Final Paper Assignment
TOPIC: SENECA VILLAGE, CENTRAL PARK NEW YORK
Note: RELATE TO THE 20TH CENTURY – THE STAKEHOLDERS DONT HAVE TO BE THE FORMER RESIDENTS- THEY CAN BE THE LAND OR THE BLACKS THEMSELVES BY THEIR RACIALLY INFLUENCED EXPERIENCE.
(3,000-3,500 words )
Stakeholders in Architecture & Urban History
This assignment asks to recover the marginalized history of a site/object and to reclaim the agency of marginalized stakeholders in the production of that space. Your task is to write a research paper about your site/object that recovers architecture and the production of space as a discursive practice.
There are five elements to this paper:
1. Introduce the Site (Seneca Village) + Choose your Genre (Storytelling) (500 words)
The majority of this preliminary analysis should be spent on describing your site/object (what, when, where, who made it, how does it look like) and its contexts (historical, geographical, aesthetic, economic, cultural, etc.), and explaining its significance (what it reveals about its history and makers, how it exposes various relationships of access and power). Also, think about the genre of your writing and whether it is suitable for the content of your paper. Is it a manifesto, theory, criticism, storytelling, speculation, or reflection? Your writing genre is itself a mode of inquiry.
2. Adopt a Role (1000 – 1,200 words)
Choose one stakeholder that was marginalized in canonical histories of your site/object and examine the site/object from their perspective. The goal is, through your writing, to expand your understanding of differences in stakes in architectural history, as well as how these differences reflect on gender, race, and class as agents in the production of the built environment. Examples of possible stakeholder positions are: the architect (less preferred, unless it is marginalized in your case), the apprentice, the client(s), the housekeeper, the neighbors, the engineer, the contractor, the photographer, users with disabilities, ADA inspector, the guests, real estate agent, etc.
3. Analyze in Detail (500 words)
Choose one particular element or aspect of your site/object that speaks to your stakeholder position and analyze it closely. This can be anything from an architectural detail to a particular drawing, a specific historical photograph, a building material, a color tone, or even a sound. The only prerequisite is that the selected detail allows for a productive presentation of the stakeholder’s position.
4. Undo the Canon (1,000 words)
Throughout your paper, you should compare and contrast your argument with canonical narratives of your site/object, and demonstrate how your narrative casts a new light on this site/object. The goal is to explore a previously invisible aspect of the production of your site/object through the perspective of your stakeholder.
5. Support your Argument (500 words)
Make sure to ground your argument in evidence drawn from primary and secondary sources, visual evidence (the images you select), as well as empirical evidence from the site/object visit (in case you are able to visit). In terms of bibliographic sources, address at least five primary and five secondary sources that helped you study and develop the perspective of your chosen stakeholder. Synthetize, evaluate and reflect on your sources, explaining how they helped you cultivate a deeper understanding of the stakeholder’s position in relationship to the site/object.
You can organize these five components in any order you want, but they all need to be there. You can use previous research for the midterm, but you should also take into account the feedback you received.
As you write your paper, reflect on what you learned during the semester, and be sure to situate your narrative within scholarly discourse about systems of oppression and/or privilege. N.B: Your paper must include images.
