[SOLVED] Annalee Newitz’s Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age..

Making Modern Cities

Guidelines for Analytical Paper #

This is the first of three short analytical essays students will write for this course. Broadly speaking, students will be asked to reflect upon a series of lectures and readings to discuss their significance in relation to the broader themes of the course.

For this first essay, students must respond to Annalee Newitz’s Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age and they must incorporate one additional secondary source reading that we read during the first two week of class into their reflection. Students may choose one of the following: (1) Lewis Mumford’s “What is a City?”; (2) Louis Wirth’s “Urbanism as a Way of Life”; (3) James Connelly’s “Decentering Urban History” or (4) Saskia Sassen’s “The Global City.”

Students are expected to write a 3-page essay in response to one of the prompts listed below:

Based on Lewis Mumford’s definition of a city, which of the four ancient cities presented in Four Lost Cities fits that definition best (or, perhaps, which city fits it the least or not at all)? Make sure you provide concrete examples that show how and why (or not) you think your selected city is most (or least) representative of Mumford’s definition.

Using Louis Wirth’s concept of “urbanism as a way of life,” write an argumentative essay that explores how each of the four ancient cities demonstrates urbanism as a way of life. Make sure to provide solid evidence that highlights any similarities, but also, more importantly, the variations found in each individual city. Make sure present a logical line of reasoning for your argument.

Explore the significance of peripheral cities by identifying which of the four ancient cities might best fit the model of a peripheral city. Rely on James Connelly’s arguments to help you ground your thesis statement in the value of examining peripheral cities. Provide solid examples of how studying an ancient peripheral city contributes to our understanding of the modern urban age.

Using Saskia Sassen’s concept of “the global city,” identify which of the four ancient cities best fits this model. Make sure you provide concrete examples that show how and why you think your selected city is most representative of a global city.

 

 

 

Your paper should conform to the following standards:

Your essay should be mature and polished, with a well-developed, cogently argued thesis

Your essay should be about 3 pages (no more, no less), which is about 750 words

Your analysis should be based on Four Lost Cities and incorporate one of the corresponding articles (each prompt helps dictate which article you will use to complement your analysis)

Carefully proofread for misspellings and grammatical errors

Include your name, professor’s name, course name, and date in upper left-hand corner

Have one-inch margins on all sides

Employ 12pt. Times-New Roman font

Employ a creative title

Be double-spaced

Number all pages

Give proper acknowledgements and attributions (see syllabus)

Submit on time, through Canvas, as PDF or Word document