Four children on a street in Chinatown, New York City, c. 1903. (Image from Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division: LC-USZ62-132908)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Craig Wilder
MIT Course Number
21H.235
As Taught In
Fall 2009
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
Hitherto it had gone by the original Indian name Manna-hatta, or as some still have it, 'The Manhattoes'; but this was now decried as savage and heathenish... At length, when the council was almost in despair, a burgher, remarkable for the size and squareness of his head, proposed that they should call it New-Amsterdam. The proposition took every body by surprise; it was so striking, so apposite, so ingenious. The name was adopted by acclamation, and New-Amsterdam the metropolis was thenceforth called.
—Washington Irving, 1808
In less tongue-in-cheek style, this course examines the evolution of New York City from 1607 to the present. The readings focus on the city's social and physical histories, and the class discussions compare New York's development to patterns in other cities.