Professor: Samuel Finesurrey, Ph.D.

Course: History 221 – The History of Urban Life

Modality: Online Synchronous

Partner Institution: American University of Cairo

Links/Conference Presentation:

Abstract of Project: In 2021, undergraduate researchers in Egypt and the U.S. designed an ethnographic study of small businesses in New York City and Cairo, two of the world’s economic and cultural capitals. These parallel studies explored how each cities’ small businesses navigated a global pandemic, movements for social justice, vast inequity, and the uneven distribution of government resources. The results were uneven, sometimes heartwarming, and other times unsettling. The experience of producing knowledge, however, proved transformative for the students involved.

Crafting the Project with Professor Partner — Understanding Different Academic Contexts in Planning and Collaboration: Guttman students in my “History of Urban Life” course partnered with American University of Cairo’s “Urban Planning” course for this project. AUC is one of the most prestigious colleges in the Middle East and North Africa. While scholarships are provided to working class Egyptians, the vast majority of AUC students come from the top of the economic hierarchy and benefit from rigorous private academic training. In some ways, this was very helpful as every AUC student spoke impeccable English. In other ways, this proved challenging as our “History of Urban Life” class was a lower-level course partnering with a senior level class at AUC. We were able to accommodate the differences in preparations and course goals by pursuing two parallel projects where each class would collect data for the other in their connected, but separate final projects.

Student’s Reaction to/and Communication During the Project: In large part because the project was the central assignment in the course, students embraced the work. They communicated with their partners in Cairo via Slack, which added unnecessary complexity to the project, as there was a steep learning curve for all involved. Our preference was to us WhatsApp, however, this application is banned by the Egyptian government. All oral histories were uploaded via the free version of Dropbox. This was my most successful course in the fall 2021 semester, despite it being the first full online semester following the start of COVID. Students engaged thoughtfully with their Egyptian counterparts, although only once synchronously due to the difficult time difference.

Biggest Obstacles Faced: The biggest obstacle for me was trying to teach both the standard material in the “History of Urban Life” course and collaborate with students in constructing this project. COIL projects have a way of temporally dominating the course, and this project was no exception. That said, I think the level of engagement by the students, excited by partnering with young people half a world away, proved the value of this sort of work.

Evaluating Success: In small groups, the students at Guttman interviewed workers and owners of bodegas and family-owned restaurants in NYC, while students at AUC interviewed small shop owners in Cairo to look at the uneven results of financial hardship, government neglect, and government support in times of upheaval. The students at Guttman sought to reveal universal and localized patterns that highlight the experiences of small businesses during the pandemic in both Cairo and NYC. Meanwhile, AUC students used the data collected by both courses to look at the ways space was organized in and around these business setting in times of pandemic.

Class Syllabus:

 

The-History-of-Urban-Life-F21

 

Relevant Assignments — Outline of the Work:

Due 9/21/21

Part One: (20 Points) Introduction Video – In a 2 min max video to be uploaded as UNLISTED on YouTube to be shared with the class explain the story of your name. You will put the link in your submission of this assignment. Think about the following questions when responding: 

• For whom or what were you named?
• How was your first and last name decided upon?
• Is there a family history that accompanies the name you were given?

Part Two: (10 Points) UN Sustainability Goal 10 – Look through the following links. In a paragraph explain how in your experience inequality has impacted NYC and the globe

• https://en.unesco.org/themes/education/sdgs/material/10
• https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/inequality/

Part Three: (20 Points) Oral History Work and Questions

• Read through how to conduct an oral history here.
• Look over the list of questions provided at the bottom of the page and write down two of the questions that you like (and why you like them), two that you do not like (and why you do not like them) and two of your own, related questions.

Due 9/21/21

• First, please complete the readings on NYC and Cairo.
  • Take notes on the reading “Intros to Cairo and NYC” to submit. (20 points) See below on how to take good notes.
    • Take notes in your own words. Do not use my words or those of you classmates.
    • Organize your notes in an outline, not paragraph format.
    • Organize your notes with captions or subheadings.
    • Focus on what’s most important rather than taking notes on everything.
    • Make sure key names and events are covered in your notes.
    • Make sure you have notes for the entire video or reading, not just the first half.
  • Write a page (double spaced) comparing an aspect of life in Cairo and NYC focusing on commonalities and differences. (20 points)
• Second, post the video you already created explaining your name to the shared Slack page between ourselves and the American University of Cairo student. (10 points)

Due 9/26/21

• You must log into Slack and do the following… (10 points)
• Post to your group’s slack page an edited version of your work for week one where you commented on the existing oral history questions and created your own original questions.You will likely want to update these questions based on the conversation we had in today’s class which you can watch here if you were not present:

Due 10/3/21

• Oral History Work with Cairo Egypt
  • Please access the transcripts of your Guttman group and your Egyptian counterparts.
  • On your own:
    
    • Write one paragraphs about the similar, and/or different, challenges small businesses face in each city.
    • Under at least two of your classmates’ or Egyptian counterparts’ responses, in a sentence or two, reflect on what they said. Make sure to end your comments with your name to get credit for your work.

Due 10/31/23

• Group Transcript Assignment 
  • As a Guttman interview group, you need to decide how you plan to split up the responsibilities of editing the transcript of the Oral History.
• You will be graded as an individual (50%) and as a whole group (50%) based on your division of the transcript.
• Watch the Transcript Video: I promise the video will help explain what you must do for the transcript. Follow the steps below to get full credit.

Due 11/21/23

Submission of Consent Forms: Due Immediately (10 points)

If you have not done so already, please fill out the consent forms. This is very urgent! All the information you need is here:

• LaGuardia Release [forms.office.com]
• Stevens Initiative Release [forms.office.com]

• Group Work (50 Points)
• Many of you began the work as groups in class, but for those who did not please contact your group members. We are working in the original four groups.
• Your assignment is to make short videos discussing any/all the things your group did this semester. Please reflect on at least two of the following themes:
  

  Name Exercise: Reflect on how you experienced the “introductory history of your name” exercise. What was it like to tell the story of your own name? What was it like to hear about the names of your classmates from other cultural backgrounds and the naming traditions of the students from Egypt?
  
  Inequality: What was it like to do a project focused on the themes of the struggles of small businesses in the face of inequality, COVID, and mass-uprisings.
  
  Academic Exchange: What was it like to be part of a global learning exchange where you engaged with a professor and students from across the world studying a similar subject?
  
  Community Interaction: What was it like to plan the interview, conduct the interview, and work as a group on the transcript?
  
  Reflecting on the Work of Peers in Egypt and Guttman: What was it like to compare your work with the work of your classmates and the students in Egypt?

Due 12/12/23

• Final Paper and Presentation
  • As an individual you must write OR present a final comparative paper. Using your own group’s interview, and the interviews conducted by your classmates at Guttman and AUC you must create a clear thesis that answers the question: What do these stories tell us about a common and divergent urban experience? How has each city’s small businesses faced the challenges of growing inequity, pandemic, and political upheaval?
  • You are required to use a minimum of six interviews throughout this essay/presentation with at least three interviews sourced from Guttman’s students and three sourced from the AUC students. 
  • You will first submit an outline that will have:
    
    • A clear thesis that answers the question: What have been the common and divergent obstacles faced by small businesses in NYC and Cairo respectively over the past two years?
    • At least three body paragraphs outlined with each having a clear topic sentence that builds upon the argument you’re making in the thesis statement.
    • In each paragraph there will be at least three quotes from the oral histories that will be used as evidence.
      • These quotes must come from at least six different interviews conducted by you and/or your classmates; Three from Guttman and three from AUC.