An Illustrated Cultural History of NYC, Part I: From Mannahatta Through the Gilded Age

Brought to you by Odyssey

Sept. 21, 2022 - Oct. 26, 2022 (6 Sessions)

Wednesday, 6:30 PM ET

 

Course Description: An Illustrated Cultural History of NYC, Part I: From Mannahatta Through the Gilded Age

In this interdisciplinary course, we will explore the transformations marking the cultural history of New York City from its beginnings through the Gilded Age. Starting out as “Mannahatta,” a bountiful Native American hunting, fishing, and camping ground, the island at the mouth of the Hudson River has gone from the small commercial venture of Dutch New Amsterdam to the rough and tumble politics of British colonial New York, to a brief stint as Federal capital of the United States, to its more enduring role as a cultural and economic engine of "The Empire State" and “the capital of capitalism.”
We trace NYC's cultural history through a look at the great public and private projects that helped to define its character: the grid plan of the city streets, the Erie Canal and Croton Reservoir, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, and Ellis Island. We'll encounter the notorious Five Points, the site of "The Gangs of New York," and reflect on the tensions and contradictions of the Civil War Draft Riots. We'll spend time with New York's most iconic monuments of the period: Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island, concluding with an overview of the splendid arts of New York's "Gilded Age" -- the New York of Henry James and Edith Wharton -- and a look at "How the Other Half Live[d]" -- the New York of Stephen Crane, Abraham Cahan, and Jacob Riis.

 

 

Johns Hopkins Tuition Remission Policies

Current and retired full-time Johns Hopkins faculty and staff, as well as their spouses or domestic partners, are eligible for tuition remission. Eligibility details can be found here.

After registration, tuition remission eligibility will be confirmed by the Odyssey registrar. If eligibility cannot be confirmed, you will be required to pay full tuition for the course. Under the terms of the University’s remission program, Hopkins employees must withdraw in writing at least five working days before the first class to receive a 100% refund. No partial refunds are given to JHU employees and affiliates. All other participants should review the JHAA Event Cancellation and Refund Policy