IDH 4001H (Seminar 4): Shaping the Future of New York City, Spring 2014
Macaulay Honors College at Baruch College
Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:30 – 3:45 pm
Newman Vertical Campus, Room 3-145
Course Description:
Seminar 4 seeks to analyze the ongoing interplay of social, economic and political forces that shape the physical form and social dynamics of New York City. By studying the institutional agents of change in the city – federal, state, and city government, public authorities, private sector interests, community boards, and community-based organizations, we will understand and analyze what individuals and institutions do in the process of government, and the ways in which their actions are affected by patterns of inequality and power. I expect that you will apply what you have learned in Seminars 1, 2, and 3 to this course.
Learning objectives for the seminar include:
- Students will use primary sources to understand community institutions, the local economy, and the role of government.
- Students will understand how power differentially affects New York City’s people, its built environment, and its institutions.
- Students will begin to engage critically and constructively in key policy debates that shape the future of the city.
- Students will learn about formal and informal institutions that underlie decision making in the city by analyzing historical and contemporary policy issues.
- Students will improve all aspects of their presentation skills.
Each Seminar 4 instructor takes a different approach to the study of cities and has different areas of expertise – thus, every section of the seminar will have a somewhat different orientation while sharing the common description that I have outlined above. In this seminar, we will look first at the broad forces that have shaped the physical, social, and political landscape of New York City, and then focus more narrowly on the topic of gentrification in four New York City neighborhoods. The course thus is divided into three sections. In the first section, we consider some of the major forces that have shaped American cities, and particularly New York City, since the 20th century. Note that this is a very selective examination, as we are constrained by time. In the second section, we examine some key issues facing contemporary New York City, again selectively. In the third section, we look particularly at the issue of gentrification in in New York City.
