Learning Our City

Submitted by wtd on Sun, 05/08/2011 - 16:15
Don't overlook it
This was such an interesting course. I’ve found that I’m always telling my friends all of the neat little factoids that I’ve learned from the readings (flattening out the hills and valleys of Manhattan, the creation of Central Park, New Amsterdam, Eisenman’s awfully uncomfortable architecture, Saint Jane Jacobs vs. Moses’ plans to destroy Washington Square and other parts of the Village, Le Corbusier’s desire for gigantic and impersonal buildings here in the city, who did what, when, where, and why, and so on…). Everyone seems to be genuinely fascinated with the random things I tell them.
 
The one thought I’ve had over and over again, why is this not a freshman prerequisite? This should be mandatory for all incoming new students! If NYU wants to tout how “connected” they are to the local community, why are we not required to take a course like this, a “History of the City” course, that actually teaches students about the area in which they live? My one regret is that I did not take this course sooner, as I now feel like I’ve been walking around the city for years with blinders on. No wonder the Village hates us, we take over historic buildings and exclude the citizens, all while acting as if we don’t even really care about this city. Do we bother to teach our students about the history of the buildings they live and work in? In general, the answer is no, and the students don’t seem to mind. It’s embarrassing. I remember overhearing some students on the centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire:
 
“What’s all this for?”
 
“I don’t know, some people were killed around here or something.”
 
“What? When?”
 
“Like, a long time ago or something."

Overall, this was such a fantastic class, especially for a school within a city. I’m very glad I signed up. But, I must say, Take Back NYU? How about Give Back NYU, give it back to the city until the students learn to care.
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Ivy's picture

I completely agree that this

Submitted by Ivy on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 11:05.
I completely agree that this course should be a prerequisite for freshman at NYU - not only do I think that learning, knowing and thinking about architecture should be fundamental, but also that as students and residents of New York City, I think many of us have a hard time connecting and relating with our surroundings. It was not until this year that it really struck me how deeply connected I feel to New York and for what reasons etc. It wasnt until this year that I let go of the "wouldnt it be nice to have some sort of campus" mentality and understood that I couldnt be happier, more stimulated, recieve a better education anywhere but New York City. This course was like an overview of everything I've studied for the past 4 years and it really helped me to flesh things out and understand things better.