The Sixties and New York City Revisited Spring 2017 Macaulay Honors College, CUNY (Preliminary) Syllabus Course Description Welcome to my class! Actually, welcome to a class originally proposed and designed by Professor Ted Widmer for whom I am indebted for some of the ideas in the syllabus that follows. As he wrote This will be an immersive journey through the long, strange trip of the 1960s, concentrating on the central role played by New York City. The course will move chronologically through a decade that still affects us strongly fifty years later, focusing on the dreams that were realized, and those that fell short. I am a visually-oriented social scientist. So, in our “collaboratively” evolving in and out of class experience, we will explore a wide variety of views (visions?) of the Big Apple “then” and now” via print, celluloid, videotape, and electronic media. We will also travel outside the comfort of our classroom to revisit neighborhoods that were iconic in the 1960s such as Greenwich Village and Harlem to see and record how they have changed. Together we will visit museums where we can more leisurely explore art and historical exhibitions about the period. The first thing we will consider in class is how has New York City been the 1960s been characterized? Given the current concern about “fake” news, we should ask “How true or accurate are those depictions?” Everyone I know seems to have a different idea about the celebrated time period, as well as an interesting story or example that they are sure is iconic. Why is this so, or is this also fake news? Since I am a social scientist, we will consider first of all how does one's position in society affect their view of historical. As a humanist, and an activist, I also want to know the effect of those events on their personal lives. th Classroom Location: Macaulay Honors College, 35 West 67 Street, Room 3S Course Structure and Readings: Required Readings Preliminary (Selections From): The Autobiography of Malcolm X Robert Caro, The Power Broker Gil Fagiano, “An Italian American on the Left,” Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities Martin Luther King speech at Riverside Church (1967) Jerome Krase and Judith N. DeSena, Race Class and Gentrification in Brooklyn: A View from the Street (2016) Joseph P. Lyford, The Airtight Cage The Moynihan Report (1965) http://www.blackpast.org/primary/moynihan-report- 1965#sthash.UONMQVnu.dpuf Michael Novak, The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics REPORT OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMISSION ON CIVIL DISORDERS (1967) Gay Talese, The Bridge Sol Yurick, The Warriors, “How I Came to Write the Warriors and What Happened After.” Week One: January 30 Introduction: New York City in the 1960 s Topics: Meet and Greet. Imagining the 1960s in New York City. What is collaborative teaching? What do we want to learn about? Using the comparative method. Your view of the sixties versus their (or my) view. He said, she said, history and herstory. A demographic view of NYC then and Now. Did you know that the original title for this course “Positively Fourth Street” derives from a song by Bob Dylan? Why is he an icon for New York City in the 1960s? Why did he win the Nobel Prize for Literature? Who decides what is iconic? How does the 2010s compare to the 1960s or any other decade for that matter. Can you imagine yourself living in New York City in the 1960s? Planning our field trips and museum visits and discussing course assignments and grading. Reading: Selections for next week TBA Week Two: February 6 How to Write Your Semi-Fictional Sixties (Auto)Biography. A Social Explorer Tutorial and Exercise led by Sara Martucci Readings: Selections for next week TBA Week Three: Wednesday Febrary 15 February 20 No class Week Four: February 27 Week Five: March 6 Week Six: March 13 Week Seven: March 20 Week Eight: March 27 Week Nine: April 3 Week Ten: April 20 Thursday make up class for field/museum trip Week Eleven: April 24 Week Twelve: May 1 Make up class for field/museum trip Week Thirteen: May 8 Week Fourteen: May 15 Review of Class and Student Presentations on their Biographies Week Fifteen: Final .