32407
S/VS (Seminar / Advanced Seminar)
WiSe 12/13: The City from Below: A Radical History of New York from 1609 to the Present
Philipp Reick
Comments
New York City has become an emblem of modern metropolis. While Wall Street arouses notions of global financial power and economic centralization, Big Apple still evokes the imagery of roaring entertainment and leisure, just as 5th Avenue continues to be an epitome of luxury and achievement. It is hardly surprising, then, that the city is often depicted, as well as narrated, from above. Executive offices in iconic skyscrapers, fancy apartments overlooking Central Park, a myriad of spectacular views from ships, airplanes, bridges, all connecting this global nod to the rest of the world. This seminar, however, will turn around the bird's eye perspective and take a fresh look from below. By a close reading of primary sources spanning from early colonial time to the 21st century, we will discuss how slaves and workers, women and children, immigrants and natives, radicals and unionists have perceived and built their New York. Scrutinizing the city's complex and contested history over four centuries, we will direct careful attention to the experiences of its racialized and gendered citizens without losing sight of larger socio-economic dynamics. We will combine secondary readings in urban historiography with insights from political theory as well as urban sociology and geography and thus apply an interdisciplinary perspective on issues of mobility, exclusion and resistance.
If you can't register for this course in Campus Management, please try again in 1-2 weeks time or call 838-52474 between 10 and 12 AM.
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Suggested reading
Recommended readings for our first session:
Howard Zinn, What is Radical History?, Chapter 3 of Howard Zinn, The Politics of History, Boston: Beacon Press, 1970, 35-55.
Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker, Introduction and Chapter 1 ("The Wreck of the Sea-Venture") in: The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic, Boston: Beacon Press, 2000, 1-35.
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16 Class schedule
Regular appointments
Thu, 2012-10-18 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2012-10-25 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2012-11-01 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2012-11-08 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2012-11-15 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2012-11-22 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2012-11-29 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2012-12-06 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2012-12-13 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2012-12-20 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2013-01-10 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2013-01-17 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2013-01-24 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2013-01-31 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2013-02-07 12:00 - 14:00
Thu, 2013-02-14 12:00 - 14:00