Research Essay (History)

CHST 118: THE CITY IN HISTORY

FINAL EXAM

Exam Release Date: Monday, June 14 @ 9am, on D2L Exam Due Date: Friday, June 18 @11:59pm, on D2L Format: Online (must be typed and submitted in Word format through D2L) Mark: 25% of your final grade

Instructions: Choose 1 question from each section to answer. Remember that an essay question calls for an essay answer -- with a clear thesis, backed by concrete examples from ALL relevant lectures, course readings and audiovisual material. Show the breadth of your knowledge and engagement with the themes and issues we’ve discussed in class, and make sure that your answers do not overlap. Each essay should not exceed 1,000 words and should include citations, either in Chicago Style (footnotes or endnotes) or in brackets within your paper. You cannot receive an A if you do not incorporate course readings.

A Reminder: This is an open book exam, and you are encouraged to use lecture slides, course readings, and your notes. However, your work must be original! You may not solicit or obtain assistance from, or provide assistance to your classmates for any content on the exam, discuss it with other students (whether or not they are in CHST

118), cite myself or any authors verbatim, utilize outside sources, and/or ask for help on online forums. All exams

will be checked for originality and copied content (Turnitin). Any evidence of collaboration and/or plagiarism will

result in a grade of zero.

PART 1 Essay Question – 50 marks 1. Between 1892 and 1924, 12 million Europeans immigrated to America, and many moved to the city.

Similarly, between 1910 and 1940, 1.5 million African Americans migrated to the urban North. What attracted

them to the city and in what ways did they begin to shape its economic, social and cultural landscape?

2. In the postwar era, North America became overwhelmingly suburban. Account for and explain the

phenomenal rise of the postwar suburbs in light of the fact that urban centers had been growing in popularity

for decades prior. To what extent did the suburbs change physical landscapes and impact urban centers, as

well as the people within them, moving into the future?

PART 2 Essay Question – 50 marks 1. Urban history has inextricably been linked with the history of the “ordinary people.” Consider the rise of the

rights-based revolutions in the 1960s that we discussed in class. How did the city give rise to these

movements and to what extent did they impact American politics, society and culture? Could these

movements have taken place without the existence of the city?

2. In 1790, only 5% of the American population lived in urban centers. Today, that percentage is more than

80%, marking one of the most remarkable transformation in its history. Considering political, economic and

technological changes discussing in this class and in American history, examine how and why America went

from being a predominantly rural nation to a predominately urban one.

Total = 100 marks (converted to a percentage out of 25%)