Overview
Take-Home Final Exam (due Dec 14 by the end of the day though you can submit earlier than that). If you turn it in late, your grade will be lowered. It is easy for me to catch plagiarism or use of chatgpt so don’t do that. If you do, you will receive a zero on the exam which will make it almost impossible to pass this course.
Pick two of the essays below and answer them. In the essays, you need to demonstrate a sufficient knowledge of historical themes, historical facts, specific historical events and key individuals. You should be able to answer each essay in about 800 to 1,000 words (that’s about 3 pages double-spaced). In each essay, you must provide quote, make use of, or cite 3 different readings (or the documentaries) that were assigned during the semester or are in the “reading for the semester folder” on blackboard and while you do not need to use formal footnotes, it should be clear to the reader (me) which sources you are using. Be sure to read the questions/prompts carefully. Ideally submit final exam essays on blackboard as only one document (meaning put your two essays in one document and submit it). I should be able to identify which essays you are answering, but good if you make it clear (for example if you answer essay 1 and 3, put “essay 1” and “essay 3” before each essay).
- What has been the experience of black New Yorkers, other people of color, and immigrants to NYC from 1900 to the present? In your essay, be sure to discuss when these different groups moved to NYC during this period, what obstacles and difficulties they faced, when did they arrive in NYC, in what ways they organized to improve their situation, and how the city has benefited from these groups coming to NYC. Also, what are some examples of different forms of culture (music, art, and literature) in this period that were created by people of color and immigrants? Do not write only about black New Yorkers in your essay. You need to also write about other people of color (such as Latinos or Asians) and immigrants.
- One way of looking at NYC’s history from 1900 to the present is to see it as period where there have been moments of progress (i.e., periods when economy was good and working-class New Yorkers, black New Yorkers, and other oppressed groups such as members of the LBGTQ community did better) and moments of decline when these groups did less well and the gap between the rich and poor grew. What were moments of progress in this period? What were periods when regression, decline, and economic crisis? Give examples of how different groups fought for their rights. What explains why the city went into financial and economic crisis at certain points such as the 1970s?
- What do you think are four of the most significant challenges facing NYC today? Discuss each of them and how the city might address them. Also, are these challenges new or have they been challenges that the city has faced in the past that are similar and if so how?
- The period from 1974 to the present have been a time of massive change for the city. Discuss in what way that is the case in terms of changes to the city’s economy, politics, population change, and culture. Be sure to be specific and discuss the role of different mayors and policies they advocated for. Also be sure to explain how these changes are connected to broader national and international trends.