The New York City Subway: a brief history

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Taught by Reema Hijazi

Reema is a Middle East specialist and New York enthusiast. She spends her time staring at cats, bowling badly, riding the subway, and writing about justice.

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You take the subway everyday, but have you ever thought about how its maze of tunnels was constructed? How many people died building it? How long it took to complete? Or how the hell anyone got to Coney Island before it existed?

In this one-session class learn about the history of New York's grand subway: the political fights that preceded it, the multiple systems that were constructed and then united, and how it affected the growth of America's largest metropolis. We will use the stories of certain lines and stations to highlight the subway's myriad history, including its central and ever-changing place in New York's life.

This class will be mostly lecture, but come armed with all your underground public transportation questions.

Cancellation policy