(This syllabus covers two Thursday classes: HIS 106 H01 at 9:25-10:40 in 119W and HIS 106 H02 in NB1.119 at 3:05-4:20)
Course Objectives:
- Students will be able to describe their own relationship to significant issues of justice 2. Students will be able to identify problems and propose solutions through evidence-based inquiry
3. Students will be able to assess the effectiveness of their own role in collaborations with people of diverse backgrounds
4. Students will be able to demonstrate effective planning and reflection to accomplish specific course outcomes
5. Students will engage with co-curricular activities to develop academic goals and personal growth
assignments are listed on the date assigned, not the day due
CLASS 1: TH 08/30
in class: signing of contracts and student info sheets, introduction to
claim / evidence / warrant
assigned reading due 9/06 by class time: reading on claim/evidence/warrant ; (2) Epstein reading
assigned writing due 9/06 by class time through blackboard: homework 1 (hw1) (worth 10% of your semester grade)
assigned viewing due 9/06 by class time: The Wire Season 1, Episode 1
quiz prep: there will be a 5-minute quiz on the reading at the start of next class (that is, on 9/06)
note on time: You will want to set aside three to three and half hours to do the homework. The assigned viewing will take an hour; the assigned reading will likely take 45 minutes to an hour; the written homework will also take 45 minutes to an hour.
optional “subway insurance” due 9/05 at 11:59 through blackboard: subway_insurance_policy
CLASS 2: TH 09/06
in class: in-class quiz #1 (see class 1 above); discussion of asset forfeiture as seen in The Wire
assigned reading due 9/13 by class time: (from blackboard) “Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with their Mothers?” from Steven Leavitt and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics (2006) you will want to do the reading & look at Homework 2 (HW2) before doing the required viewing; doing so will make writing the essay easier )
assigned viewing due 9/13 by class time: The Wire Season 1: Episodes 2 & 3
assigned writing due 9/13 through Bb by class time: hw 2
quiz prep: there will be a 5-minute quiz on the reading and viewing at the start of next class
Concepts for Quiz #2
1) What are, according to the authors, are the four meaningful factors that determine a wage?
2) What about the labor market for drug dealing, according to the authors, means that the wages for most workers will be low, akin to other “glamour occupations” such as architect, NFL quarterback, media professional or (the authors might have added) forensic psychologist or FBI agent?
3) What was so destructive about the timing of crack’s arrival to inner cities?
4) How did crack change the long-term prospects of gang membership?
note on time: You will want to set aside four to five hours to do the homework. The assigned viewing will take two hours; the assigned reading will likely take 45 minutes to an hour to do; the written homework will likely take an hour and a half to two hours to do.
CLASS 3: TH 09/13
in class: in-class quiz #2 (see class 2 above)
assigned reading due 9/20 by class time: (on our blackboard site) two court cases re: “Constructive Possession by Proximity” pp. 44-52 (don’t worry about blank portions)
assigned writing due 9/20 through Bb by class time: homework 3 (hw 3) on “Constructive Possession by Proximity” as seen in The Wire.
note on time by class time: You will want to set aside 3 hours to do the homework. The assigned reading will likely take 35 minutes; the written homework will likely take two hours and twenty minutes to do.
SU 09/16: last day to drop without a “W” grade
CLASS 4: TH 09/20
assigned reading due 9/27 by class time: (from blackboard) Michael Katz, “Poverty and Inequality in the New American City” in The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the Welfare State (2008)
assigned writing due 9/27 by class time: hw 4
quiz prep: there will be a 20-minute, open-note, semi-midterm #3 quiz on the reading at the start of next class. Very important details about this open-note mid term can be found in hw 4.
note on time: You will want to set aside three and half hours to four hours to do the homework. The reading, along with note taking, will take one and a half to two hours to do. The written work will take one hour and fifteen minutes to one hour and forty minutes to do.
Fritz’s students kayaking in 2017
FR 9/21
OPTIONAL KAYAKING TRIP WITH FRITZ DOWN THE HUDSON RIVER!
DETAILS TBA
CLASS 5: TH 9/27
in class: in-class, 20-minute open-note mid-term (Details about this open-note mid term can be found in hw 4) quiz #3
assigned reading due 10/04 by class time: New York Times article on race & wealth as well as this supplemental page of charts (10 minute open-note quiz at start of class on 10/04 on this reading; you may have whatever original, handwritten notes on otherwise blank paper that you want to bring. You can not bring in photocopied or printed notes. You can not, obviously, have the article itself with you either.)
optional extra-credit writing due 10/04 by Bb by class time: EC1
CLASS 6: TH 10/04
We will have no classes on 10/11 (when classes Fritz will be away) but there is HW DURING THIS PERIOD. Indeed, we will have a marathon, Wire-watching binge.
assigned viewing due 10/18: The Wire, episodes 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9
quiz prep: there will be a 15-minute quiz #4 on episodes 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 at the start of next class.
NO CLASSES ON 10/11
CLASS 7: TH 10/18
(quiz#5 on episodes 4-9 at start of this class)
assigned reading due 10/25 by class time: (from blackboard) the graphic book by Marc Mauer, Sabrina Jones, and Michelle Alexander, The Race to Incarcerate (2013) (yes, just one reading)
assigned viewing due 10/25 by class time: The Wire, episodes 10, 11, 12, and 13
quiz prep due 10/25 by class time: there will be a quiz on the reading and episodes 10 – 13 at the start of next class.
note on time: You will want to set aside up to four and four and half hours to do the homework. The reading, along with note taking, will take one to one and a half hours to do. The viewing should will take three hours.
CLASS 8: TH 10/25
in class: quiz on episodes 10 – 13, The Race to Incarcerate
assigned viewing due 11/01 by class time: The Wire, Season 2, episode 1
assigned reading due 11/01 by class time: pp.1-6 and pp. 21-50 of John Pfaff, Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform (2017)
quiz prep due 11/01 by class time: there will be a closed-note, wrap-up quiz on the all of Season 1, episode 1 of season 2, and the Pfaff reading the start of next class; I will e-mail a hint for at least one of the questions.
note on time: You will want to set aside between three and half to four hours to do the homework. The reading, along with note taking, will take one and a half to two hours to do. The viewing should will take one hour.
CLASS 9: TH 11/01
in class: closed-note, quiz #6 on the viewing, and Locked In. In class work with New York Times articles from the 1960s.
assigned writing due 11/15 (yes 11/15) : hw 5, an essay comparing, on the one hand, “The Standard Story” as exemplified by Marc Mauer, Sabrina Jones, and Michelle Alexander with, on the other hand, the analysis of Pfaff in Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform and the New York Times articles from the 1960s.
assigned viewing due 11/15 (yes 11/15) by class time: The Wire, Season 2, episode 2,3,4 and 5
quiz prep due 11/15 (yes 11/15) by class time: there will be a closed-note quiz #7 on The Wire, Season 2, episode 2, 3, 4, and 5 at the start of next class.
No Class 11/08
CLASS 10: TH 11/15
in class: closed-note, quiz #7 on The Wire, Season 2, episodes 2, 3, 4, and 5; division of class into groups for final project
assigned reading due 11/29 by class time: (blackboard) Susan Faludi, “Chapter 1: The Son, The Moon, and the Stars: The Promise of Postwar Manhood” from Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man
assigned writing due 11/29 by class time: hw 6
assigned viewing due 11/29 by class time: The Wire, Season 2, episode 6
quiz prep due 11/29: there will be a closed-note, quiz #8 on both vocab, content from the viewing, and the assigned reading (see hw 6)
CLASS 11: 11/29
in class:quiz #8; introduction to Plotagon (see here for a 14-minute youtube tutorial on Plotagon),
assigned viewing due 12/06 by class time: The Wire, Season 2, episodes 7 and 8 (see below, however, as it makes sense to look at the HW before doing the viewing)
assigned writing due 12/06 class time: hw 7 (look at before doing viewing)
and hw 8 (be sure to do BOTH assignments)
quiz prep due 12/06 by class time: closed-note quiz #9 on The Wire, Season 2, episodes 6-8 at the start of next class.
CLASS 12: 12/06
in class: quiz #9
assigned writing due 12/15 by 9 AM (but there is no class on 12/13): rough script for final project (hw 9)
assigned writing due 12/20: final video project due 12/20 at 11:59 PM; this submission will be BOTH the “annotated script” and a link to the final youtube video of your animation. See here
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