete the tasks we have agreed on for your conference work prior to your conference. Please: always bring hard copy of your assignments to your conferences. Policy on Lateness and Attendance Please pay particular attention to the following: you are, naturally, expected to attend all classes and conferences associated with this class. It is expected that if you have to miss a class for a valid reason (such as illness or family emergency), you will inform me prior to the class, or as soon after as is possible. Since this is a seminar, your attendance and participation in class discussions is a central part of the course. I will take attendance in the first ten minutes of class. If you arrive late for class, you will not have the opportunity to sign the attendance sheet, and this will be noted as an absence. Please note the attendance policy: more than two unexcused absences will result in reduced credit for this course. Course Outline Part 1: Four Stories about New York ... and One about Yourself 1. New York, Ethnography, and How to Tell One Story of 8 Million (1/22/03) Readings: How to do your ethnographic project (also on line at the class website) 2. Four stories about New York I (1/27/03) Readings: White, E. B. 1949 Here is New York. New York: Harper. Carolyn Farrell 1999[1994] Proper library. In The best American short stories of the century. John Updike and Katrina Kenison (eds). Pp. 705-719. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company 3. Four stories about New York II (1/29/03) Readings: Didion, Joan 1995[1967] Goodbye to all that. In The art of the personal essay. Phillip Lopate (ed.) Ppp. 680-688. New York: Anchor/Doubleday. Baldwin, James 1995[1957] Sonny's blues. In Going to meet the man. New York: Vintage. Part 2: "The City" and "Nature" 4. Concrete and Clay I (2/3/03) Readings: Gandy, Matthew 2002 Concrete and Clay: Reworking Nature in New York City (Urban and Industrial Environments). Cambridge: MIT Press. 5. Concrete and Clay II (2/5/03) **PAPER 1 DUE IN CLASS** Readings: Gandy, Matthew 2002 Concrete and Clay: Reworking Nature in New York City (Urban and Industrial Environments). Cambridge: MIT Press. 6. Concrete and Clay III (2/10/03) Film: Frederick Law Olmsted Readings: Gandy, Matthew 2002 Concrete and Clay: Reworking Nature in New York City (Urban and Industrial Environments). Cambridge: MIT Press. 7. Concrete and Clay IV (2/12/03) Readings: Gandy, Matthew 2002 Concrete and Clay: Reworking Nature in New York City (Urban and Industrial Environments). Cambridge: MIT Press. 2/15/02 � walking tour of Central Park Part 3: Policing, Planning, Performing, Profit, and "Public" space 8. Underground Harmonies I (2/17/03) Readings: Tanenbaum, Susie J. 1995 Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics in the Subways of New York (Anthropology of Contemporary Issues). Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 9. Underground Harmonies II (2/19/03) Readings: Tanenbaum, Susie J. 1995 Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics in the Subways of New York (Anthropology of Contemporary Issues). Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 10. Underground Harmonies III (2/24/03) Film: Style Wars Readings: Tanenbaum, Susie J. 1995 Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics in the Subways of New York (Anthropology of Contemporary Issues). Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 11. Underground Harmonies IV (2/26/03) Readings: Tanenbaum, Susie J. 1995 Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics in the Subways of New York (Anthropology of Contemporary Issues). Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 12. Times Square I (3/3/03) Readings: Wilson, James Q. and George L. Kelling 1982 Broken Windows: The Police and Neighborhood Safety. In The Atlantic Monthly, March: 29-32. Chesluck, Benjamin nd Visible Signs of a City Out of Control: Community Policing, Quality-of-Life, and Broken Windows in New York City. Under review, Cultural Anthropology. 13. Times Square II (3/5/03) Readings: Senelick, Lawrence 1991 Private parts in public places. In Inventing Times Square : commerce and culture at the crossroads of the world. William Robert Taylor (ed.) New York : Russell Sage Foundation. 3/8/03 � Walking Tour of Times Square 14. Going West: Policing in LA (3/10/03) Readings: Davis, Mike Fortress Los Angeles: the militarization of urban space. In Variations on a theme park : the new American city and the end of public space. Michael Sorkin (ed.) pp. 154-180. New York: Noonday Press. 15. Fear and Fences (3/12/03) **PAPER 2 DUE IN CLASS** Readings: Low, Setha M. 2002 The edge and the center: gated communities and the discourse of urban fear. American Anthropologist 103(1):45-58. ?? Spring Break March 15- March 30 ?? 16. Going Shopping: Malls and Suburbia I (3/31/03) Film: Affluenza Readings: Zukin, Sharon 1991 The mill and the mall: power and homogeneity in Westchester County. In: Landscapes of power: from Detroit to Disney World. Berkeley: University of California Press. 17. Going Shopping: Malls and Suburbia II (4/2/03) Readings: Crawford, Margaret 1992 The World in a shopping mall. In Variations on a theme park : the new American city and the end of public space. Michael Sorkin (ed.) pp. 3-30. New York: Noonday Press. 4/5/02 � Shopping Expedition (or: how to get yourself thrown out of a mall) Part 4: Community, Place, Difference 18. Black Corona I (4/7/03) Readings: Gregory, Steven 1998 Black Corona: race and the politics of place in an urban community. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 19. Black Corona II (4/9/03) Readings: Gregory, Steven 1998 Black Corona: race and the politics of place in an urban community. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 20. Black Corona III (4/14/03) Readings: Gregory, Steven 1998 Black Corona: race and the politics of place in an urban community. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 21. Black Corona IV (4/16/03) Readings: Gregory, Steven 1998 Black Corona: race and the politics of place in an urban community. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Part 5: Fear, Fun, and The Future 22. Futures of the Past (4/21/03) **PAPER 3 DUE IN CLASS** Readings: Sheckley, Robert 1978 Futropolis: impossible cities of science fiction and fantasy. London: Bergstr�m and Boyle Books (selections) 23. The City after 9/11/01: Visions (4/23/03) Readings: Zukin, Sharon 2002 Our World Trade Center. In After the World Trade Center: rethinking New York City. Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin (eds). Pp. 13-21. New York : Routledge. Sorkin, Michael 2002 The center cannot hold. In After the World Trade Center: rethinking New York City. Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin (eds). Pp. 197-207. New York : Routledge. http://www.renewnyc.com/ (Website of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation) 24. The City after 9/11/01: Planning (4/28/03) Readings: Low, Setha M. 2002 Spaces of reflection, recovery, and resistance: reimagining the postindustrial plaza. In After the World Trade Center: rethinking New York City. Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin (eds). Pp. 163-171. New York : Routledge. Marcus, Peter 2002 What kind of planning after September 11? The market, the stakeholders, consensus -- or...? In After the World Trade Center: rethinking New York City. Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin (eds). Pp. 153-161. New York : Routledge. 25. The City after 9/11/01: The Local and The Global (4/30/03) Readings: Ross, Andrew 2002 The odor of publicity In After the World Trade Center: rethinking New York City. Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin (eds). Pp. 121-130. New York : Routledge. Smith, Neil 2002 Scales of terror: the manufacturing of nationalism and the war for U.S. globalism. In After the World Trade Center: rethinking New York City. Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin (eds). Pp. 97-108. New York : Routledge. 26. Back to the Future (5/5/03) Readings: Sorkin, Michael 1992 See you in Disneyland. In Variations on a theme park : the new American city and the end of public space. Michael Sorkin (ed.) pp. 205-232. New York: Noonday Press. Part 6: What is a City? 27. Reprise (5/7/03) Readings: Simmel, Georg 1969 The metropolis and Mental life. In Classic Essays in the Culture of Cities. Richard Sennett (ed.) pp. 47-60. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 28. (5/12/03) Course Review and Presentation of Conference projects |