Week of February 12

American Studies 334

Urban America

Roger Williams University

GHH 108

T, TH 11:00 -12:20

Spring, 2013

Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D

Office: GHH 215

Hours: T, TH 9:00 - 11:00

M, W 1:00-2:00

Phone: (401) 254-3230

E-mail: mswanson@rwu.edu

The Easiest Quiz you'll ever have:

Whose Birthday Do We Celebrate the 12th of February

For Tuesday, February 12

Read,in Rybczynski,

#3 "A New, Uncrowded World." pp. 51 - 83

#4. "A Frenchman comes to New York," pp. 84 - 109

Whether or not , you had time to read ahead in Rybczynski as I suggested, we're expecting a guest named NEMO starting sometime tomorrow and he may be bringing us a present of two feet of the white stuff. I'm thinking you'll have time to do a little over fifty pages by Tuesday.

For chapter 3, take note of the early colonial American cities, including those like San Agostin, and New Orleans which were not an original part of the emerbing British Empire. Take a look, too at New Amsterdam, "borrowed" (stolen) from the Dutch. You'll find som indication of the source of the name of one of New York's most famous streets here (No, I'm not going to tell you which one.) In that name however, there's a clue to the process by which streets receive names.

Chapter 4 is just a little misnamed. The Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville, landed in another "new" place, just a few miles from here. It is useful to see our works through the eyes of others, and de Tocqueville was a very perceptive man who incidentally loved to travel. What did he think of New York? Did he think Paris and other Europen cities could learn from it, or did he think we might do will to imitate them. What do you think about what he thought.

For Thursday, February 14

60 Broadway: The address of de Tocqueville's boarding house. Things have changed just a wee bit.

No New Readings for Today

I want to settie on a definite list of our representative cities today. Actually, I wanted to do it on Tuesday, but some of you have been a little S L O W in completing your preliminary research on the five cities I assigned you. I took the time to complete the research for students who had left the course, It took me about 4.5 hours to do twenty cities. I am trying not to make this note too crabby, but.....

What I should do is thank the people who did the assignment on time. Some of them did over the top work, and we're going to benefit from their earnest effort. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

If you are caught up, continue with Rybczynski, we're nearing the end of our wprk with him. I'm hoping to finish it next week.