CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

A participatory project to collect and preserve the histories of the City University of New York

Teaching Workshop

CDHA in the Classroom Brainstorm

Primary sources in CDHA can be used to teach in a range of courses such as Sociology, Writing/ Composition, History, Education, Communications/Media, Urban Studies, etc. Three possible topics are listed below. In small groups, please select a topic, review the linked documents and use the suggestions beneath each set to brainstorm possible teaching activities for undergraduate students.  Take notes to share with the full group.

1. Student Activism 1969/2011

Queen College Unrest (1969) documents:

Occupy CUNY (2011) documents:

Use sources to analyze goals and tactics of each period compare:

  • student strategies
  • administration and police responses
  • larger social issues behind the student activism

73 additional documents are available including images, website, and news coverage.

2. Institutions of Higher Education and Their Communities

York College and the Jamaica, Queens Community (1970s) documents:

Save Hostos! -- Community Involvement in the Save Hostos Campaign documents:

Use sources to explore connections between NYC neighborhoods and CUNY campuses including:

  • how colleges serve the broader community
  • how communities engage with campuses
  • how NYC educational policies interact with urban and economic planning goals

Sources offer opportunity for visual analysis.  82 additional documents are available that include newspaper articles, flyers, and photographs.

3. Evolving Areas of Academic Study

Brooklyn College Feminist Trailblazers -- Early Women Studies documents:

CLAGS -- A Research Center for Queer Studies

Use sources to examine:

  • how new fields of study emerge and become institutionalized in higher education
  • the links between community activism and academic fields of study

68 additional documents available.