Assignment for Friday, 3/6

There are three readings for next time:

1. First, read Richard Croker's "Tammany Hall and the Democracy" in the UP Reader.

2. Then, read the following sections from "Plunkitt of Tammany Hall" (available here):

• Preface
• A Tribute by Murphy (one paragraph)
• Chapter 1: Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft
• Chapter 3: The Curse of Civil Service Reform

(If you end up printing this out, it's about the first 12 pages, minus chapter 2.)

3. Finally, read Bridges and Kronick, "Writing the Rules to Win the Game," in the UP reader.

Feel free to summarize any one of these, although I suggest you be wary of Croker and especially Plunkitt - as first person accounts, they are hard to summarize.

Assignment for Friday, 2/27

For next time, read the article by Gurwitt in the UP Reader, "Black, White, and Blurred." PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT A SUMMARY IN FEBRUARY. FYI, we will also see a film next time, so bring popcorn if you'd like.

Assignment for Friday, 2/20

For next Friday, read the following articles in the UP reader:

• Clarence Stone, "Looking Back to Look Forward..."
• Browning, et al, "Can People of Color Achieve Equality..."
• Adolph Reed, "Demobilization in the New Black Political Regime"

Feel free to summarize ONE of these readings; there will be a link available on turnitin.com to submit the summary. (And remember that you need to write at least one summary in February, although it would be best to do more.) We'll discuss all of these readings next week.

Assignment for Friday, 2/13

Your assignment (after you familiarize yourself with this website) is to read the following articles from the Urban Politics Reader:

• Review "A Top 10 List of Things to Know about American Cities," by Wyly, et al. (We discussed this in class already.)
• Read "Who Governs," by Dahl.
• Read "The Interests of the Limited City," by Peterson.

You may, if you wish, summarize EITHER Dahl OR Peterson (but not both - remember, one summary per week). Your summary must be uploaded to the turnitin.com site BEFORE class begins on Friday.

Syllabus

Course Description

This course will examine the policy issues and politics that face urban areas, with particular attention paid to the specific city that surrounds us: New York. We will begin by evaluating different theoretical perspectives on who holds power in cities and why. We also examine the crucial role of race and ethnicity within urban power structures. Next, we will survey some important episodes from the historical development of cities, including the rise of urban machines and the progressive reform movements that attempted to defeat them. Then we will turn to an examination of urban political economy, including fiscal crises and globalization. Finally, we will situate urban politics within broader political contexts of regional and national politics, including a look at how cities like New York confront terrorism.

You have chosen to study city politics while you are located in what is often described as the quintessential city. Therefore, throughout the course we will attempt to take advantage of our proximity and examine policy issues taken from contemporary New York City politics. These efforts will include guest speakers and possibly a field trip.

Required Texts

Students are encouraged to purchase the following book:

The Urban Politics Reader
Elizabeth A Strom, John H Mollenkopf (eds)
Routledge Urban Reader Series (2006)
ISBN: 9780415319966

This book is available from Shakespeare and Company (939 Lexington Avenue, at 69th Street). You may be able to find a less expensive used copy online. If you purchase online or elsewhere, however, make sure that you can get the book in a timely fashion.

Additional readings may be assigned throughout the semester through the use of handouts, library access, and online links at the course website.

Course Requirements

-- Come to class prepared. Complete all required readings beforehand, and bring your readings to class.

-- Participate. Attend class regularly and on time—you cannot participate if you are not present—and join your colleagues in critical analysis of the assigned readings. In order to encourage participation, you will be asked to complete the following assignment:

• Summaries. Write six (6) one-page summaries of assigned readings throughout the course of the semester. Guidelines for summary writing will be distributed during the first class. In general, you can submit summaries whenever you would like, with the following restriction: one summary must be completed in September, with an additional one (two in total) due by the mid-term exam. Still, I encourage you to WRITE YOUR SUMMARIES EARLY – do not wait until the end of the semester, or you may run out of time to complete your required seven. Summaries must be submitted electronically before class (see below).

-- Attend special events, including guest speakers and/or field trips. Every attempt will be made to ensure that events are held during regular class hours. If an event extends beyond this period and you have a schedule conflict, you may need to complete additional assignments as required by the course instructor. Field trips may involve a small fee.

-- Complete all other written assignments:

• Exams. You will be given two examinations during the course, a mid-term and a final. The final exam focuses primarily on material covered in the second half of the course, but may build upon and refer to material discussed earlier. Exams will consist of brief essay questions, with the questions distributed in advance. Questions will be based on the required readings and on classroom discussions.
• Paper. A 9-10 page research paper is required, with final draft due towards the end of class. Details for the assignment, including deadlines and instructions, will be distributed in class during the semester.
  

-- All summaries and papers must be submitted electronically using the Turnitin website. You should make sure you are familiar with Turnitin long BEFORE an assignment is due; ignorance, unfamiliarity, or technical difficulties will not be an excuse for late submission of any assignment. To enroll in Turnitin:

• Using a web browser, go to http://www.turnitin.com.
• Click on “New Users Click Here” in the upper right corner of the screen. Create a student profile using the class ID of 2594922 and enrollment password ppc09.
• Follow the remaining enrollment instructions. Remember your user name (which should be your e-mail address) and password.
  

Grading

Your grade will be based on your written work and your class participation. Course requirements will be weighted as follows when calculating your grade:

• Paper: 25%
  The paper will be worth one-fourth of your grade (25%). Grading criteria will be included when the paper assignments are distributed. A one letter grade penalty will be imposed upon late papers without valid documentation (e.g., medical emergency).
• Exams: 50%
  Of the two exams, your lowest grade will be worth 20%, while your highest will be worth 30%. Make-up exams will be given only when proper documentation for the absence is provided.
• Participation: 25%
  Submission of all required summaries establishes a base participation grade of B. Failure to submit a summary will lower this grade by one-third of a letter (e.g., B to B-). Excessive lateness or absences may lead to further reductions, while frequent and thoughtful contributions to class discussion will have the opposite effect.
  

Incomplete grades will be assigned only for a valid and documented cause, for a length of time specified by the instructor when the documentation is accepted.

Academic Integrity

Students should be aware of the college’s policies regarding cheating, plagiarism and any other kind of academic misconduct as outlined in the MMC Academic Honesty Policy. These policies will be discussed briefly during the first class, and are available here. Students who have questions or concerns about their written work should discuss these with the instructor before submitting any assignments.

Special Needs

Any student who is learning disabled, whose primary language is other than English, or who has other special needs and may thus require special accommodations should notify me immediately.

Course Schedule (subject to change)

Below are scheduled readings assigned for the semester. Please note that these assignments may need to be changed as the semester progresses; any changes will be announced in class and posted on the course website. All readings can be found in the Urban Politics Reader unless otherwise noted.

Friday, February 6
Introduction
Urban Politics: An Overview
-- Wyly et al., A Top 10 List of Things to Know About American Cities

POWER AND POLITICS

Friday, February 13
The Community Power Debate
-- Dahl, Who Governs?
Urban Interests
-- Peterson, The Interests of the Limited City

Friday, February 20
Urban Regimes
-- Stone, Looking Back to Look Forward: Reflections on Urban Regime Analysis
Race and Ethnicity
-- Browning, et al, Can People of Color Achieve Equality in City Government?
-- Reed, Demobilization in the New Black Political Regime: Ideological Capitulation and Radical Failure in the Post-Segregation Era

Friday, February 27
Race and Ethnicity
-- Gurwitt, Black, White, and Blurred
-- FILM: Street Fight

CITY HISTORY

Friday, March 6
Urban Machines
-- Plunkitt of Tammany Hall (available on course website)
-- Croker, Tammany Hall and the Democracy
Progressive Urban Reform
-- Bridges and Kronick, Writing the Rules to Win the Game: The Middle-Class Regimes of Municipal Reformers

Friday, March 13
Postwar Economic Development
-- Mollenkopf, The Postwar Politics of Urban Development
Community Empowerment
-- Dreier, Community Empowerment Strategies: The Limits and Potential of Organizing in Low Income Neighborhoods
Exam Review

Friday, March 20
MID-TERM EXAMINATION

Friday, March 27
Special Event – T.B.D.

URBAN POLITICAL ECONOMY

Friday, April 3
Fiscal Crises
-- Shefter, The Political Economy of Urban Fiscal Crises
The Global City
-- Sassen, Overview and Economic Restructuring as Class and Spatial Polarization
-- Solnit, Detroit Arcadia (available on the course website)

Friday, April 10
NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK

Friday, April 17
Special Event – T.B.D.

CITIES, STATES, NATIONS

Friday, April 24
National Urban Policy
-- Bissinger, Urban Sacrifice
Regionalism
-- Dreier, et al, Regionalisms Old and New

Friday, May 1
Special Event – T.B.D.

Friday, May 8
Cities and Terrorism
-- Eisinger, The American City in the Age of Terror
Course Review
Exam Review

Friday, May 15
FINAL EXAMINATION