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Fall semester seminar & topic in fall 2008 Winter/spring short-term seminars
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What
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Short-term seminars at the Newberry in winter/spring 2008 Chicago: The Transformation of America's Second City Catherine Stewart, History, Cornell College Term 8: April 7 - April 30, 2008 |
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This seminar offers students the opportunity to explore both the holdings of the Newberry Library and Chicago’s cityscape through the lens of urban history. We will examine Chicago’s growth from regional center to metropolis with the aim of understanding how urban planning, immigration, industrialization, and class and ethnic conflict all contributed to the evolution of the city. Chicago’s urban landscape was built upon fault lines that became startlingly apparent when conflict erupted during seminal moments in the city's history. For example, Chicago’s factories and railroad companies became arenas of struggle as workers attempted to unionize and strike for better conditions; immigrant and ethnic groups competed for jobs, housing and political power; African Americans entered the fray as a result of the Great Migration from the South; and social workers and reformers, such as Jane Addams, found themselves on public battlegrounds for control of the city’s political machine and municipal services. |
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All of these developments are richly documented in the Newberry’s collections, which include archival materials pertaining to Chicago’s urban planning and architecture, immigrant life, African American communities, industrial growth and labor relations, political development, and diverse civic and commercial cultures. Drawing upon the Library’s offerings, students will discover how the spatial formation of contemporary Chicago still reflects its historical origins, and have the opportunity to use these rare materials in crafting their individual research papers. |
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