IDH 4001H (Seminar 4): Shaping the Future of New York City, Spring 2015 Macaulay Honors College at Baruch College Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:10 a.m. – 12:25 p.m. Newman Vertical Campus,
Professor Donna Gitter Office: Vertical Campus, 10-292 Office Hours: By appointment. I am happy to schedule a mutually convenient time. Telephone: (646) 312-3602 Email: [email protected]
Instructional Technology Fellow (ITF) Name: Kara Van Cleaf Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Tuesdays, 10 AM – 2 PM, Weinstein Honors Lounge, 17 Lexington Ave, Room 903 (no appointment necessary) Baruch ITFs Website: http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/baruchitfs/
Course Description: Seminar 4 examines the issue of income inequality in New York City, including its definition, whether it is truly a negative phenomenon, and how it is related to education, housing, a living wage, health care, the environment, and entrepreneurship, among other issues Your final projects will involve considering whether income inequality is truly a problem, and, if so, how to address it. Learning objectives for the seminar include: Students will use primary sources to analyze contemporary legal and policy issues facing New York City. Students will engage critically and constructively in key policy debates that shape the future of the city, through in-class discussions, presentations, and colloquia. Students will propose and explore innovative approaches to the issues studied. Students will demonstrate the necessary technological, written communication, and oral communication skills to convey their ideas effectively and persuasively
Course Assignments: This course has the following assignments and requirements: 1. Reading reactions and question. For each of the following classes listed below, you must post to the class blog (directions for that below) a response of at least five paragraphs reacting to the assigned reading (not a summary of the reading. Please post the night before the class in which we’ll discuss the reading. I want to know if you agreed, didn’t agree, didn’t understand, wanted more clarification on the issue), as well as a thoughtful question about the reading or the topic. You will be asked to share these in class and we will use these as a jumping off point for our in-class discussion. These posts are due for your choice of 14 out of the following 17 classes: Classes 1
# 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22.
You do not have to write a response to 3 of the above classes of your choice. I will not grade the responses you hand in, but you will receive no credit for your submissions if they are not thoughtful and/or if they do not reflect that you have done the reading. In order to post to the course blog, please follow these directions: Go to: http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/gitter15/ If you are not already registered for your eportfolio account, login using your eportfolio username and password. Then, click on “Add Me” to sign up for the site using the password: "seminarfour". Now you are ready to post! For some refreshers on how to post and use wordpress, look under the "Resources" menu for "Wordpress Tutorials."
2. Final Project: The Seminar 4 symposium is on Sunday, May 3 at the Macaulay Honors College at 35 West 67th Street. As a class, we will present a 15-minute video analyzing whether income inequality is a problem in New York. If we feel it is not, we will focus on one of the problems facing New York that we are discussing in class (education, housing, etc.). If we determine income inequality is a problem, we will consider which of the many topics we study (education, housing) provides the best means of addressing it.
Each group of 4 students will create a 3-minute video setting forth their policy proposals, along with an 8-page paper describing the policy measures in more detail. ITF Kara Van Cleaf is available to help you use imovie to create your video.
The video will be due on Tuesday, April 28. Please email a copy to me and to ITF Kara Van Cleaf (contact information on the first page of this syllabus) The paper is due on Thursday, April 30. Please hand in a hard copy in class.
Grading: I will calculate course grades as follows. Please note that as this course involves a group project, a portion of your grade will be based on a peer assessment completed by the other members of your group. I will provide assessment forms at the end of the semester. Reading reactions/questions 15% Class presentation on February 26 (see description below) 15% Final video 20% Final paper 20% Peer assessment 15% Class participation (includes attendance at Seminar 4 Conference) 15%
Course Requirements:
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