Reading Journal

Your journal is a private place (on Blackboard) to reflect on the assigned texts and show me what you are thinking about as you read this semester. When applicable, entries are due before class begins, and should reflect on the text(s) assigned for the following day. Each entry should meet the following criteria:

• 200 words minimum
• Incorporate direct quotes (include page # when possible)
• Avoid summarizing the text
• Constitute “close reading”

You will be responsible for 20 journal entries this semester, worth 20% of your final grade in this class.

In-Class Writing Activities

During most of our class sessions, I will ask you to complete some kind of writing activity that relates to the texts or topics that day. You’ll submit these for credit on Blackboard under the “Writing Activities” page, but they cannot be completed unless you were in class that day.

These submissions will be worth 20% of your final grade in this class, and are separate from your general “participation” grade.

Spotify Playlist Essay

Due Friday, March 15 (20% of final grade)

Take a look at the Music page for a preview of this assignment. After we spend some time learning about how NYC is represented and shaped by cultural texts, we’ll turn our attention to Spotify’s official “I Love NYC” playlist. Each student will analyze and critique the dominant narratives promoted by Spotify, reading songs as we would prose or poetry.

Throughout Unit 2 of our course, we’ll think about the relationship between corporate interests, social/digital media, and the cultural construction of “New York City” online.

Taking inspiration from the writers and artists who critique streaming services’ profit models that put musicians and writers at a financial disadvantage, I’d like you to apply a critical eye to Spotify’s official “I Love NYC” playlist. 

Focusing on 1 or 2 songs (at least 1 should be from the playlist itself), you should rely on some of the issues we’ve discussed this semester––the “exceptionality” of NYC, immigrant narrative(s), the American Dream, class, labor, gentrification, the history of activism, neighborhood culture(s), the material reality of our city––to critique (“say something about”) Spotify’s playlist. Your point (or thesis, or argument) should rely on your song choice(s) as evidence. 

Maybe you feel the playlist misrepresents NYC, or promotes a distorted set of stereotypes about the City. Maybe you think it captures something or somethings unique about New York. Maybe you take issue with a certain lack of representation or a sense of overrepresentation among the playlist’s artists. Maybe you have ideas for a more suitable NYC playlist. Maybe you wonder what the goal of Spotify’s playlist is––to accurately represent NYC, or to promote already popular music for more clicks and streams? Your essay should be focused and center on a clear critique or point of view, rather than try to address all of these questions and issues. You are free to make it “personal”!

Basic Requirements:

• 1,000 words minimum
• Focus on 1-2 songs maximum (at least 1 from Spotify playlist)
• Size 12 font, double-spaced throughout, page #s
• MLA formatting (but don’t need citations or Works Cited)
• Incorporate direct quotes from song lyrics
• Have a clear critique, thesis, point, argument, etc.

Final Project

You have three (3) options for the final project, which is worth 25% of your final grade in this course.

For all options, the following expectations apply:
• Due by Tuesday, May 21 at 11:59PM
• No extensions will be granted due to QC’s grading deadline
• Your project must reasonably relate to NYC and the themes of our class
• Propose your project idea to me on BB under In-Class Writing Activities > Thurs. 5/9

Option 1: Interactive Map

Using a program like www.zeemaps.com, choose some theme, topic or community and create your own map.
• Include at least 5-10 marked locations
• Each location should include a written note, annotation or blurb of at least 3-4 sentences
• Write a separate 500-word framing essay to provide context for your project
• Include a link to your map and upload your framing essay as a PDF to BB

For the framing essay, I’m looking for context from you about the significance of your project to the course, to NYC and to you personally. You can give background info, explain your creative process, and reflect on how you feel the project ties into our discussion of literature and NYC this semester.

Option 2: Original Zine and/or Graphic Narrative

By hand or on a computer, produce a zine and/or graphic narrative.
• Create at least a cover, 6 pages and a back cover (8 total min.)
• Any graphic narratives or comic strips should be in recognizably “comic” form
• Write a separate 500-word framing essay to provide context for your project
• Scan/convert your project and the framing essay to PDF and upload to BB

For the framing essay, I’m looking for context from you about the significance of your project to the course, to NYC and to you personally. You can give background info, explain your creative process, and reflect on how you feel the project ties into our discussion of literature and NYC this semester.

Option 3: Site Visit

Go to a location from one of our literary texts this semester OR a relevant museum exhibit, then write a guide and/or review of your visit.
• Write 1,000 words minimum
• Upload a PDF of your essay to BB

Pre-approved museum exhibit options:
• El Museo del Barrio (Free for CUNY) “Urban Experiences” collection
• The Museum of the City of New York (Free for CUNY)
• The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (Free for CUNY)
• Poster House (Free for CUNY) “Wonder City of the World: New York City Travel Posters” exhibit
• National Museum of the American Indian (Free/pay what you wish) “Jeffrey Veregge: Of Gods and Heroes” exhibit; “Native New York” exhibit
• Queens Museum of Art (pay what you wish) “The Panorama of the City of New York” collection; “World’s Fair” collection; “The Relief Map of the New York City Water Supply System” collection