Vassar Moodle

Throughout New York state’s long history, work has often been difficult, dangerous, and incredibly dirty. This course examines the ways in which working-class people earned their living, paid their rent, and got by in the Empire State. To make sense of the experiences and struggles of working New Yorkers, we look at the stuff of everyday life, from fashion advertisements to vinyl records. We explore working-class entertainment on Coney Island and follow sailors on whaling ships bound on perilous journeys across the Atlantic in the nineteenth century. Topics addressed in the course include garment workers’ fight for a safer workplace in the early-twentieth century and the infamous postal workers’ strike of 1970. Students read about the intricate work of pianomakers living in company towns, and the rise of the auto industry in the Hudson Valley. Through an investigation of the main industries and professions that have marked the region, students emerge from this class with a strong sense of what makes New York the place it is today.