Final Paper Assignment

For the final research paper you can choose to focus on one of the two major historical events or struggles we studied in the last part of the course:

• the fight over community control of the NY City’s public schools in the late 1960s, which culminated in the 1968 UFT strike;

OR

• the origins of CUNY in 1961 and its subsequent growth, ending with fight by students of color for open access and Black and Puerto Rican Studies programs in 1969 and the implementation of Open Admissions after 1970.

Pick an aspect of either of these educational struggles that you find particularly interesting and want to know more about by conducting primary source research on the topic. Here are some examples (they are hardly exhaustive):

• the role of students, families, and communities in these struggles;
• the activism and actions of political and institutional grassroots leaders;
• the role of trade unions;
• the role of teachers and other educators (aside from their unions)
• the role of education and political bureaucracies;
• the way the press reported the event(s), etc.

Then write a critical historical analysis of that event. Be sure in your analysis to include a review of the relevant secondary historical literature about the aspect(s) of the event you chose to focus on. For example, we will expect you to comment in your essay on the historical interpretations and analysis offered by the scholars, journalists, and/or historical actors we read and discussed in class (e.g. Podair, Isaacs, Taylor, and Brier, Lewis, Rickford on the community control struggles; and Wechsler, Biondi, Freeman, Phillips-Fein, and Fabricant & Brier on CUNY). Your essay should center on the use of primary historical source materials drawn from a handful (at least three to five, but more if you are so motivated) of historical sources, which can include:

• period newspapers (the easiest to use online are the New York Timesand the Amsterdam News [available remotely using your NYPL library i.d.]), magazines and/or television/radio reportage that you can find online (e.g, the “out takes” and full transcriptions from the recorded “Eyes on the Prize” episode on Ocean Hill-Brownsville in the Washington University in St. Louis archives: http://digital.wustl.edu/eyesontheprize/browse.html; browse by name of interviewee);
• primary sources in online archives (the CUNY Digital History Archive(https://cdha.cuny.edu) is one obvious place to begin for CUNY; the Marilyn Gittell Digital Archive (https://gittell.newmedialab.cuny.edu/) on material related to the community control struggles in the public schools; as well as the Harlem Education History Project: https://harlemeducationhistory.library.columbia.edu/collection/) on the IS 201 struggle and parents’ overall organizing efforts in Harlem’
• previously collected and digitized letters and/or memoirs, and oral history interviews (Steve’s oral history interviews and transcriptions with community control activists, of which there are 30, are available as well as the material he previously culled from the Ford Foundation archives on their support for community control organization).

If neither of these subjects particularly excites or motivates you, you may choose to write on an alternative topic, with approval from us. The basic structure of incorporating primary historical sources and secondary scholarly interpretations will remain the same. If you want us to consider an alternative final paper topic make sure to set up an appointment to chat about it as soon as possible.

Whatever topic you choose (even if it is related to community control or CUNY), we highly encourage you to send us a short outline, via email (again, as soon as feasible), so that we can make sure you are on the right track and offer you feedback and suggestions.

The final essay should be approximately 20-25 pages in length, double-spaced, with appropriate footnotes or endnotes and a list of Works Cited/Bibliography, using whichever of the citation styles you are most comfortable with (but be consistent in your usage!). Please submit the essay as a Word document, as that format is much easier for commenting and feedback.

Your final paper should be submitted via email attachment NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM, Wednesday, December 16^th.

 

Second Assignment (now due November 22nd by 6pm)

The purpose of this assignment is to help you practice constructing and supporting an academic argument related to historical scholarship. We want you to draw on 3-4 assigned texts from across at least 2 different weeks’ readings to develop and support a central argument/thesis that is interesting to you. Your thesis may be about history (events, processes, people, etc.) or historiography (how scholars have addressed (or not) history). Your paper should be between 4-5 pages with normal font and margins, etc. If you wish, you may incorporate additional primary and secondary sources beyond the assigned readings into your argument, but this is not the expectation and should not be the focus of your essay. 

As with your first papers, expect detailed feedback from the two of us about how well your argument is structured and bolstered with quotations and citations from the various texts and how clear and concise your writing is.

Be sure to properly cite all quoted and referenced sources (and include a Bibliography/Works Cited at the end of your paper). Please be sure to submit your paper as a Word document (not as a .pdf, Google doc, or Pages) and to include your last name in the file name of the paper that you send (e.g., “Smith essay 2.doc”).

We recommend that you let us know in advance (no later than November 18th) which readings you have chosen and the topic you plan to explore so that we may offer you feedback before you dig in. You are welcome to also share your working thesis for feedback at that point, but this is not required.

 

First Essay Assignment

 Choose one (and only one) of the following four questions and write a four- to five-page, double-spaced analytical essay, drawing on between 3-4 of our course readings from at least two different weeks. Be sure to properly cite all quoted and referenced sources (and include a Bibliography/Works Cited at the end of your paper). You can incorporate, if you wish, additional primary and secondary sources beyond the assigned readings in your essay, but this is not the expectation. Be sure to submit your paper as a Word document (not as a .pdf, Google doc, or Pages) and to include your last name in the file name of the paper that you send (e.g., “Smith essay 1.doc”).

The purpose of this assignment is to get you used to constructing and supporting an academic argument related to the historical issues and materials we have considered so far in the course. Expect detailed feedback from the two of us about how well your argument is structured and bolstered with quotations and citations from the various texts and how clear and concise your writing is.

The paper is due via email attachment to both Judith and Steve NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM, Tues., Oct. 6^th, 2020. 

1. Taking the common schools as a starting point, how does broadening our study of the origins of public schooling beyond the Northeast/Midwest change our understanding? How does centering race change the narrative of the early history (nineteenth century) of American education?
2. At this point in the semester you have read both political and social histories of the development of American education. How do narratives focusing on political and educational leaders complement and/or contrast with narratives focusing on families and “every day” citizens in a construction of the history of education?
3. Compare and contrast earlier 19^th century approaches to common school education with the changes introduced in public schools after 1900 by Progressive-era educators and reformers. Your answer should consider at least two of the following aspects of public education in these two eras: a) the ethnic/racial/gender identities of public school students; b) pedagogical theories and approaches to teaching and learning; c) the role of teachers and administrative leaders; and/or d) ideological and philosophical justifications for public schooling.