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- Introduction
The suggestion for this seminar came from an MLA graduate, Gil Sandler, who 'Emailed' his thoughts to Dr. Nancy Norris last December. Dr. Norris in turn asked if I would be interested in developing a syllabus for the fall semester, 1995. The result is the seminar which we will be exploring this afternoon which, because of the capacity of the computer lab, is limited to 15 students.
- Course Format
The resources of the SCS Computer lab and its excellent staff, the format, coding (known as HTML or Hyper Text Markup Language), and tools of the World Wide Web were combined to make the syllabus and related materials available electronically.
Let's begin with a brief tour through the syllabus which is available to the members of the seminar at their computer learning stations here on the 4th floor of Shaffer or at home by way of the State Archives server and the internet.
- Objectives
- to explore the Idea of the City in the setting of the New World and
- to introduce students to the computer skills necessary to avail themselves of the resources of the World Wide Web as they pursue the topics of the seminar
For example, we have traveled to the work of Dr. William Bowen at the Geography Department of the University of California, Northridge, where, in the context of discussing Fogelson's view of Los Angeles, we have consulted Dr. Bowen's on-line atlas. This is his analysis of the quality of life in the city. We will also be visiting the work of Michael Stern and Nealy Payton at the University of Virginia where they have been trying to reconstruct the edge city of Owings Mills into a viable urban place.
- Ideas Explored
- The idea of the city has waxed and waned in America. Using Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and a sample 'Edge City' we discuss
- the struggle for acceptance in the 17th & 18th centuries (1607-1830s).
In the course we trace the history of the city from its orgins as a tribal village, both figuratively and literally, beginning with the first efforts to create a city on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay.
- the acceleration of growth, and begrudging acceptance brought by industrialization (ca. 1840-1920)
- the decentralization brought by improved transportation, industrial decline (loss of employment in manufacturing and heavy industry- 1920-1980s)
- the competition for limited resources between the often lifeless edge city and the 'traditional' central city
- The 1960s represent a major change in our perceptions of the importance and value of the central city
Many of our leaders abandoned the cities to their fate, emphasizing instead the need for effective policing of the streets. Listen carefully to who the Governor thought it was necessary to consult in the wake of the 1967 Cambridge disturbances, and who he blamed for what happened in April of 1968.
- Today we generally think of the city with considerable ambivalence
- crime ridden
- cultural oasis
- possibly a place to help by hidding it's ills in the countryside or suburbia (David Rusk proposal: Baltimore Unbound), a proposal the courts have accepted, but the surrounding counties have not. Just this morning State Senator Delores G. Kelly was quoted as saying that "the middle-class constituents that she and [Del. Emmett C.] Burns represent do not want hundreds of public housing residents who have a "very different life experience," moving to their streets. "The few pockets of street crime we have in the county are where we have concentrations of [rent subsidized residents," she said."
- possibly a place to dump or confine all of our social ills where we can either manage them better or more easily ignore them
- Conclusion:
Final Observation
The Idea of the City as a course is not meant to supply answers, it is designed to promote discussion, broach new ideas, and promote the tolerance of new ways of looking at who we are, what we are and where we are going. Indeed the ultimate purpose of the MLA program is to help us think more clearly, understand our world a little better, articulate our thoughts more persuasively both verbally and in writing, and, as a by-product, learn to make the best use of the tools at hand, including the computer, the internet, and the World Wide Web. The reward is that mark of distinction and achievement, the MLA degree from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Continuing Studies, but the satisfaction comes long before through the process itself, through the reading, the discussions, the writing, and the dynamic exchange of ideas which are the hallmarks of what it means to be a master of liberal arts.
Thank you