..no man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
John Donne (1572-1631)
The Manhattan Skyline with the World Board of Trade Buildings, destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001
Week of October 15, 2001 Cities in early 19th Century America
For Monday, October 15
Read, in Schuyler, David, The New Urban Landscape
Introductionp. 1-8
Ch. 1 Flawed Visions: Lessons of Washington and New York pp. 11 - 23
Ch. 2 Toward a Redefinition of Urban Form and Culturepp. 24 - 36
Nothing terribly difficult here. The Introduction will provide an overview of urban developments in the 19th century and introduce you to the names of some seminal thinkers and shapers of urban environments: people like Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Chapter one compares two plans for "new" cities, New York City (now new in scale, if not in place) and Washington, D. C., (new altogether). Pay some attention to the reasons and effects of placing the nation's capital in the "wilderness". Note that a precedent is set here, whereby the capitals of the states are not located in the most populous cities.
For Wednesday, October 17
Read, in Schuyler,
Chapter 3. "The Didactic Landscape: Rural Cemeteries"pp. 37 - 56
Two things I want you to note: First, the relationship of cemetery issues to urban growth and to questions of public health, and second, how the Didactic (i.e. teaching) considerations effect the shape through which the cemeteries respond to these new Urban needs. Some of these issues were touched upon in the video, Suburbs, Arcadias for Everyone, but there are further issues mentioned in this chapter.
Dickens, from American Notes for General Circulationpp. 51 - 64
Kemble and Dickens are English, and we can read them for comparisons between culture in American cities and English cities (Kemble) and for observations on the problems and promises of American Cities (Dickens). Hone is a prominent New York citizen and public figure. Read him to get some sense of the problems that urban growh creates, and also for some of the perils of Urban life. Note his reaction to some of the "rough" edges of American manners.
Chapter Two should remind you of comments I've made from time to time about the ambiguity of American attitudes towards cities. We are aware of the wide variety of cultural leaders and opinion makers that weigh in on all sides of the issue of the relative merits of "city" and "country" living. (Note that some weigh in on both sides of the issue, proving that consistency of thinking is not a requirement). Pay particular attention to the illustrations, though the quality of reproduction isn't very good.
